WBC said:
Tex,
I agree somewhat that 160F would help although I have seen wort that was 212f placed into sanitized ball jars and stored at room temp to see if it would start an infection
That probably had more to do with the jar than the wort. If you had added the wort to a sterile jar, that would actually tell you whether the microbial growth came from the wort or the jar. Did you do a sorta-control by removing some of the wort when it was at 160F or some lower temperature and putting it a jar santized in the same way? Did you do another where you pitched a proportional amount of yeast? The primary reason we can get away with sanitary fermenters, rather than sterile ones, is because we pitch a boatload of yeast into that fermenter and never give the other bugs a chance to take hold and just smother out the ones that got a start.
I'm not trying to jump on you, WBC. I'm all for being safe, and I'm even for overkill at times while brewing. However, I see so many homebrewers draw conclusions based on poor information, rumor, or just plain incorrect information, and I see a whole lot of pseudo-science. I haven't been brewing even half as long as you, so I know you know what I am talking about. You do not need to bring your wort back up to a boil to get it safe for pitching.
The funny part is that, the more I think about it, boiling it for 20-30 minutes might not be such a bad idea, since that gives you a chance to add your flavor and aroma hops all over again. However, I expect that you could avoid wasting time, wort, and hops by just bringing it up 160, cutting the fire, and starting to chill it a few minutes later, then pitching as normal.
I have never had to throw out any beer so far.[/QUOTE]
WBC said:
That is more than admirable. That is downright excellent. I've only had one, myself, and I'm still not quite convinced it was contaminated (I know, not smart to do).
TL