Least careful you've been sanitising without an infection

[marksy]

As someone who lost probably 10 batches last year, amen to that.

From personal experience though I think a large part of it is environmental.

I brewed for years with dirty fermenter taps and a mediocre sanitisation regime without an issue. Then I moved and got a problem, and was buying new fermenters, disassembling everything and boiling, cleaning everything, sanitising, like mad, and still not able to shake the problem.

Then I moved where I brew, and the problem went away, even with equipment that had had infected wort in it, and going back to 'a quick spray with a hose and some starsan'.

It's unfortunately not as simple as severity/paranoia level of cleanliness = chance of infection

Thats sucks. What did you put it down to in the end? Did u move from outside to inside etc?

 

[stakka82]

Still don't know. Wild yeast, but of unknown origin.

I just don't brew at home now, I either brew at a friend's or at my parents place, don't have problems at either place.

I do a test beer here every few months to see if I can move back but cop it every time.

So I haven't beaten the problem, I just work around it unfortunately.

 

[Black Devil Dog]

Caught up with a mate recently who brews k & K and he was showing me his set up. Infection nirvana, is what he should call his brewery. "Clean" fermenters had brown stuff around the tap thread. His bottle stand was dirty and pretty much everything looked like it still needed to be soaked and sanitised, but as far as he was concerned it was good to go.

 

[lael]

First brew ever - my friend and I found some brewing gear by the side of the road, gave it a rinse, washed it with morning fresh and then threw some boiling water over the insides. Didn't have any sanitiser or feel like buying any. My friend - "they've been doing this since the middle ages... don't worry so much about cleaning it!" put down a Coopers Ginger beer kit - last minute - he grabs some lemons, cuts in half, squeezes and throws it in. Mix with random spoon.

Turned out fine

 

[manticle]

That proves it.

 

[Donske]

I was in the "clean out with a hose then splash some starsan around" camp for a while, I've recently added a boiling water step to my sanitizing regime, not due to any issues on my end, I've never had an infection.

One of my mates went through an awful run of lost batches though which made me a bit more paranoid, hopefully I can continue my good fortune.

 

[lael]

That proves it.

lol - Never been as laissez faire since

 

[Rod]

IMHO

the splashing etc of boiling water does 3/5 of next to nothing

unless the area ( and it would need to be the whole of the equipment in question )

to which you are applying the 'boiling water ' to reaches more than 70 degrees it does

nothing more than a rinse

 

[BrewinWalruss]

My sanitation depends on the brew;

Beers EVERYTHING gets the bleach treatment. Bottles, spoons, taps... everything. But I never boiled my extracts (including the extra extracts I added to the no-boil-necessary) until I started a no-kit recipe.

My meads however get comparatively less attention- I will never boil or pasteurize honey ever ever ever. Even though there might be (probably are) wild yeasties and bacteria across the fruits and other things I add. I will still never destroy my precious precious honey.