In my last brew which was a brewers best milk stout i noticed in the secondary this white film start forming on the beer surface. It got knocked back down when i went to bottle. After a few weeks in the bottle the beer developed the band aid smell/taste that is associated with chlorophynols. Now i have a moose slobber that was just transferred and after 4 days is starting to form the white film again... i normally wash my better bottle immediately with hot water after emptying and then wash with starsan prior to using... is my better bottle now a source for infections and needs to be replaced? if i rack under the film will my beer be good? It's not a thick film by any means.
I think i may have an infection in my secondary
- Thread starter scottab
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Well, I'm not sure you have an infection but if you do believe that you do then yes, it's possible the BB could be the source. Any other bottles that your using? If so, then maybe it's the bottle but if not, it could be anything plastic.
Maybe swap the BB first and see what happens.
Maybe swap the BB first and see what happens.
It certainly sounds like it. I would buy another and try it for your next batch. While you are at it i would replace all other plastic that comes in contact witht he wort. Autosiphon hose etc.....
Good luck
Good luck
Stop racking to secondaries unless your adding fruit or other fermentables will help prevent this.
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scottab
Well-Known Member
thanks for the comments but comments like this
are not helpful or constructive, and shouldn't in my opinion be stated when someone is asking for help.
besides my primary which also doubles as my bottle bucket which is why i rack to a 2ndary if i rack under it do you think it will still be ok?
also instead of PBW can i get away with using oxyclean?
i've replaced my racking hose, my racking cane is stainless steel. the only other things are my bottle bucket/primary and my better bottle carboy/2ndary to touch my wort.
are not helpful or constructive, and shouldn't in my opinion be stated when someone is asking for help.
besides my primary which also doubles as my bottle bucket which is why i rack to a 2ndary if i rack under it do you think it will still be ok?
also instead of PBW can i get away with using oxyclean?
i've replaced my racking hose, my racking cane is stainless steel. the only other things are my bottle bucket/primary and my better bottle carboy/2ndary to touch my wort.
Wasn't meant to chastise. I made a valid point that MANY of us who used to secondary their beers do not because of the risk of infection. You didn't explain that you were dual purposing a bucket. The vailitiy of my post shows in that members "liked"
I will also add that for the small cost of a bucket vs. the cost per batch of beer lost. Buy another bucket. As far as racking under it's a 50/50 shot there is no way to tell how far the infection has gone for best results drink as soon as possible. BUT bottle bombs IMHO are dangerous and almost a given with an infection. Best of luck in your in you future brewing, and sorry you took my post the wrong way
I will also add that for the small cost of a bucket vs. the cost per batch of beer lost. Buy another bucket. As far as racking under it's a 50/50 shot there is no way to tell how far the infection has gone for best results drink as soon as possible. BUT bottle bombs IMHO are dangerous and almost a given with an infection. Best of luck in your in you future brewing, and sorry you took my post the wrong way
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scottab
Well-Known Member
Wasn't meant to chastise. I made a valid point that MANY of us who used to secondary their beers do not because of the risk of infection. You didn't explain that you were dual purposing a bucket. Best of luck in your in you future brewing, and sorry you took my post the wrong way
I didn't take as chastisement just that a lot of times i've seen on this board statements like that which are not helpful like the good old how do i make bottling go quicker: buy a keg...
I've also seen a number of opinions on using the secondary vs not and i know that each time we rack we risk infection... this is my 18th brew in the 2ndary and as far as it goes if this is indeed an infection it is now my 2nd one since the same thing happened in my last batch too... is there a way to fully sanitize the better bottle after this point? I've been thinking of getting one of those new wide mouth bubblers.
Maybe it doesn't seem helpful- but I think it is. If the source of the contamination is headspace in the clearing vessel, and the clearing vessel isn't necessary, then you'd avoid the infection. I don't think anybody is trying to tell you to do something weird or odd, but skipping the clearing vessel would be the way to go to avoid this in my opinion.
I'd ferment in the carboy for 2 weeks, then rack to the bottling bucket and bottle from there. The less oxygen expose and the less transferring, the less likelihood of an infection or oxygen damage.
If you still want to use a clearing vessel, of course that's fine and up to you. I'd try to minimize any oxygen exposure and make sure there is NO headspace in the secondary. Oxygen/air is usually the biggest problem in a clearing vessel, allowing oxygen loving infections like lactobacillus (sounds like what you've had) or mold to take hold. Making sure to use the proper sized carboy for the batch, and topping up to within an inch of the bung like winemakers do will probably fix this issue.
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scottab
Well-Known Member
See that is a lot more helpful than
Giving a reason why and an explanation of what is going on is much more helpful.
if it is lactobacillus and i let it form a good pellicle would racking from under save me possibly? Also if i soak in oxyclean then rinse with starsan would i be able to use the carboy in the future.
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Do you have any scratches inside your BB that might be harboring the bacteria? Look and see if you can find any, as those can be difficult to properly sanitize and remove all traces of bacteria.
You can try to siphon from inside the pellicle, but there will still be lacto in your beer. I wouldn't dump it by any means.
For your carboy I would do a cleaning cycle of oxyclean, then a bleach/H2O solution, and THEN star san. Rinsing well between each step of course. And like others have said, inspect your auto siphon for scratches, and replace any and all plastic. Is this your first infection? Have you changed any part of your process recently?
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scottab
Well-Known Member
I don't have an auto-syphon since i've been using a bottle bucket as my primary... i don't think i have any scratches inside the carboy but then again microscopic scratches are by default difficult to see.
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scottab
Well-Known Member
So to update I am pretty positive that my bottle bucket which doubles as my primary is my infection culprit. Brewed a red ale I had for about 2 months just waiting its turn about 2 weeks ago and it developed the smell I've associated with the infection last week and when I looked it seems to have a white film which was also an indicator of the infection in the prior 2 batches... looks like I need new equipment all around as my equipment is about 2 years old and had seen me through nearly 20 batches.
flars
Well-Known Member
Check the spigot on your bucket for gunk harboring bacteria. Remove the spigot, inspect washers, pop the spigot apart to check inside.
