Infection

[Matthew Swarbrick]

I know this may be an over posted topic, but I’ve brewed about 10 beers and concerned of having an infection in this beer. I didn’t clean my brew equipment after use. Had mold in my lines and beer pot. I cleaned with hit water and oxi clean. And the sanitized. I think the beer pot was fine, but concerned about the beer lines. Do y’all replace your lines ever? Do you think my beer will get an infection? When would I know?

Thanks,

 

[Jag75]

Just remember that cleaning and sanitization should be top priority in brewing. I'm sure your pot is good . I would replace the beer lines before you have another beer ready. Once my keg runs out I clean my keg by using hot water , wiping the sides and dumping the gunk that's left over . Then I add pbw and fill with hot water. I then run the hot water / pbw through my beer line. I let the keg soak for about an hour . Then I dump rinse out with hot water . Then I run the hot water through the keg line to rinse the pbw out . Right before a new keg is connected I run starsan through the line . Then the new keg is ready to hook up .

 

[Matthew Swarbrick]

Just remember that cleaning and sanitization should be top priority in brewing. I'm sure your pot is good . I would replace the beer lines before you have another beer ready. Once my keg runs out I clean my keg by using hot water , wiping the sides and dumping the gunk that's left over . Then I add pbw and fill with hot water. I then run the hot water / pbw through my beer line. I let the keg soak for about an hour . Then I dump rinse out with hot water . Then I run the hot water through the keg line to rinse the pbw out . Right before a new keg is connected I run starsan through the line . Then the new keg is ready to hook up .

Thanks for the idea. I decided to start doing the same, clean after every brew. Sanitize before the start of the next. Last brew was my first all grain and was a very late night and in attempt to save 5 minutes may have hurt myself.. next time.

 

[Matthew Swarbrick]

Just remember that cleaning and sanitization should be top priority in brewing. I'm sure your pot is good . I would replace the beer lines before you have another beer ready. Once my keg runs out I clean my keg by using hot water , wiping the sides and dumping the gunk that's left over . Then I add pbw and fill with hot water. I then run the hot water / pbw through my beer line. I let the keg soak for about an hour . Then I dump rinse out with hot water . Then I run the hot water through the keg line to rinse the pbw out . Right before a new keg is connected I run starsan through the line . Then the new keg is ready to hook up .

I should have clarified, I actually do what you do also. I just didn’t clean my beer lines from brew pot to my plate chiller and plate chiller to fermenter until right before my brew. So they sat dirty for a couple weeks.

 

[IslandLizard]

Clean that kettle again before your next brew. If there are valves on it, take them apart and clean the insides of them well. Also scrub all the threaded ports, stubs etc. That's where microflora can stay dormant or thrive, even in a boil kettle.

Oxiclean or washing soda are fine. For more umph, add some (up to 30%) TSP/90 to it, making it homemade PBW.

Are those beer dispensing lines going to your faucets? I would recirculate very hot (homemade) PBW through them for a few hours. You can add some NaOH (Lye) to the PBW solution, for extra cleaning power. Rinse out well, then follow up with Starsan. That should take care of them. If they are really dirty or have heavy tarnish, discoloration, maybe replace? Think of using BevSeal Ultra 235 line for the future. It has an ultra smooth PET liner. You will need to buy some John Guest adapters for that line to make connections easy. At 35 cents a foot (RiteBrew) you can't beat it, but you'll need at least 12' per tap. I use 18'.

 

[mongoose33]

Something I do is when the kettle is still boiling, I run that boiling wort through my hoses and chiller to sanitize them. Takes maybe a minute or two in order to get them to 200 degrees, and only then do I turn on the water for chilling.

I always clean after brewing (you've learned this lesson) and I also always give things a swish in or spray of Star-San before putting them into use, unless they will be in contact with boiling water or boiling wort.

Another way you can sanitize everything is to get water boiling and then pump it through all the hoses and fittings and chiller and such. Good cleaning after brewing including recirculation of a cleaning solution of something like PBW will take care of what there is to clean, and as long as you work the valves while recirculating, they should be clean as well.

Agree with the above, the system could use a deep cleaning. It'll bring you peace of mind in addition to getting you back to good, clean equipment.

 

[Matthew Swarbrick]

All good feedback. Thanks everyone.

 

[IslandLizard]

I just didn’t clean my beer lines from brew pot to my plate chiller

Using the correct terminology can prevent a lot of misunderstandings and misdirections, while it helps pinpoint responses.

Wort becomes beer after you pitch yeast. So what's in and what comes out of your kettle is wort. What goes into your fermenter is wort. Until after you pitch the yeast, then it's beer.

Beer lines are typical lines that contain beer, as in a serving system. Apparently, you meant wort lines, or wort hoses.

The 'hot side' of the brewing process is a lot less finicky about cleanliness and sanitation since heat itself is a sanitation process, it kills microbes. Smooth surfaces are usually fine after being rinsed/washed off, the heat will take care of those in the next brew. But... in tighter, shielded areas, microbes could remain, hiding in crevices, surviving the heat, and grow in whatever wort remains trapped, causing infection havoc later on. So inspecting and thorough cleaning of those critical areas is paramount.

Once chilled, wort is 'waiting' to be inoculated by whatever is around. Dirty equipment such as vessels, tubing, spigots, mesh bags, etc. are infection hazards to wort and beer. That's why everything on the 'cold side' of the brewing process that touches your wort or beer needs to be a) clean and b) sanitized properly to prevent infection.

Rules of thumb:
Cleaning and sanitizing are 2 different processes.
Things can't be sanitized unless they are clean first, e.g., you can't sanitize dirt.

 

[augiedoggy]

wort hoses do not benefit from being sanitized... they should be clean however.. if it were me id soak them in PBW or oxyclean for a while and them run water through them until they were visibly clean and be done with it. the inside of your chiller is something that does need to be clean and sanitary however as does anything that touches your beer after being cooled.

Edit, I see I basically repeated what Island lizard already said.

 

[IslandLizard]

Running a brush through your hoses with some cleanser may clean clinging residue better/quicker than just soaking in or recirculating cleansers. Since you had solids in there (mold), that may be a faster way to remove them. Let dry thoroughly before storing, or leftover spores will regrow the mold over time.

 

[Dland]

I'll just add that if you use any of your hoses to transfer wort, especially cooled wort, to fermentor, I'd recommend to replace it after mold strike event.

 

[augiedoggy]

If the hoses are silicone they can just be cleaned, just as any silicone seals would be in the event of mold. If it's easier to replace them than it may make sense but from a practical standpoint may times people tend to overreact and replace instead of clean and disinfect things were it's really not needed at all. Just my experience.. I have had 1 infection in 6+ years of brewing and still use all that equipment now with no issues.

 

[Alex4mula]

It takes me like an hour+ but if I need to decide what to clean soon is the cold side hoses and my plate chiller. Can't think of leaving all that gunk there for even 1hr. After doing that then I do the hot side and kettle. PBW through all hoses then hot water then hang them.