BamaPhil
Well-Known Member
Alright folks,
I've had a recurring contamination that I've dealt with 3 separate times now: Beers are great going into the bottle but at some point they start gushing and have this thin mouthfeel that, at its worst, has a bit of a hot feeling at the back of the throat.
I've replaced plastic. I've bleached. I've modified my process and doubled down on sanitation. Despite all this, my most recent beer is showing signs that The Beast is back. Take a look at my process and see if you can come up with anything I'm doing wrong:
-At the end of bottling or brewing day, all cold-side equipment gets an overnight oxyclean soak. Everything that can be taken apart can be (bottling wand, spigot, etc).The only exception is my bottling bucket, I clean it with a microfiber cloth and non-scented dish liquid. Everything is rinsed with tap water and left to air dry in the spare bedroom where I keep my gear. Hoses get a starsan spray, inside and out, to cut down on the hazy appearance.
Brew day, starting at about 20 minutes before knockout:
-Check pH of starsan, it's always been around 3.2 (using strips)
-Dump 2.5 gallons of starsan into carboy (glass) and roll it around for a full minute
-Dump Starsan into a bin I use to sanitize, cover the carboy opening with sanitized aluminum foil.
-My copper IC and hoses go into the starsan, I spray the top of the IC since it's not deep enough to be fully immersed. The IC then goes into the kettle with about 10 minutes left in the boil.
-At knockout, I start the chiller. Chilling takes about 40 minutes using groundwater then switching to recirculate ice water. I keep the lid, which has been sprayed with starsan, on the pot. I take off the lid every few minutes to stir with a sanitized spoon. I also periodically spray the inside of the lid and top of the IC near the hose connections. They are bent so any leaks go down, not into the kettle.
-After chilling, I rack using a cane and autosiphon that's been soaking in the starsan. The aluminum foil stays on top of the carboy while its filling. I oxygenate with a sanitized stainless steel stone, seal it with a sanitized stopper and airlock, and stick in the fridge. Fermentations are always active within 12 hours.
Testing:
I spray the inside and outside of my thief, making sure it's wet with starsan for at least 30 seconds. Same with my testing jar. They got the same oxyclean treatment on brew day as everything else, even though they never got used.
After pulling my sample, I quickly wash the testing jar and thief with the same detergent as the bottling bucket.
Bottling day:
-All bottles get checked for any sign of junk. Bad bottles get recycled. Good bottles get oxycleaned, usually overnight, then rinsed with warm water. Then they go in to the dishwasher for a cycle and sanitizing rinse. STILL I dunk them in starsan before filling. I let them drain briefly in the dishwasher, whose rack I spray with sanitizer before doing so.
-All tubing, racking equipment, and wand gets taken apart and soaked in starsan before use.
-I roll my bottling bucket, spigot separate and taken apart, in starsan. Every surface, inside and out, gets covered. Then I replace the spigot and repeat, letting starsan drain through.
-I boil my priming sugar solution.
-The bucket stays covered with sanitized foil, except for 1 brief stir with a sanitized spoon.
-Filled bottles are capped with 2 minutes or so.
Starters:
-I don't have a stir plate yet. I usually bleach my starter jar or jug (glass), then rinse thoroughly, then starsan as I do with everything else.
-The starter gets boiled and cooled in an ice bath.
-I spray my scissors and the outside of the smack pack, count to 30, then open it before dumping it into the jar through a sanitized funnel.
-It stays covered with more sanitized aluminum foil.
So that's the most detail I can come up with. What the HELL am I missing?!
I've had a recurring contamination that I've dealt with 3 separate times now: Beers are great going into the bottle but at some point they start gushing and have this thin mouthfeel that, at its worst, has a bit of a hot feeling at the back of the throat.
I've replaced plastic. I've bleached. I've modified my process and doubled down on sanitation. Despite all this, my most recent beer is showing signs that The Beast is back. Take a look at my process and see if you can come up with anything I'm doing wrong:
-At the end of bottling or brewing day, all cold-side equipment gets an overnight oxyclean soak. Everything that can be taken apart can be (bottling wand, spigot, etc).The only exception is my bottling bucket, I clean it with a microfiber cloth and non-scented dish liquid. Everything is rinsed with tap water and left to air dry in the spare bedroom where I keep my gear. Hoses get a starsan spray, inside and out, to cut down on the hazy appearance.
Brew day, starting at about 20 minutes before knockout:
-Check pH of starsan, it's always been around 3.2 (using strips)
-Dump 2.5 gallons of starsan into carboy (glass) and roll it around for a full minute
-Dump Starsan into a bin I use to sanitize, cover the carboy opening with sanitized aluminum foil.
-My copper IC and hoses go into the starsan, I spray the top of the IC since it's not deep enough to be fully immersed. The IC then goes into the kettle with about 10 minutes left in the boil.
-At knockout, I start the chiller. Chilling takes about 40 minutes using groundwater then switching to recirculate ice water. I keep the lid, which has been sprayed with starsan, on the pot. I take off the lid every few minutes to stir with a sanitized spoon. I also periodically spray the inside of the lid and top of the IC near the hose connections. They are bent so any leaks go down, not into the kettle.
-After chilling, I rack using a cane and autosiphon that's been soaking in the starsan. The aluminum foil stays on top of the carboy while its filling. I oxygenate with a sanitized stainless steel stone, seal it with a sanitized stopper and airlock, and stick in the fridge. Fermentations are always active within 12 hours.
Testing:
I spray the inside and outside of my thief, making sure it's wet with starsan for at least 30 seconds. Same with my testing jar. They got the same oxyclean treatment on brew day as everything else, even though they never got used.
After pulling my sample, I quickly wash the testing jar and thief with the same detergent as the bottling bucket.
Bottling day:
-All bottles get checked for any sign of junk. Bad bottles get recycled. Good bottles get oxycleaned, usually overnight, then rinsed with warm water. Then they go in to the dishwasher for a cycle and sanitizing rinse. STILL I dunk them in starsan before filling. I let them drain briefly in the dishwasher, whose rack I spray with sanitizer before doing so.
-All tubing, racking equipment, and wand gets taken apart and soaked in starsan before use.
-I roll my bottling bucket, spigot separate and taken apart, in starsan. Every surface, inside and out, gets covered. Then I replace the spigot and repeat, letting starsan drain through.
-I boil my priming sugar solution.
-The bucket stays covered with sanitized foil, except for 1 brief stir with a sanitized spoon.
-Filled bottles are capped with 2 minutes or so.
Starters:
-I don't have a stir plate yet. I usually bleach my starter jar or jug (glass), then rinse thoroughly, then starsan as I do with everything else.
-The starter gets boiled and cooled in an ice bath.
-I spray my scissors and the outside of the smack pack, count to 30, then open it before dumping it into the jar through a sanitized funnel.
-It stays covered with more sanitized aluminum foil.
So that's the most detail I can come up with. What the HELL am I missing?!
