Beer was great...for 1 week?!?

[Krovitz]

This weekend has seen my greatest brewing disaster so far. My Mosaic ale has been in the bottle for 4 weeks. Last week I cracked open the first beers and they were great. Big hop aroma, nice flavor, easy drinking. I loved it, and even entered some into a competition. There was a very slight off flavor in the back ground but I thought it might have been from leaving dry hop for 9 days. By Tuesday, I thought it was even starting to fade.

Friday is when everything went down hill. I brought a 4 pack to work. The first beer tasted great, same as the originals. And then it happened. I cracked open the 2nd beer but there was no hop aroma. Poured it into glass and although it looked normal, it smelled funky, like sweaty feet. The hop flavor was gone and there is a Sharp bitterness. It wasn't undrinkable, but it was not the same beer. 3rd bottle had a white ring around the neck (the only bottle with a ring). Poured that into a glass and there was no carbonation at all. Smelled horrible like #2 but was completely flat. Since then, all beers in this batch seem to be ruined. Funky foot odor, no more hop flavor. I have still been drinking them and haven't gotten sick, but they are just unpleasant.

I just can't figure it out. 1 batch produced 3 different beers. Is it infection? Did I somehow oxidize the hell out of my beer when I bottled? Any ideas out there or similar experiences? I'm just so disappointed in myself, frustrated and pissed. That was some great beer that went south fast. I'm ready oxy clean and star san my entire apartment. Thanks for any help.

 

[homebrewdad]

Sounds like a potential infection to me. I had a delicious batch turn into gushers, and they had a sharp, metallic bitterness to them.

It's possible that you could only have a bottle or two be contaminated... but if you keep getting bad ones like this, it could be a bad sign.

 

[beaksnbeer]

White rings in my experience is an infection.

 

[Yooper]

It sure sounds like an infection. I'd drink them quickly, as if it is an infection it will get worse with time.

 

[Krovitz]

Thanks for the responses. It seems my worst fears have been confirmed. At least I've been able to drink them without any stomach twisting consequences. The unknown is the worst part; wondering when those little buggers got in there.
I don't want to over react, but should I replace any equipment (siphon, hose, bottle wand) or just forget about this and move on? Thanks again.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I'd go through and clean everything taking the time to disassemble every piece and clean thoroughly, when in doubt through it out.

 

[homebrewdad]

Thanks for the responses. It seems my worst fears have been confirmed. At least I've been able to drink them without any stomach twisting consequences. The unknown is the worst part; wondering when those little buggers got in there.
I don't want to over react, but should I replace any equipment (siphon, hose, bottle wand) or just forget about this and move on? Thanks again.

Disassemble everything (down to the tip of the bottling wand). Clean it all thoroughly. Rinse. Bleach it. Rinse like crazy. Star san.

You'll be okay.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Disassemble everything (down to the tip of the bottling wand). Clean it all thoroughly. Rinse. Bleach it. Rinse like crazy. Star san.

You'll be okay.

Yep. Anything that's cheap and plastic (i.e. tubing), you might as well replace. Anything that can be boiled, should. And follow homebrewdad's advice for the rest.

 

[Krovitz]

Thanks for all the tips. I already have another brew in the fermenter but I haven't noticed anything unusual so far. I'll start bleaching all my bottling equipment and replace anything I can't completely take apart. Thanks again.

Edit: Embarrassing Stupidity Alert. I think I found the source. I was just checking my spigot to see if I could break it apart. Noticed some small dark spots inside. I never realized you could pull it apart. It still hasn't even dried inside since the last time I bottled. I'm actually lucky this is my first infected beer. And yes, I feel like an idiot. If you're wondering, 11 brews went through that spigot.

 

[naga77777]

Pulls apart how? Like pull the spigot itself straight out of the cylindrical housing that passes through the bottling bucket?

I feel I may be in the same school of thought as you-- I never even considered my spigot to be disassembled, apart from pulling the red "nozzle" part out of the white housing. Hasn't caused an infection (yet) but I'll surely disassemble it if possible before the oxyclean soak.

 

[homebrewdad]

Thanks for all the tips. I already have another brew in the fermenter but I haven't noticed anything unusual so far. I'll start bleaching all my bottling equipment and replace anything I can't completely take apart. Thanks again.

Edit: Embarrassing Stupidity Alert. I think I found the source. I was just checking my spigot to see if I could break it apart. Noticed some small dark spots inside. I never realized you could pull it apart. It still hasn't even dried inside since the last time I bottled. I'm actually lucky this is my first infected beer. And yes, I feel like an idiot. If you're wondering, 11 brews went through that spigot.

You're not an idiot, nor are you anywhere near the first person to discover this. I think that few of us realized that the spigot comes apart, much less that it can trap crap inside.

Follow my process above, and it'll likely be just fine.

 

[Krovitz]

Pulls apart how? Like pull the spigot itself straight out of the cylindrical housing that passes through the bottling bucket?

I feel I may be in the same school of thought as you-- I never even considered my spigot to be disassembled, apart from pulling the red "nozzle" part out of the white housing. Hasn't caused an infection (yet) but I'll surely disassemble it if possible before the oxyclean soak.

Here are some pics. It's not threaded, it just pops out. I figured it just slowly built up until it was strong enough to infect.



This one isn't a great pic, but the piece on the right had a sticky, smelly residue with dark specks of who knows what. I washed it 4 weeks ago and it was still wet inside when I popped it open last night.




I'm going to toss the spigot for peace of mind and bleach the rest of bottling equipment. Thanks everybody.

 

[mdgagne]

I stopped using spigots a year ago when I noticed mold and no obvious way of dismantling them. Learn something new every day Too bad I keg 95% of my beers now.

 

[naga77777]

Thanks so much for those pics!!! Worth a thousand words, I tells ya

Yep, that's how I was afraid it came apart. Afraid because I've never disassembled it that way, so no clue what resides in mine :/

The spigot part -- red for me, but blue for you-- will pop out of the white housing as well. Just wanted to reiterate for ya, just in case you've never popped it out. Takes a bit of effort to get in/out, but it'll happen with some elbow grease and a countertop to push against.

I've surely never popped my spigot housing apart like you show in the pictures, so i'll have to give that a try tomorrow or something.

I keg nowadays too, but still bottle apfelwein and any extra beers above the 5g my kegs hold. (When i'm not overflowing them onto the floor, LOL)

 

[evancold]

I used to take them all apart like that and clean them. However some were not as easy as others and some would never seal the same again. The owner of my LHBS told me they are not meant to be taken apart other than the spigot part for cleaning.

 

[Cyclman]

I noticed the same thing with my sipggot, popped the front part off, tons of ickies growing inside. Never had an infection, luckily.

 

[bmick]

Also, for the OP, if you haven't already, put these bottles in some kind of sealed tupperware. Infections in bottles are a notorious cause of bottle bombs, since whatever has infected your beer may consume residual sugars that the yeast did not, producing more CO2 over time.

 

[naga77777]

Bumping an old thread just to add my recent experience. Decided I needed a batch in bottles to take camping, so I decided to bottle an Irish red yesterday. Remembering this thread, I pulled the spigot out of the cylindrical housing for the first time. I used the rubber washer and plastic nut to hold the assembly in the bucket hole, and used the red part as a sort of T-handle to pull the assembly apart.

Found beer inside the housing!!! This is extraordinary because I have not bottled anything in months. It smelled like beer, didn't see or smell any funkies in there. Didn't have the balls to taste it, though

 

[unionrdr]

Both my fermenters & bottling bucket have spigots. Here's what I do to keep everything clean.
I have the red/white Italian spigot on my bottling bucket. The stock one on my Cooper's microbrew fermenter,& a barrel tap on the Ale Pail from BB. I clean the bottling bucket first. Wash it out with PBW,about a gallon. I put the jug I store it in under the spout,& open the spigot to clean it out while draining the PBW back into it's jug. Then prop it up with the spigot over the kitchen sink bowl. Use a sauce pan or other to rinse the sides down into the bottom of the fermenter with a couple gallons of water. the drain through the spigot to rinse that out.
I then pour the gallon jug of Starsan down the sides of the bucket to sanitize it,then drain back into the jug to sanitize inside it. I then remove the spigot & soak it,the seal & lock lug in a mug or small jar of PBW. I have a set of three aquarium lift tube brushes I use to clean inside spigots,etc. I use a tip of a towel soaked in Starsan to clean around the mounting hole inside & out. After brushing inside the spigot,I rinse it & soak it in Starsan for a minute or so. Then reassemble it to the bucket wet.
I do the same thing for the fermenters,but after they've had the yeast,etc washed out of them & soaking with 4TBSP of PBW & filled to above the crud line with cold water. Stir till PBW is dissolved. After 5 days,very light scrubbing may be needed to knock off any remaining crud inside. Drain & rinse through spigot as before.
Remove spigot to clean & sanitize as before. Re-assemble to FV,Then sanitize with Starsan as previously outlined. This always works for me. Just remember the spigots must be dissassembled & cleaned,along with their mounting hole,every single use. Funky smells come from there,as I've found,since they can harbor dampness & therefor,nasties. So I clean them every time to prevent it from happening.

 

[beaksnbeer]

I clean mine dump a gallon of starsan cap[ the spigot open the valve so it stays full of starsan, shake and drain out through the spigot before filling with wort so far so good.