daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
I racked this a few days ago and have been away from the house, this is the first time I've had an infection in 1.5 years.. Poor sanitisation?
I take it this isn't normal
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I racked this a few days ago and have been away from the house, this is the first time I've had an infection in 1.5 years.. Poor sanitisation?
chumpsteak
Well-Known Member
Is sanitisation a word?
Nightshade
Well-Known Member
In the UK they use S and Z fairly interchangeably compared to the US.
As for the brew, did you sanitize the hop bag and is there a top for the vessel of some kind?
daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
fine, sanitation. Yeah I sanitised the hop bag that morning, and there is a bung with an airlock that you can't see in the picture. Last time I used this setup there wasn't a problem 
chumpsteak
Well-Known Member
Hard to tell from the pic, but that just looks like yeast and hops to me. Give it a week and then taste it.
The big bubbles on the side of the bag look like infection to me. If those weren't there then yeah I would look like yeast to me as well.
i concur, there's definitely something sinister in that picture...
daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
do people even use hop bags in secondary? I might avoid it in the future. As for this batch, it's going down the drain
InityBrew
Well-Known Member
Taste it first. I dont think an infection would spring up that quickly.
Also, I get bubbles like that when i dry hop.. it is the hop oils trapping the co2 bubbles...
Anyways.. Don't assume it is infected! Taste first
Also, I get bubbles like that when i dry hop.. it is the hop oils trapping the co2 bubbles...
Anyways.. Don't assume it is infected! Taste first
whitehause
Well-Known Member
Yes to this!!!
While I agree it doesn't look good, It might not be an infection. I don't use a bag to dry hop, and I use pellets. I've seen some pretty suspect looking bubbles that were not an infection, just hop oils as Inity said.
My suggestion(beyond tasting) is to let the dryhop finish, then pull the bag and see if it gets worse or better.
daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
it's ok though, I haven't done anything yet! Will just wait for another few days, take the bag out and then taste it. The CO2 theory checks out as the airlock water level suggests no CO2 has escaped yet. I also used about 70g of hops, more than the last batch where I didn't see this problem.
cheers guys
cheers guys
I've had infections that ended up tasting just fine. Maybe not a beer that I'd win an award with, but certainly a beer worth drinking. Your chances of brewing something that you are gonna get sick from are slim to none, so please don't dump it! Worst case scenario is that you wind up with something infected, but get to taste that infection and learn from it. Know the enemy.
Also, I've had more than a few beers that were at the time undrinkable, but they aged well. Months down the road, I found out that they were at least interesting, if not tasty. Point is - never toss beer if it doesn't have fuzzy mold. Always give it time to fix itself, because often it will.
Also, I've had more than a few beers that were at the time undrinkable, but they aged well. Months down the road, I found out that they were at least interesting, if not tasty. Point is - never toss beer if it doesn't have fuzzy mold. Always give it time to fix itself, because often it will.
daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
doesn't the risk of bottle bombs increase massively with infected beer though?
Yes. However you should know if it's infected by the flavor. You could soft prime it/slightly under prime if you suspect it's infected in a couple weeks after sampling/pre bottle or keg. I wouldn't save it if it's infected, maybe bottle a gallon or so, something like that for experimental/learning purposes.
However if you're fairly certain it doesn't taste infected bottle, let it carb for 3 weeks, then test. Test ever so often say every 7 or 10 days after. You can always store your bottles inside a rubbermaid container to eliminate the damage.
Bingo.^ Can't say I've ever used a bag when hitting the secondary.
Observation: it looks as if you crammed the bag through the side of the bung in that pic. Bad idea, as it increases the chance for open air to leak into your brew. Most people, when using hops in secondary, just dump them directly into the beer. If you absolutely have to use a bag, just winch up the bag to the base of the bung & thread the string through to the outside. It lessens the chance that your brew would be exposed to air, but it's still no guarantee.
THIS!! The first time I dry hopped I thought it was infected. The oils from the hops makes a slick on top of the beer and traps Co2 and other stuff under it and looks like a big mess.
daggers_nz
Well-Known Member
good news. not only did it not taste infected but it tasted ****ing awesome. First time I've used Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin together and it's... fruity but strongly sweet but not in a bad way. Bullet dodged, will know for next time! although I'll probably avoid the hop sock in the future, it's a pain in the butt
