Infections, Why Are Some Immune?

[jgriffin]

I find the quote below interesting

"Every time I turned on the air conditioner I pumped the store full of black mold and other really bad stuff at high enough concentrations to contaminate the wort even with limited exposure."

Out the back of my house i have these gum trees that literally spray everything with this fine black mould. I literally have to use bleack on the pool surround and the bricks and table etc each month to remove it. Wonder if this stuff is getting into my beer.

 

[Kai]

The air conditioning is a good point, I always turn mine off when I brew or bottle.

 

[warrenlw63]

A way I found to minimize infections when racking to a keg and having to leave the lid off. Instead of dropping the racking hose to the bottom of the keg is to get yourself a spare liquid disconnect and pop 2 inches of smaller diameter hose on the barb.

Rack from your carboy to the disconnect by joining the 2 hoses and go via the dip tube. Racking can be done with the lid still on the keg then. Just leave the relief valve open. Takes a little longer to fill the keg, however you've basically got an enclosed system then.

Take the lid off when you're near the end to check liquid level or just let the keg overfill. As soon as you see some liquid, stop racking and just runoff a couple of hundred mls of beer for headspace and purge as usual.

Warren -

 

[Jazzafish]

I'm sure we all use the following system... for everything in contact with the brew.

1st Clean
2nd Sanitise
3rd Sterilize

But as mentioned before, how well do we clean, sanitise and sterilize ourselves? We do come in contact with the beer. We should be as clean as possible. Do you smoke around your beer? Any Pets?

Also mentioned is the room where you brew... Is the air ok? Air con? Alot of things to point a finger at...

You also mentioned you are using liquid yeast, is it a culture? Perhaps the infection is with the yeastor culture itself?

So many possibles. Should probally look at the most likely and work your way through an elimination process. Even if you brew a couple of extracts to save a bigger effort?

Cheers,
Jarrad

 

[Kai]

I never do step 3

 

[warrenlw63]

I never do step 3

[post="68437"][/post]​

You'd need a bloody big autoclave and/or pressure cooker.

Warren -

 

[pint of lager]

I do step 3 when doing yeast farming work. Petri dishes with agar media, 100 ml erlenmeyer with 60ml of starter wort and 2x250 ml erlenmeyer full of wort for second step go in the pressure cooker. I then be as aseptic as possible with transfers.

But for general brewing, sanitary is as good as it gets.

 

[Kai]

I never do step 3

[post="68437"][/post]​

You'd need a bloody big autoclave and/or pressure cooker.

Warren -

[post="68438"][/post]​

Hence why

 

[PeterS]

I'm sure we all use the following system... for everything in contact with the brew.

1st Clean
2nd Sanitise
3rd Sterilize

But as mentioned before, how well do we clean, sanitise and sterilize ourselves? We do come in contact with the beer. We should be as clean as possible. Do you smoke around your beer? Any Pets?


Cheers,
Jarrad

[post="68417"][/post]​

Now I done it, next doors cat did not like the idea of being sterilized, now I am all scratched...I don't blame him, I would not like to be sterilised either...

 

[pint of lager]

A beer that is showing signs of infection after 14 days, the time frame would indicate a gross infection souce. Usually infections take a while to show up.

This would indicate a large contaminating source. If you use a CFC, give it a pressure test to see if there is leakage between the two flows.

The fact that the fermentation is stuck is strange too. Have you had problems with stuck ferments before?

 

[warrenlw63]

If you use a CFC, give it a pressure test to see if there is leakage between the two flows.

[post="68566"][/post]​

I'd be more inclined to wonder if the thing is clean. That's what scares me with CF chillers. How are you supposed to know?

Leakage between the the two flows would be fairly unlikely. Only place this could occur would be the joints. This would have to be noticed with more wort in the fermenter and a lower SG than what was in the boiler?? That aside you're really only getting a bit of tap water coming through.

Give me an immersion chiller any day.

Warren -

 

[Gough]

I'm with you on that one Warren. CF chillers have always made me nervous as another source of infection.

Immersion chiller's of the world unite! :lol:

Shawn.

 

[shmick]

My only infection in recent memory (10yrs) was mould in the secondary.
I put it down to either infected dry hop plugs or a non-sealing fermenter lid.

When I pulled out the airlock to rack to bulk prime it smelled like rotting rainforest timber so I took off the lid and it had several white lumps the size of 50c pieces with green spots :blink: .
Almost cried when I dumped it as the mouldy smell was soon overtaken by the aroma of the EKG hops. Sad sad day.

I also noticed the inside of my fermenting freezer was damp and covered in little black spots of mould. Scrubbed it with 'Exit Mould' cleaner followed by a bath in isopropanol. I now give it a quick spray & wipe with alcohol before each use and it hasn't returned.

I haven't bought any more plugs (or anything at all actually) from that particular HBS since some time later I saw him hand a plug to a customer for a smell and then put it back in his fridge! . Made me wonder what bugs I'd been buying up till then.

 

[warrenlw63]

Immersion chiller's of the world unite! :lol:

Shawn.

[post="68569"][/post]​

By decree of the state... our new logo. :beerbang: :lol:

Warren - :wacko:

 

[Gough]

:lol: :lol:

The People's Brewery! When do we start the first 5 year plan?? Very nice... :lol:

Shawn.

 

[shmick]

Do you realise you'll now have to share the one chiller between several communes as the state doesn't wan't to spoil the workers.
The extra funds can be put into some catchy jingles.

 

[Gough]

I knew there had to be a catch... :lol:

Shawn.

 

[RobW]

Do you realise you'll now have to share the one chiller between several communes as the state doesn't wan't to spoil the workers.
The extra funds can be put into some catchy jingles.

[post="68600"][/post]​

They'll actually melt down all the superfluous ones & use the copper to make a huge statue of the leader

 

[pint of lager]

Immersion chillers will be banned along the eastern seaboard due to water shortages. They use too much water. The minister of chillers will be around to check on what sort you are running and will charge you $150 to issue a certificate of compliance.

On on a less frivilous note, the cfc is made from copper, how often have you seen mould growing on copper? So long as it is teated right, it will give years of service. The plastic section is another matter, and half a litre of water leaking from the cooling side to the wort side wouldn't change the og much, but would dump lot of nasties into the wort.

 

[Borret]

Immersion chillers will be banned along the eastern seaboard due to water shortages. They use too much water. The minister of chillers will be around to check on what sort you are running and will charge you $150 to issue a certificate of compliance.

[post="68607"][/post]​

Except in the Luxurious Hunter valley where we are still allowed to hose hard surfaces. (not that we do.......)

Bring on the immersion chillers marching music

Borret