Sour Beer at Primary Secondary and Bottles

[atm82]

I have been brewing some beer and every batch has been sour. I thought it may have been a bad plastic bucket, so I upgraded to glass. I keep it within good temperature no around 65-69 degrees Fahrenheit. I have sanitized all of my tools, bottles, etc., everything that touches the beer has been sanitized. I last brewed an IPA with IBU of about 62 and it was not bitter at all, it had some sour notes to it though. I never open the beer, while fermenting, for it to get air contamination. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[FightingBob]

I have been brewing some beer and every batch has been sour. I thought it may have been a bad plastic bucket, so I upgraded to glass. I keep it within good temperature no around 65-69 degrees Fahrenheit. I have sanitized all of my tools, bottles, etc., everything that touches the beer has been sanitized. I last brewed an IPA with IBU of about 62 and it was not bitter at all, it had some sour notes to it though. I never open the beer, while fermenting, for it to get air contamination. Does anyone have any ideas?

Every since I had an acetobacter infection from a bad plastic bucket, I got rid of all plastic buckets because they scratch too easily. I trashed all plastic that came in contact with infected beer (hoses, beer lines, wine thieves, bottling buckets and spigots, etc...), and sanitized the hell out of everything else not made of plastic. I've also switched to better bottles. Nothing every touches the inside that could scratch it and I use and OxiClean after every brew to clean it out (no brushes are ever needed). I also buy new hoses more often; about every 3-4 brews.

Getting rid of the plastic and buying new hoses more often solved everything.

 

[MarcusKillion]

I use nothing but plastic . 2 fermenting bucket and 4 5 gallon buckets and plastic paddles . Never had a sour beer . I have had an infection that turned it into vinegar . but nothing to do with plastic .
I always wash my buckets with Ivory soap and a wash rag . I rinse them out with hot water then cold . I rinse again before using them again and use one step on them .
Perhaps you are getting something from the air . mold spores ? No way to stop air born stuff . it is always there and your lid is not on 100% of the time .
Are you brewing in a room with an air / heat vent ? Lots of mold and dust in them not to mention they suck air off of your floor and attic etc . I shut my vent off in the kitchen when brewing just in case .

 

[FightingBob]

I use nothing but plastic . 2 fermenting bucket and 4 5 gallon buckets and plastic paddles . Never had a sour beer . I have had an infection that turned it into vinegar .

That's an acetobacter infection turning the ethanol in your beer into vinegar

but nothing to do with plastic .

I still use plastic as well, just not easily scratched plastic fermenting buckets. Better Bottles are plastic and all my hoses and beer lines are plastic.

It's not the plastic causing the infection, but acetobacter or other bacteria finding its way into scratches in plastic buckets that your sanitizer can't get to. Tiny scratches can be caused by simply running your hand on the inside of your bucket. Once Saccharomyces are done fermenting wort sugar into ethanol, actobacter, if present, can take over turning ethanol into vinegar or ethyl acetate. This is especially true if a lot of oxygen is present (that's why wine left open quickly turns to vinegar). Acetobacter are acid tolerant and can survive in low pH environments like unpasteurized beer or wine. I've worked in the wine industry and we use sulfur dioxide to reduce the presence of acetobacter.

Perhaps you are getting something from the air . mold spores ? No way to stop air born stuff .

Actobacter come from the air originally and are ubiquitously carried by fruit flies. The way to stop the "air born stuff" is by keeping everything your beer touches very clean, sanitizing before you transfer beer into it, reducing the presence of oxygen post fermentation, and eliminating places that harbor bacteria like microscopic scratches in plastic fermenting buckets.