JScottTuck
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- Nov 5, 2018
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Hello,
I am new to home brewing with 2 successful batches under my belt. I recently brewed a Neapolitan Stout kit from MoreBeer (https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/714336/morebeer-neapolitan-stout - KT HERE: https://www.morebeer.com/products/neapolitan-stout-extract-beer-brewing-kit-5-gallons.html).
Before I put the cocoa nibs, strawberry, and vanilla beans into secondary, I tasted the beer, and it tasted a bit sour. I went ahead and added my ingredients and let it go for another 2 weeks (4 weeks total). I tasted it yesterday, and again, got a sour flavor, but the beer visibly looked ok. I went ahead and kegged it. I fear that the sourness may have been caused by fruit flies. During week 2, I opened the door to my stand-up freezer (temperature controlled, it was set at 68 degrees) and noticed 4 or 5 fruit flies flying around inside the freezer. The lid on the MiniBrew is not air tight, so I am wondering if a fly or 2 may have gotten inside?
I know from lurking in the forums that I don't need to throw it out just yet, and I need to let it hang out for a bit, so I'll let it keg condition for another couple of weeks.
My fear is that, if it is in fact infected, I've read that I need to toss out my plastics. My concern with that is my fermenter. I have a 15 gallon MiniBrew conical fermenter, so unlike a bucket, that would be a pretty expensive loss. Will it be safe if I do a bleach/hot water soak, followed by PBW, a good long rinse, and then finally an overnight soak in Starsan? I also plan to disassembly the racking port valve and the trub valve and let them soak.
Do I need to also throw out my transfer hose and the hose and diffuser stone combo for my keg lid?
I know there are probably a million of these posts on here, and I've read various things. I'm mainly just concerned about my conical and couldn't find a definitive answer. I don't want to keep ruining beer, but I also don't want to throw out a pricey piece of equipment.
I am new to home brewing with 2 successful batches under my belt. I recently brewed a Neapolitan Stout kit from MoreBeer (https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/714336/morebeer-neapolitan-stout - KT HERE: https://www.morebeer.com/products/neapolitan-stout-extract-beer-brewing-kit-5-gallons.html).
Before I put the cocoa nibs, strawberry, and vanilla beans into secondary, I tasted the beer, and it tasted a bit sour. I went ahead and added my ingredients and let it go for another 2 weeks (4 weeks total). I tasted it yesterday, and again, got a sour flavor, but the beer visibly looked ok. I went ahead and kegged it. I fear that the sourness may have been caused by fruit flies. During week 2, I opened the door to my stand-up freezer (temperature controlled, it was set at 68 degrees) and noticed 4 or 5 fruit flies flying around inside the freezer. The lid on the MiniBrew is not air tight, so I am wondering if a fly or 2 may have gotten inside?
I know from lurking in the forums that I don't need to throw it out just yet, and I need to let it hang out for a bit, so I'll let it keg condition for another couple of weeks.
My fear is that, if it is in fact infected, I've read that I need to toss out my plastics. My concern with that is my fermenter. I have a 15 gallon MiniBrew conical fermenter, so unlike a bucket, that would be a pretty expensive loss. Will it be safe if I do a bleach/hot water soak, followed by PBW, a good long rinse, and then finally an overnight soak in Starsan? I also plan to disassembly the racking port valve and the trub valve and let them soak.
Do I need to also throw out my transfer hose and the hose and diffuser stone combo for my keg lid?
I know there are probably a million of these posts on here, and I've read various things. I'm mainly just concerned about my conical and couldn't find a definitive answer. I don't want to keep ruining beer, but I also don't want to throw out a pricey piece of equipment.