Wort Started Fermenting In Cube ?

[amiddler]

The very last time I N/Chilled this happened to me. At best I would have said it smelt like a can of Baked Beans that had spent a few weeks in the sun.

As others have stated, ditch it cube and all.

Drew

 

[fcmcg]

A fellow brewer on this site got an infected oatmeal stout cube not that long back, when i went over to his place, it looked like it was about to explode all over the shed... Anyway he fermented it and although it was NQR it still wasn't a bad drop. I guess the biggest worry is if that it then hangs around in the fermenter and then infects another batch :icon_vomit:

I think you did the right thing, might be worth throwing out the cube or use it for something else :angry:

Bob..thhat would be me , who that happened to...as you know...but now everyone does ! lol
Nail polish stout anyone ?...It wasnt quite right but seeing we have a newborn,....i drank it anyway :icon_vomit:
Thanks Bob...for being so positive...but really..it WAS ***** lol
Cheers
Ferg

 

[cynical]

hmmm - Tony's call out to Darren is strangely enough appropriate.

What organism is it that is most likely to survive an environment where there has been 90+C temperatures and which is fundamentally anaerobic? What organism was the only one that actually caused anybody to seriously question the safety of no-chill?

Now its probably not that particular organism - but given that the cube is definitely infected and the (admittedly faint) possibility of it being the dreaded B, the notion of fermenting and drinking whats in that cube is nothing short of madness.

Tip it out... infections are for lawn food, and infected cubes doubly so.

What he said B) . Set the conditions right and you are asking for trouble

 

[Midnight Brew]

Can an infected cube not be saved? (cube not beer) Can you not fill it with a cleaning solution like a bleach and vinegar mix or boiling water to kill everything off then sanitise it?

 

[NickB]

I gave up on mine. Had done plenty of brews, and could never be sure there was not a heat-resistant bacteria in there, so ditched it.

Cheers

 

[petesbrew]

The very last time I N/Chilled this happened to me. At best I would have said it smelt like a can of Baked Beans that had spent a few weeks in the sun.

As others have stated, ditch it cube and all.

Drew

Sundried baked beans! That's a new one.
My fermenting cube smelt like creamed corn. Had a taste and almost spewed.
Sitting in a hot garage next to a freshly used lawnmower in the middle of summer. Let's blame the brewer.

OP, it's up to you. You said it's not totally rank, so it's up to you whether you think it's worth the time.

 

[barls]

they can be saved, hot caustic, pbw and the napisan. if it lives through those three it deserves to live

 

[agorganic]

hmmm - Tony's call out to Darren is strangely enough appropriate.

What organism is it that is most likely to survive an environment where there has been 90+C temperatures and which is fundamentally anaerobic? What organism was the only one that actually caused anybody to seriously question the safety of no-chill?

Now its probably not that particular organism - but given that the cube is definitely infected and the (admittedly faint) possibility of it being the dreaded B, the notion of fermenting and drinking whats in that cube is nothing short of madness.

Tip it out... infections are for lawn food, and infected cubes doubly so.

I'm a newbie to brewing, whats the dreaded B and by madness do you mean poisen/lethal to drink?


How does the wild yeast overpower the desired yeast...do many questions.

 

[Midnight Brew]

they can be saved, hot caustic, pbw and the napisan. if it lives through those three it deserves to live

True that! Got a bit worried there as I've saved a fermenter once with the old napisan in boiling water

 

[cynical]

The chances are incredibly small, but unfortunately "no-chill" meets many of the requirements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin#Sources

cy

"SourcesBotulism toxins are produced by these bacteria: Clostridium botulinum, C. butyricum, C. baratii and C. argentinense.[26] Foodborne botulism can be transmitted through food that has not been heated correctly prior to being canned or food that was not cooked correctly from a can. Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that causes this disease is in soil and dust. The bacteria can be found inside homes on floors, carpet, and countertops even after cleaning. Honey can contain the bacteria that causes infant botulism so, children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey. Honey is safe for persons 1 year of age and older."

 

[seemax]

Cubes are only $15 odd.... would you seriously try and save it?

If it looks bad, tastes bad or smells bad...get it away from your brewery ASAP!

 

[jyo]

Seems from the responses to this thread that infected cubes is a common problem, I don't know why people bother.

I don't think it's a common problem at all, just that the people who have had said experience are adding their suggestions here.
I have never had a cube swell.

 

[Midnight Brew]

Cubes are only $15 odd.... would you seriously try and save it?

If it looks bad, tastes bad or smells bad...get it away from your brewery ASAP!

Im glad I saved my fermenter because it was the only one I had at the time! Got a backup plan now so all good :icon_cheers:

 

[goomboogo]

The chances are incredibly small, but unfortunately "no-chill" meets many of the requirements

Hi Daz, how's things?

 

[Phoney]

Can an infected cube not be saved? (cube not beer) Can you not fill it with a cleaning solution like a bleach and vinegar mix or boiling water to kill everything off then sanitise it?

The reason my cube swelled was because no matter how tight I done up the lid, when the cube was compressed to squeeze out the head space it was still very slowly leaking air in - and inevitably, bacteria.

So my tip is when you fill up a NC cube and squeeze out the head space and then tip it on it's side, put your ear up to lid and if you can hear the slightest hissing noise - it's either not tight enough or the seal is buggered.

I put a few rounds of plumbers tape around the thread of my dodgy cube and only use it for water on camping trips now.

 

[beerdrinkingbob]

Bob..thhat would be me , who that happened to...as you know...but now everyone does ! lol
Nail polish stout anyone ?...It wasnt quite right but seeing we have a newborn,....i drank it anyway :icon_vomit:
Thanks Bob...for being so positive...but really..it WAS ***** lol
Cheers
Ferg

Your right it was NQR but honestly compaired to some of the brews i made a while back it was pretty tasty.

Your just lucky the cube it didn't go all German Porno and blow all over you while you were in the shed h34r:

 

[Bribie G]

The chances are incredibly small, but unfortunately "no-chill" meets many of the requirements

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin#Sources

cy

"SourcesBotulism toxins are produced by these bacteria: Clostridium botulinum, C. butyricum, C. baratii and C. argentinense.[26] Foodborne botulism can be transmitted through food that has not been heated correctly prior to being canned or food that was not cooked correctly from a can. Most infant botulism cases cannot be prevented because the bacteria that causes this disease is in soil and dust. The bacteria can be found inside homes on floors, carpet, and countertops even after cleaning. Honey can contain the bacteria that causes infant botulism so, children less than 12 months old should not be fed honey. Honey is safe for persons 1 year of age and older."

Well done, cynical. From someone who didn't know the difference between a beer kit and a can of treacle two weeks ago to a sudden grasp of the concepts behind no chilling is a spine tingling leap of intellect. Watch out for this guy in the comps next year, a rising star methinks

 

[Bribie G]

:icon_offtopic:
off topic for this thread, cynical but it looks like you have been doing a fair bit of reading up - great stuff - and if you are looking for a fairly straightforward way of brewing good beer , why not invest a few dollars in a "Brew in a bag" - BIAB - setup, then you can not only produce all grain beer but also do it cheaper than using kits.

For example you'll be able to participate in grain bulk buys from Ross (CraftBrewer, no affiliation) who is probably the biggest agent for Cryer Malt around the place and can organise some great deals.
Plenty of threads about BIAB around the forum here.
:beerbang:

 

[MattC]

Last week i brewed 2 batches of Coopers Sparkling Ale clone, the first batch of 23 litres was a bit light on in the Alc % with an OG of 1.036 so for the next run I upped the grain bill from 4.5kg to 7.2kg and got this batch out at 1.052(its BIAB),

:icon_offtopic: Dont have any suggestions re. fermenting of your already infected wort as I think it has all been said already. However one thing I noticed was that you are using 7.2kg of grain in a 23L batch for an OG of 1.052. Thats a brewhouse efficiency of around 52% according to my calcs. You mentioned that you BIAB. What is your grain crush like? How do you crush your grain, mash pH (your prob not concerned about that yet). Perhaps some of the BIABers could chime in with some helpful adivce on improving efficiency in such a set up?? Seems excessively low IMHO.

Cheers

 

[argon]

About this time last year i had a slightly swollen cube of a Munich Helles. I had already prepped a big lager starter and fermenter. Was all ready just to tip it in when i noted it was slightly ballooned in comparison to my other ones. When i opened it, it hissed a little letting some gas out and ahd a little white gunk around the spout. I figured i'd pitch it anyway and was prepared to lose the fermenter and cube as necessary. Sanitised the opening as normal and tipped it in with the starter.

Now i figured cause it was a pale lager, i'd pick up any infection very easily, but i honestly didn't know. I fermented the other half of the double batch at the same time and i couldn't tell the difference. There is of course a slight chance that some of the other brewers yeast i had a round may have made it's way into the cube not giving any off flavours at all.

I ended up chucking the cube anyway, but the batch was fine. I took a risk and it worked out.