Ring Around the Bottle, Anything else Other then Contamination?

I have just recently resurged my homebrewing after a 3-4 year hiatus. I have brewed 4 batches in the last 2 1/2 months, and 3 out of the 4 have had the ring around the neck. My Stout and Celebration Ale Clone have been dumped down the sink due to off flavors. The Lucknow IPA that I just bottled on Saturday is already showing signs of ring around the bottle. I am at my wits end!!! The only thing that I can come up with is the siphoning tube that a buddy of mine gave me one night when he rushed here because I did not have a J Hook to siphon into my secondary. My first batch (A honey Lauger) has no issues. But ever since I have used his siphong tube, I have had contamination. It boggles my mind also because I let that tube sit over night in a 7 gallon Carboy in a Bleach and water solution(8 ounces of bleach to 7 Gallons water). One would think that would kill ANYTHING in the tube. I have since replaced all my tubes, and the only batch that has yet to touch that questionable tube is my Abbey Ale that is still in the Primary. Yup, I am confused and the thought of throwing in the towel as far as home brewing even crossed my mind. I have since come to my senses though.


So, my question to everyone here is this. Could the ring around the bottle be anything alse besides a contamination?


Another note is that I have tried Star Sans, and I klove it. I am going to continue to use it. Only now, my faith in it is not what it was prior to bottling this Lucknow I.P.A. Clone...

what have you been priming your batches with?

I was priming them with Priming Sugar. With this last batch of I.P.A., I switched it up and I used DME instead.

When I prime with DME, I sometimes get the rings. No rings with corn sugar. But since you were also getting rings with corn sugar, it sounds like something different.

I'd give the IPA the benefit of the doubt since you used the DME and see how it comes out.

BTW: what kind of off flavors did you get in the first two batches? That's a VERY high concentration of bleach you are using in that sanitizing solution. You are rinising the hell out of your stuff after soaking in that, right? If you're not rinsing, the bleach itself might be causing you grief.

-walker