Any help for bleach beer?

[Sean]

Famous last words “I’ve always used bleach, and never had a problem.” See avatar..

I just racked a pale ale into the secondary, and it smells pretty strongly of band-aid, plastic, latex. Is there anything to do to help this? I don’t want to go through bottling it if it is not going to be drinkable. Any suggestions? I guess I’ll try a different sanitizer.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Truble]

You will need to taste it and decide, IMO. Depending on how long it has to go, maybe take some off (a bottle or 2) and bottle it, Leave the batch in the secondary and let the sample condition, and try them. I am thinking that these types of off-flavors do not get better with time, so you would also then be able to try the sec again and see if it got worse.

just a thought.

 

[dougjones31]

It is a shame not to bottle it and see what time does.

 

[david_42]

It's like skunk, the flavor threshhold is very low (parts per billion) and it doesn't go away.

 

[Monster Mash]

If you were kegging I would say keg it and put it away. I would hate to go through the trouble of bottling though.

I got away from bleach 8 years ago and never looked back. It's cheap but it's not worth the risk.

 

[Beer Snob]

Like you said... it's a famous line. And the old argument is that if you rinise it out well you'll be fine. I have actually NEVER used bleach. Not for any of the argument reasons.... I just had no reason to. Homebrew industry has good products that have zero potential problems. Why should I use bleach? There is just no reason for me to risk 5 galons of brew because I wanted to save 4 bucks.

Sorry that the brew turned out how it did though. This will only happen once though on the good side.

 

[Spyk'd]

I used bleach for my first year of brewing and as long as you soak your equipment long enough at the proper concentration and rinse it well enough with the proper equipment (hot, hot water and a faucet sprayer ((bleach is quite volatile especially when heated)) and left to dry completely. My equipment actually had only the faintest of chlorine smells once dry.

This all worked fine and I never had any issues. I only switched because Star San is quicker.


Now I use bleach as a no scrub carboy cleaner. It's all about the proper tool for the job to me!

 

[DAAB]

Thoroughly rinsing with cold water is fine besides I wouldnt trust using hot tap water that has been originaly sat in a header tank for possibly days then raised to a temperature that isnt hot enough to kill bacteria.
I tend to give equipment a final rinse with a sodium metabislphite solution as particularly with fermenters I find it more convenient to use the garden hose for rinsing (which could have contained water that has been standing for a while).
The sodium metabisulphite is a no rinse solution, has a sanitsing effect and also has the advantage of neutralising chlorine. (Asthma sufferers should avoid it though as it can trigger attacks).

As the medicinal flavour is caused by a reaction with the phenols in the malt, I cant see it improving with time, i'd only bottle if you have plenty of bottles to spare. If not i'd ditch it and get brewing again, those bottles could be put to better use.

 

[Willie3]

1 word:

Iodaphor = no issues ever!

Did you know that butterflies were originally called flutterbys?

- WW

 

[homebrewer_99]

Did you know that butterflies were originally called flutterbys?- WW

I still call them that...

 

[Orpheus]

I used bleach for my first year of brewing and as long as you soak your equipment long enough at the proper concentration and rinse it well enough with the proper equipment (hot, hot water and a faucet sprayer ((bleach is quite volatile especially when heated)) and left to dry completely. My equipment actually had only the faintest of chlorine smells once dry.

This all worked fine and I never had any issues. I only switched because Star San is quicker.


Now I use bleach as a no scrub carboy cleaner. It's all about the proper tool for the job to me!

Exactly where I'm at Spyk'd! Bleach is great for eating away at the kraeusen, etc. inside my carboys, but sanitizing is strictly a Star San affair now.

I lost one batch to a band-aid flavor, and I'm still not sure why, but I'm not willing to chance it again!

 

[Mikey]

All the posts to date assume that the band-aid taste in the batch of beer is due to the use of bleach as a sanitiser.

There's all sorts of reasons why these phenols can appear in beer, very few of them to do with the use of bleach. You might want to do some research and see if these other factors are to blame.

 

[Orpheus]

All the posts to date assume that the band-aid taste in the batch of beer is due to the use of bleach as a sanitiser.

There's all sorts of reasons why these phenols can appear in beer, very few of them to do with the use of bleach. You might want to do some research and see if these other factors are to blame.

As I said in my post, I'm not sure why I ended up with the band-aid taste. If I had to guess, I'd imagine it might be because of an infection, as it was a very strange, almost double fermentation.

But, I'm not willing to chance it again. I'd rather dump bleach as a sanitizer and err on the side of caution than continue using it and end up with a problem in the future.

 

[Hopfan]

1 word:

Iodaphor = no issues ever!

Did you know that butterflies were originally called flutterbys?

- WW

Butterflies Flutterby. Been saying it since I was a kid. Now that I have kids, they think I'm crazy too, which makes two of us, and the kids too.

 

[Brewpastor]

If your beer is a "bleached beer", well there is nothing to be done except learn the lesson. To bad distillation is not a legal practice because you would at least be able to harvest the alcohol, BUT I WOULD NEVER PROMOTE ANYBODY DOING ANYTHING AS ILLEGAL AND IMMORAL AS HARVESTING ALCOHOL THEY HAVE ALREADY LEGALLY PRODUCED, although there are some great site that do (homedistilling.com)

 

[Sean]

All the posts to date assume that the band-aid taste in the batch of beer is due to the use of bleach as a sanitiser.

There's all sorts of reasons why these phenols can appear in beer, very few of them to do with the use of bleach. You might want to do some research and see if these other factors are to blame.

I've done about 15 to 20 batches, the last seven all grain, so I am still pretty much a novice. I’ve read Charlie Papazan’s book, and I have a few others. Designing great beers is very good, but I haven’t read it through. Everything is so piecemeal. Someone needs to write a tome. I learn a bit here, a bit there, but no-one addresses everything, and very few sources give any kind of a step by step procedure, pointing out the pitfalls. How to brew seems to be the most complete. Any others you might suggest? I may try “pastorizing”.

Thanks

 

[Spyk'd]

I bought the "dummies" book about 5+ years ago and found it to be most complete indeed. I takes you from ultra newb to all grain pretty well. If you supplement with info on this board, I think you'll get to where you're going.

Worked for me!

 

[Turricaine]

Meh, Ive been using beach for years me laddy. No need for hot water either.

The only time I had a problem with bleach was about half a year ago. I'd sterilized 26 wine bottles for a jumbo batch and on opening one of them a few months down the line you could taste the bleach - yuck!!! That bad bottle when straight down the sink, as you say "better to err on the side of caution".

But related to beer, I only use bleach for the keg/bottles - and rinse it out good. My keg is plastic btw. Ive not really got that much experience making beer yet and those cornelus kegs look a bit strange.

 

[Beer Snob]

I bought the "dummies" book about 5+ years ago and found it to be most complete indeed. I takes you from ultra newb to all grain pretty well. If you supplement with info on this board, I think you'll get to where you're going.

Worked for me!

Cant' remember what he said about bleach, but he is against Al as I recall.

 

[EdWort]

I've used bleach before with great results, but I have always rinsed multiple times with hot water before moving on with the brew process.

I've moved on to San Star and iodophor depending on where I dump the water.

 

[Brewpastor]

I've used bleach so many times I could begin to recount them. It works fine if you just pay attention. If you don't want to use it, well so be it. But I am always glad there is a fall back in the laundry room.

 

[Spyk'd]

Cant' remember what he said about bleach, but he is against Al as I recall.

He's for bleach as a cost cutter, but gives the 'bigger picture' of showing you all the alternatives.


Against aluminum brewpots if that's what you meant...?


:cross:

 

[Beer Snob]

He's for bleach as a cost cutter, but gives the 'bigger picture' of showing you all the alternatives.


Against aluminum brewpots if that's what you meant...?


:cross:

Yeah I thought he was againt using Al pots.

 

[Spyk'd]

Yeah I thought he was againt using Al pots.

He is. Not just Al's pot, but all aluminums...