Cleaning after infection

[moreb33rplz]

I'm pretty sure I had just had my first infection/wild yeast batch. I fermented in a glass carboy, used a SS siphon to pressure transfer into keg. I was just going to PBW then Starsan all that stuff as usual and re-use. Am I missing anything?

 

[Birrofilo]

I would also personally use an ozonator to sanitize the entire room where your brewing and fermentation takes place. You might have a proliferation of this microbe in your brewing rooms: the furniture, the walls etc.

This is a personal suggestion. I don't want to be dragged by some idiotic pedant into a fight about the sanitizing virtues of ozone.

Remember ozone, at the serious levels which must be used to sanitize a room, is bad for you, and you must leave the room during the treatment and aereate it very well after. It is also not good for steel in the long run.

I do have an ozonizer at home but I only use it in warmer climate than now. A couple of "ozonizations" of the house (a room at a time) is good to keep unwanted microbes away, but again that's my personal take on the subject, and YMMV.

 

[Cool_Hand_Luke]

How did you transfer it into the glass carboy?

 

[Birrofilo]

Also, considering you have a problem, I would use a stronger sanitizer than Star San and would give the treatment to everything in use, including taps, hoses, pumps, gaskets.
Pumps should better be opened and cleaned with some brush, if you use any.

Stronger sanitizing agents are bleach or paracetic acid. You could use them as disinfectant, and then rinse well with hot water.

 

[shetc]

Iodophor

 

[moreb33rplz]

Hmm, ok I think I am going to:

- replace the siphon/tubing that I use to go from kettle to fermenter
- Iodophor the carboy, airlock, SS Siphon and tubing, carboy cap, serving tap, and dissassemble and iodophor the keg (I think that's everything that touched the keg).

Sadly I've brewed several batches using that equipment since this infected batch. I'm going to be super bummed if 15-20 gallons of beer are kaput

 

[Transamguy77]

I would recommend a strong bleach solution to clean everything, not iodophor that is a sanitizer not a cleaner.

I also agree with @Birrofilo about making sure that what you are battling is not in the air. Years ago I had that problem and it took many months and several dumped beers before I figured it out.

 

[moreb33rplz]

Bleach it is. I don't know about the air thing though, never heard of that before. This particular batch didn't ferment after i pitched the yeast, so 48 hours later I re-pitched, and my guess is that 2 day lag is where the wildness got in.

 

[IslandLizard]

I would recommend a strong bleach solution to clean everything, not iodophor that is a sanitizer not a cleaner.

As it so happens to be, bleach is not a cleaner either, it's a sanitizer. It's good to use in the 2nd step of the "bug eradication process" as it's an excellent bacteriostat, killing a wide range of bacteria possibly yeasts too.

You need to use a (fairly) strong alkaline solution to kill/remove biofilms clinging to various surfaces. Washing soda, (generic) Oxiclean, (homemade) PBW, TSP, etc. Adding a small amount of lye (1/8-1/4 teaspoon per gallon is plenty) can provide some extra oomph.
Aside from soaks, use non-scratching applicators (brushes, pads) to clean all surfaces, nooks and crannies, to remove biofilms and other clinging dirt.
Use long rubber gloves to protect hands, face shield or goggles to protect eyes.

After a few good rinse offs, to remove the alkaline residue, use a bleach treatment, and/or leave the equipment out in bright sunlight for a few days, making sure all internal surfaces get ample UV exposure.

There must be hundreds of threads on these forums dealing with infections and remediation.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

I use a good long soak with oxiclean, 1 measure per carboy full to the brim. Soak for a few days. If any visible crud remains, use a carboy brush.

I then use a 5 minute wash with 1/2-cup of bleach in 2 gallons of water, that I run through a pump and a sprayer, while the carboy is upside down. In your case I'd simply soak the entire carboy for a few hours with the same ratio.

I've never had an infection in 25+ years.

The only places where I can get an infection (post-boil but pre-kegging) are from the tip of the hose that get into the carboy, or the carboy itself. I circulate near-boiling wort through my pump/hoses/chiller for a few minutes, then I turn on the cold water and redirect to the carboy.

MC

 

[ncbrewer]

As it so happens to be, bleach is not a cleaner either, it's a sanitizer. It's good to use in the 2nd step of the "bug eradication process" as it's an excellent bacteriostat, killing a wide range of bacteria possibly yeasts too.

In The New Compete Joy of Home Brewing, second edition, page 123, Papazian wrote that chlorine bleach is an effective cleaner. He instructs using 2 oz bleach in 5 gallons of cold water and letting the equipment soak overnight. A couple of years ago, I started using bleach to clean my bottles after use, and it cleans better than anything I've tried in the past. I don't even scrub with a brush because they don't need it.

 

[Misplaced_Canuck]

When I was bottling, I'd rinse any used bottled, and keep them in a single-purpose garbage can full of bleach water. I'd only rinse and fill on bottling day. Never had an issue.

MC

 

[pvpeacock]

When I discovered that I had an infection, I traced the source to my boil kettle ball valve. So don't limit your cleaning/sanitizing to just your fermenter and siphon. See Problem Identification, or Helping a Buddy Stay in the Hobby