I think my Bastard Stepson ruined my carboy

[TheMcAnally]

Bastard stepson the root beer kit, not a child. I followed the directions as they were written and sanitized everything with starsan the same way I always do. Everything has gone as expected from primary to secondary, I added the 4 oz of Gnome Draft Style Root Beer extract and 6 grams of sweetener, tasted it after a week and a half, and kegged it at the 2 week mark in secondary. This is when the problem was discovered. The bottom of my fermentor appeared to have a hardened substance that had formed at the bottom of the carboy. I am using the plastic big mouth bubbler. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457235489.149512.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457235532.798921.jpg

I have tried soaking in pbw for 2 hours and scrubbing with a cloth, and there was no change.

I tried soaking for about 18 hours and scrubbing again, and there was not a change.

I then tried leaving it on my keg and carboy cleaner for several hours while refilling with hot water in an attempt to clean it up. Once again, there was not a change.

Finally, I tried letting it soak once again, but this time in direct sunlight as instructed by the fine folks at northern Brewer. This time there was not a change.

I am 0 for 4 and at this point I think the plastic is shot.

Could the rootbeer extract and sweetener caused this damage? No one has written an negative review regarding this, so I don't know if this has happened to anyone else. C

 

[TheMcAnally]

I prematurely hit post and my phone won't let me edit.

I also wanted to say of course half the reviews are 5 stars from people who say "I haven't brewed this yet, but here's 5 stars." Which means, I can never take the site reviews too seriously.

Thanks in advance for your time.

 

[Stillraining]

You have to love reviewers that post stuff like that before using things..I see it all the time.

 

[TheMcAnally]

You have to love reviewers that post stuff like that before using things..I see it all the time.

Especially since any review I've ever posted has to be approved. Who approves a review from someone who has absolutely no idea how the product turns out?

 

[Sailingeric]

That sucks. Hopefully you can save it.

 

[RM-MN]

That sucks. I hope you break the carboy before it injures you and go to a bucket that you can reach into to clean.

 

[jbb3]

I prematurely hit post and my phone won't let me edit.

I also wanted to say of course half the reviews are 5 stars from people who say "I haven't brewed this yet, but here's 5 stars." Which means, I can never take the site reviews too seriously.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Here lately, I've seen retailers offering discounts for folks posting reviews. One retailer is running a promotion for a free accessory if folks post reviews on this forum! So yes, take the reviews with a large grain of salt...

Have you tried Oxiclean or better yet, PBW? If PBW doesn't get it off, it's not coming off.

Good luck!

 

[TheMcAnally]

That sucks. I hope you break the carboy before it injures you and go to a bucket that you can reach into to clean.

As I stated in my original post, it is a big mouth bubbler and I have scrubbed the effected area. So a plastic bucket would not make things easier in any way shape or form. I appreciate your hopes for my equipment breaking though.

 

[TheMcAnally]

Here lately, I've seen retailers offering discounts for folks posting reviews. One retailer is running a promotion for a free accessory if folks post reviews on this forum! So yes, take the reviews with a large grain of salt...



Have you tried Oxiclean or better yet, PBW? If PBW doesn't get it off, it's not coming off.



Good luck!

I did try pbw and after that pretty much assumed it was a lost cause.

I don't agree with these shady review practices in the least. I will give a company a chance to address any complaints or concerns I have before placing a negative review, but I won't give a positive review that isn't deserved.

 

[The_Bishop]

Is it a deposit you can actually feel, or just coloration in the plastic?

 

[bosster01]

Interesting. I brewed this same kit about 3 months ago. I used a glass carboy for primary & secondary fermentation.

Didn't have any issues.

ALTHOUGH I hate the beer. It takes like pure sugar. I can't even taste the stout. I will never make this again.

 

[Saboral]

Is it a deposit you can actually feel, or just coloration in the plastic?

Seconded, this is important to finding a solution.

 

[Saboral]

If it is a deposit I would go looking for a corrosive cleaner that is safe for the plastic in your bubbler. It appears based on some limited research that PET is resistant to Citric and up to 10% Concentration Nitric Acid. I would try an acid solution wash before tossing. Citric/Nitric acid solutions are commonly used to remove beer stone which is about as tenacious an adversary as you can get.

 

[TheMcAnally]

If it is a deposit I would go looking for a corrosive cleaner that is safe for the plastic in your bubbler. It appears based on some limited research that PET is resistant to Citric and up to 10% Concentration Nitric Acid. I would try an acid solution wash before tossing. Citric/Nitric acid solutions are commonly used to remove beer stone which is about as tenacious an adversary as you can get.

Thanks you! I will give that a try. I've been working nights all week long and working on this and trying to spend time with the family during the day. My mind has not been firing on all cylinders. At first I was sure that it was some type of deposit, but after further inspection it appears that it has actually damaged the plastic.

Interesting. I brewed this same kit about 3 months ago. I used a glass carboy for primary & secondary fermentation.



Didn't have any issues.



ALTHOUGH I hate the beer. It takes like pure sugar. I can't even taste the stout. I will never make this again.

I brewed it because my wife and father in law are both big root beer fans, and he has refused to try and homebrew this far. I thought this might soften him up. It is incredibly sweet though. Nothing I'm interested in drinking often, but my wife will probably want it brewed again. I know if I had used glass I would be ok. The more I think about it the more I believe it is an adverse reaction between the sweetener/root beer extract and plastic.

Is it a deposit you can actually feel, or just coloration in the plastic?

At first I thought it was a deposit because it has retained such a strong root beer smell, but I do believe it has damaged the plastic. The big mouth bubblers have a raised center in the bottom that is supposed to serve as a place to set your racking cane, and it now appears to be misshapen.

Thank you for everyone that provided such helpful responses.

Hopefully, this doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[Yesfan]

..........ALTHOUGH I hate the beer. It takes like pure sugar. I can't even taste the stout. I will never make this again.

You should post a review. Honestly, joking aside, I'd like to see if a negative review of the beer would go through. I've thought about brewing that as I do like the strong root beers from Coney Island and Not Your Fathers (only two I've had), but after seeing your post and what the OP's fermenter has went through, I don't think I'll do it, at least not a 5 gallon batch.





What about using BLC? It was mentioned how tough beer stone is to remove, so could BLC be used on cleaning a fermenter to remove that?


On a side note, you mentioned the BMB had a strong rootbeer smell to it. If you do another batch (or are able to) let us know if that smell impacts the next beer. When I first bought my used kegs, I remember reading about the suggestion to change out the Orings to keep beers from having the flavor of Coke, rootbeer, etc, due to the Orings absorbing the flavors of those syrups.

 

[TheMcAnally]

What about using BLC?

It's soaking in in BLC now. I'm going to hit the rack for bed tonight and then check it when I wake up. I will update then.

 

[The_Bishop]

How did the fermenter become misshapen? Did you pour very hot water or wort into it?

 

[bosster01]

You should post a review. Honestly, joking aside, I'd like to see if a negative review of the beer would go through. I've thought about brewing that as I do like the strong root beers from Coney Island and Not Your Fathers (only two I've had), but after seeing your post and what the OP's fermenter has went through, I don't think I'll do it, at least not a 5 gallon batch.





What about using BLC? It was mentioned how tough beer stone is to remove, so could BLC be used on cleaning a fermenter to remove that?


On a side note, you mentioned the BMB had a strong rootbeer smell to it. If you do another batch (or are able to) let us know if that smell impacts the next beer. When I first bought my used kegs, I remember reading about the suggestion to change out the Orings to keep beers from having the flavor of Coke, rootbeer, etc, due to the Orings absorbing the flavors of those syrups.

I posted a review.

 

[TheMcAnally]

How did the fermenter become misshapen? Did you pour very hot water or wort into it?

Bishop I used hot water, but kept it under 140 degrees.

The BLC made no difference. I guess this carboy is going to be repurposed as..... something.

 

[bigdaddybrew]

Sounds like you now own a dedicated carboy for making rootbeer. I have heard many complain that any plastic equipment you use to make rootbeer will continue to smell like rootbeer despite soaking and cleaning. I have heard others who have weakened their PET carboys from extended soaks in PBW.

 

[ChemistBrewer]

Like some of the others have said Nitric acid will get rid of it im sure. Make sure to dilute it depending on what concentration you get.

A Concentrated bleach solution could possible work.

Do not mix nitric acid with bleach please.

 

[TheMcAnally]

Once again, I would like to thank everyone for their helpful responses. This site had helped me a ton as I have ever so slowly improved my brewing.

I'll put this carboy back incase I ever make some root beer again, and replace it with glass or, if I get lucky, stainless.