Why are you getting infected?

[Dave70]

I've been brewing regularly pretty much since I joined AHB around five years ago. At a rough estimate that's about 65 to 70 batches give or take.
I can honestly say in that time, I've only lost one batch to infection. Not to say I haven't made un drinkable beer due to crook recopies and so on, just not infected.
My sanitation regime is a fairly basic (lazy) all round, a squirt bottle of idopher, another with bleach some detergent and a sponge. Fermenters get cleaned out as soon as the beers finished and set outside in the sun either until I could be bothered to bring them in or they get blown around the backyard. Then its a quick rinse with hot water and a squirt of idopher when its time for action. No elaborate, prolonged soakings or lazer beams. Same with bottles, clean, sanitize and drain on the bottle tree.

Some things I don't do however, unscrew the lid for a peep inside the fermenter, very rarely do I rack to a secondary, leave the wort uncovered for any length of time. Plus everything that can come into contact with the beer gets a spray of sanitizer, including my hands and the smack pack.

Since there seems to be quite a few here loosing batches to infection, anybody want to suggest areas that need particular attention or may get overlooked?

 

[HBHB]

Have to wonder how many are really infected and how many are just "off flavours" caused by rookie mistakes with fermentation practices, laced with acetaldehyde or astringency caused by mash issues etc.

We get a lot of guys bringing in "infected beers" to see what went wrong. Reckon there's been 3 in maybe a couple of hundred (recall one Lacto salad dressing one and a couple of Brett). Plus 1 really bad one in a competition that bruised an ego......he reckoned it was shit hot.

We've had guys bring in hoppy IPA's done with finishing and dry hops, reckon they're undrinkably "infected" when in fact they're sitting at about 40 IBU's - way more than the XXXX Gold style clones they've been brewing for 20 years. In actual fact, what they've made is a beer with colour, flavour and aroma.....not a bad one at that.

That said, thorough cleaning followed by effective sanitising should be high on the priority list for any brewer, but understanding that every beer that doesn't taste right is not necessarily infected with the cause of the next zombie apocalypse should be up there too.

Just sayin'

Martin

 

[tricache]

Same boat here, I have done many brews (not as many as you but a fair few)

I have had one infection, sanitation problem when bulk priming and getting nothing but acetone :icon_vomit:

I still think sanitation is EVERYTHING!! Clean and sanitize like you are eating off it (you are drinking it remember)

 

[GalBrew]

I think there are also a lot of people out there abusing the whole "no-chill" concept as they don't understand the theory behind it and wondering why their cubes are expanding.

 

[jotaigna]

I've had a good run of about 30 batches, followed by a bad run of about 6 batches. I ruled out one by one all possible infection pathways until I found my fermentor was funking my beer.
Since then I have done 4 batches, progressively adding steps (including racking to secondary for lagers), and happily finding out that things are back to normal.

But before all this, I continuously trawled the forum to find other things that were ruining my beer: yeast health, water and minerals, sparging technique, grain crush, phases of the moon, you name it.

It is only after I tried everything, and received advise from felow AHB members and my LHBS that I discovered what was wrong with my beer.

I agree that people worry about infection a tad much, but it is after all part of the process.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Got to agree with mini mash, regarding so called off flavours in beer, my old man used to ferment in a stone jar in the pantry with nothing but a tea towel covering it, he never had any bad ales, plus he didn't have the equipment or sanitisers we have now.
All I do is bleach it, rinse it and quat it, equipment and bottles,never had an infection and I brew about 3 times a week on average but I am regimental in what I do. (Familiarity breeds contempt)
My biggest worry, well its not a worry its a perverse feeling of how many fermenters I can get in the bedroom without getting asphyxiated, my record is 5, but at different levels of fermentation.

 

[manticle]

Once a wild yeast or bacteria takes hold in equipment it can be very hard to shake.

I think HBHB is probably right to some extent but infections do definitely exist and I think a lot of them may have to do with existing environmental microflora as well as people not breaking apart things like taps.

 

[1974Alby]

Clean and sanitize like you are eating off it (you are drinking it remember)

I will disregard this advice....2 second rule??? huh...10 second rule in my place!

I have had expanding cubes twice...threw them in the bin and now am more careful in sanitsing around the lid, handle and bung. Never had a problem once into the fermentor.

 

[syl]

I had about 10 infections in a row, went through all of my gear, threw out most of it!

The culprit: rising damp in the brew room, eventually had to rip out the carpet and get the leak fixed.

Any air exposure at all and the beer was GONE!

 

[syl]

I have had one infection from lazy sanitation. Early on. But all good now!

 

[KingKong]

If you use Starsan correctly, make sure it makes contact with every surface your beer comes into contact with, boil your wort, ensure a healthy fermentation and sealed fermentation, you should rarely to never have an infection.

I think I have had one infection that took months to come through in bottled beer and was pre starsan and in my bleach early days.

 

[Yob]

The Brew I did following the Vic case swap, I noticed my LBP had a hairline crack at the head and was leaking, I set a jar under it and promptly forgot about it, when I saw the jar 3 week's later I was astonished to see just a couple of (large granted) mould spots.. My Brew barracks a dirt floor, open to the wind, I was amazed it was still wort.

I've been lucky as I know I've been lazy in places, I count my blessings as seeing folks like lecterfan and Manticle and many others suffer through infections is a big warning not to be complacent.

That said, I'm heading home tonight to check on a suspicious Brew.. Fingers crossed

 

[Greg.L]

Homebrew beer is a very safe and trouble-free process.
The thing you should never do is blame your equipment. If you have problems it is because you have done something wrong, you should face that so you can identify and fix the problem. The commonest cause of infection is too much air getting in. If you are using gladwrap to cover your fermenter and you get an infection look no further - the glad wrap is letting in too much oxygen. Most spoilage organisms need oxygen, keep a good seal on your fermenter and you keep out the oxygen, very low chance of getting an infection. If you open your fermenter often, have a large headspace, that lets in air that encourages infections. Any fermenter can be cleaned, hot water and soap will get rid of any bugs, and they wouldn't grow without air anyway.

I wish all these people throwing away fermenters would send them to me, I could put them to good use.

As for infections in cubes, leaving wort without pitching yeast is asking for trouble. You only need a few wild yeast to get in and the fermentation will start. I am only surprised it doesn't happen more often.

 

[syl]

Homebrew beer is a very safe and trouble-free process.
The thing you should never do is blame your equipment. If you have problems it is because you have done something wrong, you should face that so you can identify and fix the problem. The commonest cause of infection is too much air getting in. If you are using gladwrap to cover your fermenter and you get an infection look no further - the glad wrap is letting in too much oxygen. Most spoilage organisms need oxygen, keep a good seal on your fermenter and you keep out the oxygen, very low chance of getting an infection. If you open your fermenter often, have a large headspace, that lets in air that encourages infections. Any fermenter can be cleaned, hot water and soap will get rid of any bugs, and they wouldn't grow without air anyway.

I wish all these people throwing away fermenters would send them to me, I could put them to good use.

As for infections in cubes, leaving wort without pitching yeast is asking for trouble. You only need a few wild yeast to get in and the fermentation will start. I am only surprised it doesn't happen more often.

^^ example 700 of people not understanding no chill.

I have heaps of cubes of Smurto's from a few weeks ago just sitting there... happy. Pitched one today, delicious!!

 

[Black Devil Dog]

I reckon I've almost developed an obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to sanitation these days.

Everything gets a dose of sanitiser, some get multiple doses and some even get boiling water as well.

I regularly dip my hands into the sanitiser, and the cloth I use to wipe my hands is soaking in the sanitiser.

But then I'll do something stupid like cough into the fermenter while it's open. :blink:

So far so good though.

 

[timmi9191]

Anyone noticed the infestation of vingar fly in melb (east) recently.. The cause of my 2 (fingers crossed, touch wood) and last infections right there..

 

[s_t_r_o_b_e]

Is there a definitive way to tell if you've had an infection? SimoB and I have been brewing together and thought we had four infections in a row. I'm fairly certain that the first actually was an infection (as we both thought it wasn't quite right) but since then it's almost like we've been trying to find that taste...

After tasting a couple of really interesting beers at the home brew comp on the weekend, we've realised that some of the "infected" beers may have just been "different". It was the first time we brewed using Maris Otter for example. We were crazy on the sanitation front - the only thing we lacked was a pair of hazmat suits.

Is there a test or something to work out what's infected and what's just in our heads (as stressy newbies)?

 

[manticle]

Flavours typically caused by infection are fairly varied but sour, medicinal, acetone (nail polish remover) are a few of the common ones. HBHB is right - there are many flavours not cause by microflora that render beer difficult to drink.

Loads of acetaldehyde, DMS, H2S, diacetyl or the wrong ester can be nasty. Even medicinal flavours can be caused by things other than infection. Interestingly some infections will cause an excess of things like dms or diacetyl but they are also a natural part of brewing and fermentation.

@timmi - been a lot flying around my place recently. I haven't had any infections from the buggers but I assumed it was a cross between next door's compost and any spilled beer in my shed since I started kegging a few weeks ago. Interesting to know it's not just my place.

 

[Green-Lobster]

I brew at work, in a soil testing lab, next to the toilets . I use the tank water collected from the shed roof . We are next to a waste tranfer centre in an industrial estate . We make a road stabalising product that is incredibly dusty, hydrated lime being a major component . I only use napi san and boiling water to clean with . I give everything a good clean . but i always rack to secondry often take the lid of to look and smell float the hydro meter in (rinsed of course). Occasionally i get a light white infection usally if ive added some vanilla pods or fruit ,or some other experimental floating thing . it never smells bad or seems to affect the flavour . I ve left the last litre or so when bulk priming and this happens . although by that stage its surelly in the mix well and truelly . It never reappears in the bottles. or makes it taste wierd so ive stopped worrying.
I rack of onto honey thats coldfiltered i only mix it with boiled water as i want to preserve the local pollens . this was suggested to me to combat hayfever . 3 years in i no longer take any tablets for what was once the bain of my existence. I try not to miss a night without my medicine .
Maybe im just incredibly lucky not to get a bad mould, or the shed im in and the hydrated lime are creating a favourable micro climate ?

 

[timmi9191]

My neighbour also has compost (actually several) which are well fed with spent grain and fermenter wash out from my brewing. i also my spill tray on kegarator in garage.. Maybe theres something in the air from that combo??