Infection, Infection, everywhere! >(

[mitlaman]

I am a fairly new home brewer and I really need some help. I got an Acetobacteria infection in my brewing equipment I have not been able to clean it! I brewed an Superior Strong Ale about a year and a half ago, and when I went to bottle it (after it had aged for 6 months) it was sour/vinegary. After that I moved to Wisconsin and bought a new house. So I scrubbed up everything with Onestep and let it soak. Then I brewed up a Cream Ale, racked it to the secondary and brewed up an Irish Red. So anyway, I went down to the basement today and there was something growing on top of the Cream Ale. I pulled the airlock and took a big sniff of Sour! So I pulled the top off my Red and it was also bad/sour. This is the most frustrated I have ever been. I have only brewed 5 batches of beer and 3 of them have been infected! I think I was mislead into thinking Onestep is a sanitizer. Should I toss my primary, bottling bucket, and airlocks (ie everything plastic) or can I get rid of this with bleach or something from my LHBS? The plastic has only been cleaned with a sponge, so no scratches to my knowledge.

Also what can I do to prevent infections in the future? I'm using a turkey fryer setup to try to do full boils and 25 foot immersion chiller (both used for the first time on the Red). Do I need to keep the lid on during the entire boil? I left it off so I could see/prevent overboil from the comfort of my house. Also I couldn't really put it on and have the immersion chiller running. Should I just try to do the chilling indoors to prevent anything from falling into the brew?

 

[kh54s10]

If you cannot rule out any of the equipment, I would replace everything plastic. You should not cover the pot during the boil. It is less of a problem with extract and possibly a big problem with all grain, in trapping DMS in. It will escape with the steam.

I brew on my covered porch with all the windows open and no top while chilling and have no problems. If you have a lot of pollen and other stuff in the air covering while cooling is probably a good idea, though it will take longer to cool.

Try Starsan instead of Onestep for sanitation. I have read that Onestep is more of a cleaner than sanitizer.

 

[KepowOb]

I'd think the one step is the problem. I don't think you need to throw anything out either, though people with more experience would be more reliable than me on that. From what I understand, Onestep is similar to oxyclean, and is a great cleanser, but it isn't a sanitizer. I use PBW to clean and Star San to sanitize and I've yet to have a problem (yet!).