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SWMBO - That's who...
jdoiv said:If you haven't yet, I would replace all hoses and plastic in your brewery. Hose and racking canes are cheap. 8 batches spoiled isn't. Also, I would cut out using a secondary. If it is airborne, then you'll have one less chance for it to get infected.
It wouldn't hurt anything, but if you're dropping it in for the last 15 min. of the boil, then you probably don't need to. I've never once scrubbed my chiller. All I do is rinse the hops/trub off after and rinse the dust off before.jdoiv said:Also, clean that chiller. Drop it in a solution of Pbw or Oxyclean and let it soak. Then rinse and soak in a vinegar solution for a short period of time. Rinse, then soak in star san.
srm775 said:... Third, I would venture your pets. ...A bit : on the surface, you'd think so. But many animals are probably cleaner than we are! I've had a cat for as long as I've been brewing and I know other brewers who have pets. And we've been either infection free or no more or less susceptible than anyone else.
Look at how fifthy babies and toddlers are with their snotty noses, poopy diapers and all the godawful diseases they bring home from those concentration camps they call "preschools". Yet, people don't banish their precious little Emily and Joshua from the brew room, do they?
No, as others have posted, I'm betting this is either something wrong in the sanitation process or the water - particularly if using top-off water. As an experiment, I'd boil all your water next brew session and see if that solves the problem.
FWIW, I rarely if ever have to "clean" my immersion chiller. Drop it into the boiling wort with at least 15 mins. left in the boil and that will sanitize it. When done, I fill a bucket with some of the circulated water from the IC, then drop the IC in for a quick soak after the wort has been siphoned. That's it!
Rhoobarb said:A bit : on the surface, you'd think so. But many animals are probably cleaner than we are! I've had a cat for as long as I've been brewing and I know other brewers who have pets. And we've been either infection free or no more or less susceptible than anyone else.
Got a laugh out of that! Since it's never happened to me, I'd be curous if it has others (with pets). Maybe I'll start a separate thread with a poll on this subject!srm775 said:... then licking my crouch (well, ok that parts true). ...
I don't think you need to sanitize the IC, just clean it, putting it in the wort while it is boiling will sanitze it.TheJadedDog said:I know I am late to the party on this, but I would change one variable with each brew to isolate the problem. First try doing everything as normal but with different water. Still infected, then it's not the water, move on to some other possible source of contamination, and so on...
One thing you mentioned was that you are using an immersion chiller, any chance you have leak there? How well are you cleaning and sanitizing the chiller? (There was a guy at my brew shop who was marvelling at how clean his chiller looks when he takes it out of the wort, guess he's not thinking about how dirty that means it is on the way in!)
Oh and Boston Brewer - This is an extreme case, infections are not as common as they seem, get thee brewing!
Don't be put off.Boston Brewer said:As a newbie yet to do my first brew, how common is infection? I have read Palmer's book and Papazian's, and it seems as if you make sure everything is clean and sanitized, you shouldn't have any problems.
Stories like this one (I feel terrible for you, man!) almost make me scared to brew, despite the RDWHAHB mantra...
Sorry if this is a hijack.
BierMuncher said:... In this case, I'd recommend getting to the simplest of scenarios. Use some hot mild bleach solution to clean everything (I use bleach)...put together a simple recipe...do a full boil...chill your wort as quickly as you can..and pitch a dry ( nottingham) yeast.
Get back to basics.
rohanski said:OK guys I ran another batch yesterday. I used bottled water, boiled it inside and took it directly outside to cool with an EC, aeriated and & pitched the yeast all outside. The starter tasted good. Now I'm a little scared. It cranked up within 10 hours but I'm getting that grassy smell again. I never noticed this in the past when I was getting good batches. One other thing I noticed is that the only two batches that were good were a lighter beer with only 1 oz. of hops. Any thoughts?
No, I pour it in the toilet or down the sink drain. I am in San Antonio.rohanski said:Do you dump the bad beer outside? If so is it on the South side of your house?
I do this and I'm starting to wonder if that might be keeping it going.
Where is Topperwein?
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