Source Of Infection

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P.O.L when I pour my beer out of the longneck into the jug I get a really large head like 10-15cm big, is this a sign of over carb or just poor pouring on my part....

It doesnt gush out of the bottle @ all.
 
Excess head can be due to poor pouring, recipe or overcarbonation. Without seeing your brew, I suspect it is overcarbonated.

Beer is a combination of malt, alcohol, hops bitterness, hops flavour, yeast by products and carbonation. Most commercial beer has excessive carbonation.

Carbonation gives rise to carbonic acid in the beverage plus the little bubbles on the tongue. A really interesting experiment for keggers is to carb up a keg of plain tap water and taste the huge flavour difference between the carbed water and the non carbed water. The correct level of carbonation contributes to the beer flavour and body feel. Excess kills the flavour of the beer.

Many people confuse carbonation and head formation and retention.

Also have a read of this BYO article.
 
I use a sugar measure, but because I use castor sugar which is finer should I be using less maybe?
 
This is an interesting question. I haven't weighed out a volume of castor sugar and a volume of plain table sugar and compared the two, but I suspect they should be the same.

From some maths problem solving, if you have a given large volume and pack ball bearings in it, then empty it and pack soccer balls in it, the amount of empty space is the same (assuming that the volume is much larger than the soccer balls, and the way the balls are packed is the same for both.) Castor sugar and table sugar should have crystal shape similar.

Next time you go to the supermarket, look at a kilo bag of castor sugar and compare to a kilo bag of table sugar. The paper packages would be easier to compare volume size.

The little sugar scoops would probably give you carbonation near the top end. The best way is to bulk prime, that way you can control the amount of priming sugar.
 
:chug:
hi guys, the reason iam reading this is i also have a slight white skim on top of the fermenter only on the secondary. after 7 days smells ok and drinks fine.
should not have chucked it.
i think it doesnt like the 7 days in the secondary with no co2. and yet i add a little sugar with the finnings i can't refrigerate .
do we rack it earlier or spend less time in the secondary. i have a co2 bottle maybe i should burp it.
regards

swinks
 
(swinkels)
i think it doesnt like the 7 days in the secondary with no co2. and yet i add a little sugar with the finnings i can't refrigerate .
do we rack it earlier or spend less time in the secondary. i have a co2 bottle maybe i should burp it.
swinkels,

The time in secondary should not rely on CO2 being added. Many brewers have left beer for long periods in secondary (mostly at cooler temps) with litle, if any, negative effect. U prob could have racked earlier...but:
If your beer smells OK and tastes OK, I'd be inclined to follow POL's advice and leave the last few cm behind when bottling. Don't let the beer get hot, though, as you will have the same problem that Corellion had.

(Corellion)
So from what I know (and the god-awful smell), this is indication of some sort of yeast-infection, or possibly just a straight-out bacterial infection, right? The odour wasn't readily identifiable as anything more than "alcoholic" (I'd call it vaguely like propanol from experience in other realms of life).

Corellion, just some feedback from a man of experience...I don't feel that you have an infection issue, so breathe easy on that score. Yes, the white film/filth is an issue, but mostly the problem is heat. Some yeasts will produce nasty fusels (higher/tertiary alcohols) at higher temperatures. Only a day at 30C may be enough to give your beer that propanol/ acetone flavour, and prob encourages the surface bacteria.

Storage will not, repeat not, remove these flavours. If you don't believe me, I'm happy to post you a stubbie of American Wheat beer that was bottled about 12 months ago after 1 hot day (pm me, if you really want it). :blink:

I've mostly had the heat/fusel problem with American Ale yeast (and lack of temp control). Prob not a good idea to culture/re-use the yeast from this beer either as it retains the fusel character.
I have also had the fusel problem compouned by the white film, but no real prob as the beer was already a write-off.

Uncle Seth :p

PS Why did I keep the fusel Wheat beer? I didn't need the bottles at the time and I had to prove to myself (as a scientist) that there was no recovery from this disaster.
Proved, without a doubt, I'd say. As some would say, "Myth Busted".
 
Just wondering where everyone get Iodophor from?
 
Cheers Yard - just the help i needed!

Edit: The above posted article is indeed worth the read!

Cheers again Yard

Foz
 
I get my iodophor sent to my door from ESB. My local HBS sells other sanitiser that is more expensive and hardly makes any...
 

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