Where is it coming from???

[Tam]

https://www.flickr.com/gp/147188384@N08/c83f57

Second batch that has done this now. It's going straight from brew kettle to fermenter. No racking, sterilization went from my norm to obsessive. What am I missing?

 

[seabrew8]

Is that your bucket? Its hard to tell. Really brown.

 

[passedpawn]

You're missing something, that's for sure.

Some questions:
Is that fermentor a bucket? Does it have a spigot at the bottom? Is the lid secure?
How do you sanitize your fermentor?
How often do you open the fermentor before end of fermentation?
How do you chill the wort after boiling?
How do you get the wort from boil kettle to fermentor?
How quickly does fermentation start after you add yeast?
Is this fresh yeast or from a jar or something?

 

[oceanic_brew]

Plastic bucket?

You say no racking but what's the beer flowing through to get to your fermenter?

What do you use the chill the beer if anything?

You say sterilize but you aren't sterilizing anything that's plastic and has minor (basically all plastic) scratches. Are you using starsan?

What do you use to pull samples?

Do you put the samples back in?

Do you make a yeast starter or use dry yeast? What's your rehydration procedure?

I've gotten an infection, changed all my equipment, and then gotten the same infection.

 

[Mad4sax]

Buy a new bucket, lid, air lock.

 

[Tam]

Plastic bucket?

You say no racking but what's the beer flowing through to get to your fermenter?

What do you use the chill the beer if anything?

You say sterilize but you aren't sterilizing anything that's plastic and has minor (basically all plastic) scratches. Are you using starsan?

What do you use to pull samples?

Do you put the samples back in?

Do you make a yeast starter or use dry yeast? What's your rehydration procedure?

I've gotten an infection, changed all my equipment, and then gotten the same infection.

Plastic yes
soaked with chlorine based sanitizer then rinsed and washed with starsan
wort flows from the spigot on my boil kettle into clean fermenter
chilled with a wort chiller that is washed between and before uses
no samples pulled
liquid yeast, no starter, poured from package outside of packed washed with starsan
New fermentation bucket

 

[passedpawn]

Plastic yes
soaked with chlorine based sanitizer then rinsed and washed with starsan
wort flows from the spigot on my boil kettle into clean fermenter
chilled with a wort chiller that is washed between and before uses
no samples pulled
liquid yeast, no starter, poured from package outside of packed washed with starsan
New fermentation bucket

Does bucket have a spigot?

 

[HausBrauerei_Harvey]

there is an article on brulosphy called "keeping a friend in the hobby" check it out.

The jist there is that junk lives IN your ball valves. i'd try and take them apart and clean them. I did this after reading that article and was suprized I hadn't yet gotten an infection. I have since switched to the easy take apart ball valves from brew hardware. those things are awesome.

But also i've heard if you've had an infection in your plastic fermenter, you should toss it for a new one.

 

[Tam]

Does bucket have a spigot?

No spigot on bucket

 

[Toga]

clean out your bucket and use it for milling grain once you get a grain mill. Don't put another drop of wort in it. Buckets R cheap. Buy a new one. Heck buy 3.

 

[MaryB]

I use my cheap plastic fermenting bucket valves about 10 times then I toss them in a concentrated hot solution of PBW. I work the valve every 5 minutes for an hour then let it sit and soak all night long. Rinse well, starsan soak it, and good as new.

 

[sky4meplease]

wort flows from the spigot on my boil kettle into clean fermenter

Clean and sanitize that spigot.

 

[Sailingeric]

Your chiller, do you drop it in the wort while it is still boiling? I put mine in about 15 min left in the boil.

 

[soccerdad]

Definitely clean the kettle ball valve and get new tubing for the kettle to ferm transfer

 

[PADave]

Clean and sanitize that spigot.

I second that. Even though I do a PBW soak of my ball valve from my kettle every brew, I still take it apart every time and clean it after the soak. First time I did it I couldn't believe how much crap was in there, even though it looked clean.

 

[bkboiler]

ya...i second the suspicion of the ball valve...even running boiling PBW through it isnt enough usually...i'd disassemble and soak each part for a while...try to do this every few brews and dont leave ur boil kettle for very long after brewing without cleaning it... did u say u use an immersion or other type of chiller?
my preference is just to do smaller (2.5gal) batches so that i can just pick up the kettle and dump it into my fermenter...no valves--less chance of infection.

 

[skraeling]

What about the tubing you are using to transfer?

 

[MaryB]

No need for tubing to transfer cooled wort to the fermenter. I open the valve and let it splash and aerate!

 

[Tam]

Ball valve and spigot apart and while not disgusting definitely suspicious....will be thoroughly cleaned for next batch and each after that. Thanks for the tips!

 

[Senormac]

What they said.

That's a cool picture though. Looks like a NASA shot of some outer space planet or moon

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

Starsan is not soap. It is a sanitizer. So you basically sanitized it twice. Once with chlorine then with starsan.

 

[TheMadKing]

It's not your ball valve, you are boiling wort in that kettle for an hour. Even if there's gunk in there, it's sterile gunk after the boil.

How do you take hydrometer readings with no samples?

What are you using for an airlock and what kind of liquid are you putting it in?

What does it smell like? Vinegar? Puke? Sour?.. It looks like lactobacillus. So you might have made a nice sour beer!

Where are you storing your fermenter?

Did you sanitize EVERYTHING that touched the cool wort, including your hands? Tubing? The exterior ball valve threads that are exposed to the air? Racking cane? Hydrometer? Just throwing out ideas.

Did you blow on the wort? Or was it exposed to open air for a long time (more than a few minutes)?

Have you checked the pH of your star san to make sure your water isn't neutralizing it? (and are you diluting it correctly?)

 

[IslandLizard]

Duplicate...

 

[IslandLizard]

Pretty much what others have already said.

You're probably missing something in your cleaning and sanitation regimen. You can't sanitize what isn't clean in the first place.

The cold side, the equipment that touches your cooled wort or beer, is the most prone to infections. As mentioned above, even the valve on your kettle although it gets hot, may still harbor bugs.

Most of us clean with PBW, Oxiclean, or washing soda dissolved in warm or hot water. Soak and scrub all surfaces that will touch your cooled wort or beer using a scratch free nylon brush, sponge or a rag to thoroughly wipe and clean. Pay special attention to corners, crevices and other places where bugs and dirt can hide, such as in threads and valves.

Then dump or save your cleaning solution, rinse well. Sanitize (Starsan!) right before you're filling them or come in contact with wort or beer. The foam that clings to the equipment keeps it sanitized.

Bucket lids can be a bug trap, especially the groove, and the top is not easy to clean and sanitize either. Have you lifted the lid several times during the fermentation? If so, something could have entered your bucket, even by air. Always mop or spray the lid, especially around the rim area, with sanitizer before lifting the lid, or better yet, leave it on, for more than just this one reason.

It looks like the headspace (above your beer) in that bucket is very large. That can cause trouble too.

I use my cheap plastic fermenting bucket valves about 10 times then I toss them in a concentrated hot solution of PBW. I work the valve every 5 minutes for an hour then let it sit and soak all night long. Rinse well, starsan soak it, and good as new.

Those plastic bucket valves pull or push apart after a brief soak in hot water. The main body consists of two 3/4" barrels that turn into one another. Now you can use a brush to clean them properly, and they're easier to sanitize that way too, assemble wet. No need to keep working them for an hour.