Spring water, chlorophenols and disgusted

I have been using the same spring water to brew for quite a while now. Lately, the last two batches I have made and bottled have developed chloraphenols. Nasty aftertaste and bandaid burps! I am at a loss for why this is happening? Is it possible the water company is putting chlorine in the bottled spring water? My delema is this. I have a six gallon carboy sitting full of beer that will be bottled in probably another two weeks. I am afraid it is going to have the same problem because it was made with the same water. Is there any way I can use campden tablets to get the chlorine out now? Or does it have to be boiled afterwards...

There's also the possibility that you have some bacteria in there playing around. They are really good at taking small flaws and making them bad.

One that comes to mind that most people don't know much of is Obesum Proteus. It's inhibited by alcohol very quickly as it has a tolerance of about 1%(so it's rather uncommon), but hops resins don't ward it off. If you have a beer that is extremely slow to take off, it will compete with the yeast. Most common off flavor associated are DMS, and odor of vegetable matter, which some people associate with certain phenols.

Just internet theorizing here though. Try changing water sources.

This is a good piece from BYO's mr wizard on Chlorphenols...

Chemical off-flavors are frequently encountered in beer and can be caused by numerous factors. The most obvious cause comes from traces of cleaning or sanitizing chemicals left on equipment surfaces after use. Chemicals containing chlorine and iodine are well known contributors of chemical off-flavors if the compounds remain on the equipment. Of the two, chlorine is the worst because it can combine with malt phenols to form a class of compounds called chlorophenols, which have a pronounced medicinal aroma. Iodine sanitizers usually cause no problems if used at their recommended concentration.

Some brewers encounter problems with chlorine even without using chlorinated sanitizers. These problems are often traced to chlorinated tap water. If brewers use chlorinated tap water for rinsing brewing equipment, then chlorophenol off-flavors may arise. One well known craft brewer had a problem with chlorophenols in his fruit beer that was eventually traced to the fruit. The fruit source had been rinsed at the farm with chlorinated water and this chlorine was being introduced to the beer at the time of fruit addition. This problem took some good detective work to solve.

Medicinal aromas can also come from wild yeast contamination. In fact the classic indicator of wild yeast contamination in beer is a distinct phenolic aroma. This aroma is often likened to cloves or the smell of standard bandages.

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This PDF may have some answers...I thought I did see Cambden mentioned in it.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...WElb0P&usg=AFQjCNGcxQhIoK71wGiuDqxwJIrCKZtV4w

Also are you using tap water for ANYTHING in your brewing process, like mixing your sanitizer with it? Washing your gear with tap water? I remember reading somewhere that the effect is cuumulative, it can build up from multiple contacts, even if you brewed with spring water, washing and sanitizing with YOUR particular tap water, may react with the malt and your plastic gear.

If not from infection like z987 aptly pointed out, chlorphenols are freaky reactions between certain people's water chemistry, their brand of plastic gear, the brand of malt or extract they use, and their sanitizer....It can be hard to break the chain.

I do use my tapwater for mixing oxyclean and Iodophor. Maybe that is it? It seems like that is the only possible source though, as small as it may be. I guess I will try changing water sources again.

I really don't know what else to do. What other alternative is there to using tap water to mix in your cleaners and sanitizers. Anything else seems impractical and overly expensive.

Another thing that comes to mind is the new strainer bags I have been using, that is when this started now that I think about it. I have been using the paint strainer bags from Lowes. Both for grains and for hops. Could they be leeching something? I thought that these were pretty common to use though so I don't suspect them to much really.

Any other thoughts, ideas?

I recently had problems with the 'residual effect' Revvy mentions. I was cleaning my kegs using tap water through a garden hose and the garden hose (made of PVC) led to a high concentration of free chlorine in the kegs which the sanitizer wasn't able to remove completely. At first the effect was low, but it got worse until I reviewed my end to end process and identified the culprit.

I switched to using an RV hose for cleaning my kegs, and am giving my kegs a soak with half a campden tablet for 30 minutes prior to sanitizing them to drive off chlorine. I also have started adding a half a campden tablet to my sanitizer just to be paranoid. These steps seem to have eradicated any problems in the last few batches.

I do still use water from the green hose to clean other equipment, but this doesn't seem to be an issue since the equipment is allowed to dry and then stored long enough the free chlorine is gone by the time it is used again (there is no detectable odor). The problem seems to have been worse in the kegs because they were rinsed, sanitized and resealed without drying, and without exposure to the air so there was no route for the chlorine to dissipate. Any equipment which will be used right away after cleaning such as fermenters I avoid letting any hose water come in contact, I just take it inside to the kitchen sink and clean it there and let it drip dry before sanitizing it.

Bottled water and RO water aren't guaranteed to be free of Chloramines or free Chlorine. I suggest dumping all your brewing water into buckets and treating with 1/4 tablet per 5 gallon bucket like I do. 15 minutes followed by a vigorous stir seems to be sufficient, or you can let the water sit overnight and brew the next morning.

Ok, If I try to use campden tabs for everything, what is the process? Do the tablets work as long as they get dissolved or does the water need to be heated or boiled? Can I just treat the water then heat it to mash with? And as far as treating my sanitizing water with campden, can I just put some in the carboy along with the iodophor???

I had a similar problem, but I solved it with 1/2 crushed campden tab per 10 gallons of brewing water. I am also careful to completely drain or dry off anything that has touched my tap water. Another thing you can do is run your brewing water through the filter very slowly to give it the maximum contact time with your carbon filter. This will help remove not only chlorine but chloramine as well.

I do ALL of the above, since I had a couple of bad batches last year and haven't had any issues since.

MajorTom said:

Ok, If I try to use campden tabs for everything, what is the process? Do the tablets work as long as they get dissolved or does the water need to be heated or boiled? Can I just treat the water then heat it to mash with? And as far as treating my sanitizing water with campden, can I just put some in the carboy along with the iodophor???

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Just crush the campden tab and dissolve it completely into your brewing water. No heating is necessary, it will react with the chlorine on it's own.

If you already have the chlorophenols, I'm doubtful that adding campden to the beer will do any good. Although I doubt it's the water, you should contact the co. whose water you use to be certain. If I had to guess, I'd say it was an infection.

You can also get "free chlorine" test strips from a pool supply place and see what the level is in the water you were using. Should read 0.

Also, as stated above, wild yeast etc is a possibility. Go over your proceuders and make usre you aren;t missing anything. Airborne dust can bring in wild yeast etc as well.

The water would have to have chloromine in it as chlorine will boil off, unless you are topping off with chlorinated water. (I'm assuming you are not doing AG, chlorine can have an effect on the mash).

I really am doubting it is an infection. I almost wish it was, I would at least know where to go from there. If it was a wild yeast infection would that give me the band aid burps?

Also, I did get some test strips from the pool area at walmart... It indicated no chlorine in my tap or bottled water. However I question what level they are calibrated to indicate at.

I'm going to try the campden tabs and see what happens.

Depending on the wild yeast or bacteria, yes, it could cause bandaid.

Hard to tell withough being there.

Denny's Evil Concoctions said:

Depending on the wild yeast or bacteria, yes, it could cause bandaid.

Hard to tell withough being there.

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Ok bear with me... I'm trying to narrow this down, very frustrating.

If it was wild yeast would it cause carbonation problems/gushers. I've had no problems there. Spot on every time. Would there be any visible signs? My last beer is crystal clear, nice carbonation, pleasant aroma... appears you are in for a great experience, then...BANDAID! Burp... BANDAID again!

MajorTom said:

Ok bear with me... I'm trying to narrow this down, very frustrating.

If it was wild yeast would it cause carbonation problems/gushers. I've had no problems there. Spot on every time. Would there be any visible signs? My last beer is crystal clear, nice carbonation, pleasant aroma... appears you are in for a great experience, then...BANDAID! Burp... BANDAID again!

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No, it would not necessarily cause gushers or visible signs.

MajorTom said:

Ok bear with me... I'm trying to narrow this down, very frustrating.

If it was wild yeast would it cause carbonation problems/gushers. I've had no problems there. Spot on every time. Would there be any visible signs? My last beer is crystal clear, nice carbonation, pleasant aroma... appears you are in for a great experience, then...BANDAID! Burp... BANDAID again!

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Not necessarily. If the bacteria got in there and then was out-competed or the alcohol got too high afterwords.. but those are rather rare infections.

I'm also starting to wonder how various materials used in brewing react with other factors in the process. I'm drinking a batch of Amber Ale aged for 2 months. I'm getting band-aid burps from the half dozen plastic bottles out of the batch. The glass bottles seem fine.

This wouldn't be so puzzling, except that I've used these very SAME bottles for 2 previous batches with no problems whatsoever. The bottles are supposed to be food grade and the same batch of sanitizer etc. was used for both.

Sorry, I don't mean to step on MajorTom's thread. The process can do some weird things.

I'm just sayin'...I've had the same problem and it was solved by campden. Give it a try...if it doesn't solve your problem then move on to something else. Just like any other experiment, change just one thing and record the results. Anyone else had this same exact problem and fixed it?

Its all good info. I'm going to try the campden tablets. I just don't know where the chlorine could be coming from.

Good point about the plastic bottles too. Sometimes I use one of those black plastic stirring spoons and i have often wondered what the high temps do to it and if it leeches anything into the wort. Also, I wonder about the paint straining bags from lowes used for grains and hops. If the hight temps affect them.

One other question. I keep a spray bottle of isopropyl rubbing alcohol around and sometimes spray things with it to sanitize and let it air dry. Sometimes I spray the lid to the carboy and wipe it down before opening for a sample. What if that got into the beer? Could it cause something like this? Anybody else use that?

OK its time to brew.. Have to get everything in my house covered in plastic and don my space suit.

TwoHeadsBrewing said:

I'm just sayin'...I've had the same problem and it was solved by campden. Give it a try...if it doesn't solve your problem then move on to something else. Just like any other experiment, change just one thing and record the results. Anyone else had this same exact problem and fixed it?

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So am I understanding that you were using tap water when you had the problem? I am using spring water but I will still try the campden. Its so cheap I guess there is no reason not to try it right?

Do you guys think there is any harm in adding a campden tablet regardless of the presence of chloramine? I'm not sure if my water supply contains it, but a friend gave me a couple of tablets. Should I just use to be on the safe side? Any harm to that?

I have had multiple batches turn out with this band-aid crap, and I have recently switched several methods, sources and procedures, though the first batch with these changes was just bottled yesterday so I cannot give results yet, but I am hopeful.

1. I tossed my bottling bucket and hose for new ones without scratches and haze, respectively (and I plan to keep this one from the scratches...I soaked my bottles and all kinds of stuff in the old one).
2. I used to thoughtlessly mix my sanitizer with utility sink tap water, but I have switched to distilled water for my star-san, with the added benefit that I can reuse it because it doesn't cloud up as fast.
3. I have begun to use campden tabs in my brewing water, even though I too use bottled spring water. I am also switching to better bottles, as my pocket-book allows (got one so far).

If I still have band-aids after this, I'm selling my equipment and getting on with the rest of my life.....hahaha.

but seriously, you describe it as seeming fine most all the way through the process, and then BAM, crack a bottle and the smell of hospital antiseptic wafts from your brew. I feel your pain, this is exactly what's been happening to me.......I'll let you know how my latest few batches turn out.

Look into getting some Star-san. That will keep in a spray bottle and you won't have to spray any rubbing alcohol on anything. I would doubt a couple of squirts of rubbing alcohol would affect anything, but if you are spraying many things, it might build up.... why not just dip in your iodophor?

Replace all your hoses. at least once a year. they are cheap.

Brew again, write down EVERYTHING that touches the wort. Sometimes writing it down will help you see something.

After pitching yeast, put fermenter in a cool quiet place, and don't touch it again for at least 3 weeks. Especially don't spray the carboy cap and dip into the beer for any reason. After three weeks, review your bottle preparation. Make sure to include using a brush and hot water on the bottles. Again, dip in Iodophor or Starsan.

Good luck sir! This has got to be killing you.

Yes, this has gotta be frustrating.

Changing one variable at a time is the best way to pinpoint the problem. Shotgunning--tossing old stuff for new--can be faster but leaves you wondering what was wrong.

I use Ozarka drinking water for my extract stuff; simply because they post all kinds of specs for their product.

http://www.nestle-watersna.com/pdf/OZ_BWQR.pdf

This is obviously no guarantee. We are assuming that various bottled waters are as microbe and chemical free as claimed.

Good luck.

yeoldebrewer said:

Yes, this has gotta be frustrating.

Changing one variable at a time is the best way to pinpoint the problem. Shotgunning--tossing old stuff for new--can be faster but leaves you wondering what was wrong.

I use Ozarka drinking water for my extract stuff; simply because they post all kinds of specs for their product.

http://www.nestle-watersna.com/pdf/OZ_BWQR.pdf

This is obviously no guarantee. We are assuming that various bottled waters are as microbe and chemical free as claimed.

Good luck.

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I totally agree that shotgunning is not the ideal way to go, but after throwing $100-$150 dollars down the drain making botched beer, it gets old quick.

So, here I sit, disgusted. Defeated! I just finished off yet another Chlorophenol beer. My latest batch, only been in the bottle for three days and I can taste it. The nasty burp. Experience has taught me it will only get worse from here on out as it ages in the bottle.

Here is what I have done... don't know what else to do.

Replaced tubing.
Soaked all other equipment in bleach water.
Switched from iodophor to starsan and even keep a spray bottle to hit everything I use with. I also keep a five gallon bucket of it and everything stays in there until it is time to use it.
Treated everything from brewing water to cleaning and sanitizing water with campden tablets.
I have had this with problem with extract, partial mash and all grain.
I've tried different bottling techniques.
I have switched water. Tap water, bottled water (2 different kinds).
I clean, I sanitize. What else can I do.
Carboys get filled and cleaned with oxyclean (SUN) and then filled with sanitizer until ready to ferment.
Racking equipment stays in the bucket of sanitizer until ready to use.
My conclusion is that it must be some kind of wild yeast contamination and it seems my efforts have failed. There is no way to keep it out of my beer. I don't know of anything else I can change so proceeding any further at this point is doing the same thing over and expecting different results. Isn't that the definition of some kind of disorder? I think carboys would make good shooting targets, especially when full.

Ok, since it seems you've tried everything, try some crazy stuff:

1. Brew somewhere else, like at a friends house. Same equipment, just take it elsewhere to brew. If there is some sort of "wild yeast" floating around your house maybe it won't be at the other location.

2. Brew in your kitchen in several small, 1 gallon batches. Use the cheapest and most simple ingredients you can find. Use a different yeast in each batch, but the same recipe. Maybe try some Light DME, a bit of Cascades, and dry yeast. If one of those comes out ok, and you can consistently brew it without any problems that should narrow it down.

3. Only brew REALLY strong stouts with lots of roasted grains or IPA's. Stouts and hoppy beers are supposedly the easiest beers to brew because the strong flavors hide any flaws. When I was having this issue, my strong and flavorful beers were perfect...while my wheat beers were nasty.

4. Brew on someone elses equipment that has never had the same problem with phenolics.

5. Eliminate ALL plastic products from your brewery pre-fermentation. No vinyl, no PVC, no igloo coolers as MLTs. Use only stainless steel, copper, or silicone food-grade tubing tolerant to high temps.

6. Make HUGE 2L starters 1 week prior to pitching. If infection is an issue, enough yeast and a quick enough fermentation should take care of it.


Just some ideas...yes I know some of them are expensive and may not be fun options to try. But hey, just think if you can find the cause. I've heard of A LOT of other brewers with this issue, but there has been no silver bullet for everyone. If you can figure it out, you'll be revered among the HBT community, maybe even earn a name like "Phenol Slayer!". Good luck man, keep on trying!

Man do I feel your pain. I'm heading down the same path as you right now. I have a batch fermenting now that I was hoping the campden tabs would be my ticket but you've got me worried!!!

Maybe if we compare a few notes something will stick out...

1. Are you using a used turkey fryer for boil kettle?

2. You said you soaked some equipment in chlorine, I'm sure you rinsed it, but is any of it plastic?

3. What size batches have you done?

4. Where do you buy your ingredients?

Maybe I'll think of more later

Having had both problems (wild yeast contamination and chloramine in water) I believe I could tell the difference, so I'll volunteer to try a few samples from a few batches if you want to send them to me... send a PM if you are interested.

If you have used bleach on your equipment in the past residual chlorine may still be an issue, particularly on plastic. A soak in a strong metabisulfite (Campden) solution overnight would help if this is a problem. I had to do this with some kegs I cleaned with a garden hose, even after washing and rinsing with clean water they still smelled like vinyl. One tablet in 5 gallons took care of it.

Do you use a bottling bucket? How do you chill your wort? I've seen a few infection problems due to wort chilling method (pot uncovered for a long period of time) and from the spigot of the bottling bucket which is hard to sanitize. I don't use any spigots in my system since they would be more trouble to sanitize properly vs. just using an autosiphon. How are you mixing Star San? Is it clear? Hard water can be a problem with Star San.

The suggestion of using a huge starter is also a good one. Alternatively you could use two packages of dry yeast to provide a high pitching rate.

Keep working on it, you will eventually figure it out... It is quite frustrating but trust me, the end product is worth it. :rockin:

-TH- said:

Man do I feel your pain. I'm heading down the same path as you right now. I have a batch fermenting now that I was hoping the campden tabs would be my ticket but you've got me worried!!!

Maybe if we compare a few notes something will stick out...

1. Are you using a used turkey fryer for boil kettle?

2. You said you soaked some equipment in chlorine, I'm sure you rinsed it, but is any of it plastic?

3. What size batches have you done?

4. Where do you buy your ingredients?

Maybe I'll think of more later

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1. I have been using a stainless steel boil kettle.
2. I'm pretty sure I rinsed it well. But, anyway, the problem was there before the soaking, that was the reason I soaked it. Even then I think if I some got left behind the campden tablets should take care of that right?
3.I have done different size batches. usually 5 galllon. But lately I have been doing half size to figure this out just do I don't have to be pouring so much out.
4. I get my ingredients at the LHBS in East TN.

Based on the info and the fact you said that if anything it will get worse over time...it sure looks more like an infection than some unlikely 'perfect chorophenol storm'. Just based on the water you're using/etc. it seems less probable that it's free chlorine.

What touches the cooled wort from kettle to fermenter? Do you use a strainer? IMO, certain items (like a strainer) are 'unsanitizable' by just soaking in Starsan. There's just too many nooks/crannies/cracks/crevices for the bugs to hide. You have to at a minimum boil these items...autoclaving even better. Once boiled/autoclaved, an item like a strainer could then be stored under Starsan for short periods to maintain the sanitizing.

I'm not saying this is the case but something to consider.

Also, I just recently had a post-fermentation infection (I think) and the beer does not have an objectionable odor, still has good head retention, is not overcarbed, is still clear, etc. It just has thinner body than before, isn't as sweet as before, and has a slight sour twang where the early pours were sweet and delicious. My hypothesis is that it was due to picnic tap whoring without sanitizing or even rinsing the posts or QD...I'd just move the tap from keg to keg whenever I wanted another style. Well duh, I deserved it for not treating my beer better.

Q #5. Do you use an autosiphon? I just realized that's the only piece of equipment I didn't change.

Here's a post I received in my thread...

fezzman said:

Do you use an autosiphon? Does your plunger reach all the way to the bottom?

I had MANY batches get an unpleasant off flavor that just about had me quit brewing. My siphon was the last thing that I replaced and voila...off flavor was gone. After very closely examining my siphon I could even barely see haze on the inside of the large tube, down at the bottom. The plunger doesn't reach the bottom and I never had a brush that could reach that far so that section never got scrubbed. Buildup ensued from years of use that simple soaking just wouldn't fix...even with oxyclean. At quick glance the tube appeared clean until closely examined under a bright light.

Hope this helps. I felt like an idiot that something so simple caused so many bad batches.

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I do use an autosyphon. And it too is the only thing I haven't changed. But, I did give it the bleach soak. I guess I could buy a new one and try again. Sink yet more money.... GGrrrr!

Whatever this is, infection, contamination, or chlorine, it is a very consistent flavor, I can taste it in my mouth slightly medicinal, and also taste it in the disappointing burnt tire burp.

I still suspect something in my equipment. The last procedure I changed was to keep the wort covered until it is cooled. No change there.

My tubing that has been used is standard clear vinyl tubing (marked as vinyl) that I buy at tractor supply or home depot.. Is that fine to use? Is anyone else using that? I had used it before without this problem. Would it be better to use latex tubing similar to that used in health care applications?

I'm trying to think of equipment I can use that will be either all metal or glass. Right now the only plastic that touches the wort is tubing coming from the mash tun and the raqcking cane and tubing going from the kettle to the glass carboy. But what else can I use to syphon or rack? I think the bad flavor is already there before it is bottled, so I'm not suspecting anything there.

I am going to solve this one way or another. I am not going to give up. This is too fun of an activity. I really enjoy the brewing even though I am not getting to drink any of it lately!

I am going to ship a few to a guy here and let him taste them. Hopefully he will have some better insight and can help me narrow this down more.

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

MajorTom said:

I do use an autosyphon. And it too is the only thing I haven't changed. But, I did give it the bleach soak. I guess I could buy a new one and try again. Sink yet more money.... GGrrrr!

Whatever this is, infection, contamination, or chlorine, it is a very consistent flavor, I can taste it in my mouth slightly medicinal, and also taste it in the disappointing burnt tire burp.

I still suspect something in my equipment. The last procedure I changed was to keep the wort covered until it is cooled. No change there.

My tubing that has been used is standard clear vinyl tubing (marked as vinyl) that I buy at tractor supply or home depot.. Is that fine to use? Is anyone else using that? I had used it before without this problem. Would it be better to use latex tubing similar to that used in health care applications?

I'm trying to think of equipment I can use that will be either all metal or glass. Right now the only plastic that touches the wort is tubing coming from the mash tun and the raqcking cane and tubing going from the kettle to the glass carboy. But what else can I use to syphon or rack? I think the bad flavor is already there before it is bottled, so I'm not suspecting anything there.

I am going to solve this one way or another. I am not going to give up. This is too fun of an activity. I really enjoy the brewing even though I am not getting to drink any of it lately!

I am going to ship a few to a guy here and let him taste them. Hopefully he will have some better insight and can help me narrow this down more.

Thanks for all the ideas so far.

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I am so with you on this. Your description of the flavor is exactly what I'm experiencing. I also asked Saccharomyces if I could ship some to him and he agreed. Not sure if thats who you are sending to but if so it will be interesting for him to compare. Like you I am determined to solve this!

I replaced my vinyl tubing with silicone tubing - its food grade and good for high temps. It didn't eliminate the flavor but I like this tubing much better. I got it at McMaster.com

Interesting we haven't eliminated the autosiphon to this point but I feel its still kind of a long shot since for me it would have had to be infected when I bought it. But at this point - its probably something wierd like that. So...

My next move is to do a 3/4 gallon batch on the stove with just DME, no steeping. After cooling I plan to pour it directly into a 1 gallon glass jug with no filter or funnel or anything. After pitching I'll leave it in there for a few weeks then siphon directly to bottles using just tubing (by this method: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/flyguys-t-siphon-3-replacement-autosiphon-25774/ ) and carb tabs. All water used in the process (rinse, sanitizer, boil, etc.) will be treated with crushed campden tabs.

I might do my first AG batch this weekend too just for kicks. If anything just for the experience.

Good luck!

-TH- said:

I replaced my vinyl tubing with silicone tubing - its food grade and good for high temps. It didn't eliminate the flavor but I like this tubing much better. I got it at McMaster.com

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Good stuff. Austin Homebrew also sells some silicone tubing, theirs is about $1 a foot which is pretty affordable. Nice thing about silicone tubing is it can be autoclaved in a pressure cooker if you have one, 15 minutes at 12psi and that sucker is nuked.

Hang in there guys you will figure this out sooner or later.

OK, I brewed a 3.5 gallon batch yesterday to change a couple of things and rule out some more possibilities.

I brewed all grain outside. I cooled it in an ice/water bath with the lid on. So nothing could get in during that step. It went straight from the burner to the bath.

Next I poured straight from the kettle to the well cleaned and sanitized glass carboy. I didn't use the racking cane or autosyphon or any tubing. I used a brand new large plastic funnel that I scrubbed with a brush, soaked in oxyclean and than soaked in starsan. So, I poured the wort through the funnel and into the carboy. Then I pitched one packet of us 05 dry yeast. Pitching was sometime mid afternoon.

This morning there is a one inch krausen and everything seems to be proceeding as normal, as it usually does.

SO, for this brew I eliminated the possibility of anything entering the wort while it is cooling and I eliminated any contamination coming from my autosyphon or any associated tubing. Nothing but the new cleaned and sanitized funnel touched the wort post boil/pre fermentation.

We will see what happens...

MajorTom said:

OK, I brewed a 3.5 gallon batch yesterday to change a couple of things and rule out some more possibilities.

I brewed all grain outside. I cooled it in an ice/water bath with the lid on. So nothing could get in during that step. It went straight from the burner to the bath.

Next I poured straight from the kettle to the well cleaned and sanitized glass carboy. I didn't use the racking cane or autosyphon or any tubing. I used a brand new large plastic funnel that I scrubbed with a brush, soaked in oxyclean and than soaked in starsan. So, I poured the wort through the funnel and into the carboy. Then I pitched one packet of us 05 dry yeast. Pitching was sometime mid afternoon.

This morning there is a one inch krausen and everything seems to be proceeding as normal, as it usually does.

SO, for this brew I eliminated the possibility of anything entering the wort while it is cooling and I eliminated any contamination coming from my autosyphon or any associated tubing. Nothing but the new cleaned and sanitized funnel touched the wort post boil/pre fermentation.

We will see what happens...

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How long do you plan on fermenting? How do you plan on priming/bottling?

BTW I just did two batches on Sunday. First was a 3/4 gal extract on the stove - no steeping, DME only, no autosiphon, ice bath, 1/2 vial WLP001. Second was my first AG: 2-1/2 gal, using a cooler MLT and turkey fryer setup. It went well, & I hit 76% eff. Cooled it with my IC and siphoned into bucket using silicone tubing with tee. Pitched US-05 dry. Both batches are now fermenting nicely. I'm planning on primary only for both batches @ 64° for 3 or 4 weeks. Haven't decided on exactly how I will bottle yet.

Saccharomyces should be recieving my samples today.

Good luck.

I had infection issues a while back (gushers, not medicinal) and traced it to my autosiphon. I now have a new one, but I'm thinking about going with one of the other siphon starting methods (carboy caps or flyguy's T siphon starter).

-TH- said:

How long do you plan on fermenting? How do you plan on priming/bottling?

BTW I just did two batches on Sunday. First was a 3/4 gal extract on the stove - no steeping, DME only, no autosiphon, ice bath, 1/2 vial WLP001. Second was my first AG: 2-1/2 gal, using a cooler MLT and turkey fryer setup. It went well, & I hit 76% eff. Cooled it with my IC and siphoned into bucket using silicone tubing with tee. Pitched US-05 dry. Both batches are now fermenting nicely. I'm planning on primary only for both batches @ 64° for 3 or 4 weeks. Haven't decided on exactly how I will bottle yet.

Saccharomyces should be recieving my samples today.

Good luck.

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I'm going to let it ferment for a week or two, until it starts clearing up. It was a low OG (1.047) ale so it should go fairly quickly, in fact the krausen is already starting to fall today. Then I am going to pull a good sized sample from it and drink it. I suspect that my problem is happening before I bottle. The last batch had the bandaid burp flavor in the beer before it was even bottled. I'm getting good at detecting it. If it isn't in the beer then I will let it clear another week and then bottle. I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that it is the auto syphon. If it isn't I'm really running out of ideas.

As far as bottling, if I make it to that point I guess I will use the bottling bucket with spigot and bottling wand.. Primeing with the appropriate amount of corn sugar.

Saccharomyces should get mine tomorrow. I'm really anxious to see what his opinion is.

Let me know what Sacc says about your beer.

How are you pulling the samples? Using a beer thief, or something else?