Is my beer infected? Is it safe to drink?

[jsweet]

I started brewing back in March of this year. My first beer was a porter, and while there were no visible signs of infection, and the flavor seemed pretty good, I now believe that "something" must have gotten in there during fermentation. And I think the same "something" has been infecting my batches ever since.

Like I said, the beer looked and tasted fine, but after I started drinking it, I started to notice weird changes in my behavior. I started making implausible excuses to run errands in the vicinity of the LHBS. I would go on and on to my wife about topics -- mostly brewing -- that she didn't find nearly as interesting as I did, to the point where she had to flat out tell me to just stop talking about it. I have found it difficult to concentrate at work. And worst of all, I just keep buying more homebrewing stuff!

I am not sure if this could be caused by a bacterial infection or what, but it seems to be a real problem. I know they say that no pathogens that can hurt you can live in beer, that as long as it's beer it's safe to drink, but I'm not so sure... See, the more of the infected batches that I drink, the worse it gets! I just bought my fifth carboy a couple weeks ago, and I have ingredients in the mail from AHS to brew my 9th and 10th batches so far. This just can't be healthy.

I e-mailed a friend of mine who is an experienced brewer, and he said this kind of thing could happen if my beer had got infected by a fungus called Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Has anybody heard of this? If I switch to a different sanitizer, will it fix this problem? Or am I doomed to live with the consequences of this infection forever?

Please help!

 

[ohiobrewtus]

It is, indeed, an incurable infection in your beer(s). There's absolutely nothing that you can do about it.

 

[Homercidal]

Oh, GOD! You've got ZYMURGY!

The only cure is brew a few batches and send them to me.

 

[jsweet]

Oh no, I just talked to my friend a little more, and I think it's getting worse. He said that a S. cerevisiae infection can cause off flavors that are described as "pleasant" and "beer-like". My most recently-bottled beer tastes probably twice as "pleasant" than the others, and it most definitely has a "beer-like" flavor. There must be trillions of the little buggers floating around in my beer by now

 

[SethMasterFlex]

Fungus? I heard it was a worm that plants itself in your brain.

 

[volsfan5012]

When you figure it out PM me, I got the same problem. Oh and yes, you should try ALL the sanitizers. If that don't work buy a BIGGER brew kettle and the hardware. I think if you went to larger batches the symptoms will deminish;-)

 

[jsweet]

If that don't work buy a BIGGER brew kettle and the hardware. I think if you went to larger batches the symptoms will deminish;-)

Okay, phew, I'm glad there's a solution. I will let my wife know right away!

 

[Celticway]

First of all, identifying you have a problem is the first step. That's what brought you here. This is not a forum as you might have noticed, it's group therapy. However, you must take the next step and stop blaming everything else but you. No it is not an infection. We must take responsibility for our own problems. The bad news is as of today, no one have found a cure or even a treatment. It will get worse. Your family will be impacted, your friends as well; your wallet will suffer as well as your job. Hell I'm at work right now!

By the way, my name is Sean and I have been abusing brewing for the last 15 years.

 

[hector]

I e-mailed a friend of mine who is an experienced brewer, and he said this kind of thing could happen if my beer had got infected by a fungus called Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Are you kidding , dear jsweet ?!

Saccharomyces cerevisiae is exactly the Fungus which makes our Beer !

In other Words , a Wort which is infected with this Fungus is called " BEER " .

Hector

 

[jsweet]

Hmmm, I dunno, I think you are mistaken. Even Homercidal said that if S. cerveisiae infects your wort, you could get a terminal case of Zymurgy. Now, I'm not much fer book learning, so I don't know what that word means, but it doesn't sound good to me...

Anyway, if my beer isn't infected with something, then how come I keep feeling these inexplicable compulsions to go out and buy malt extract and hops? It just doesn't make sense...

 

[Revvy]

Actually I heard it's because beer contains vast amounts of dihydrogen monoxide. It's some nasty stuff.

Dihydrogen monoxide:

is called "hydroxyl acid", the substance is the major component of acid rain.
contributes to the "greenhouse effect".
may cause severe burns.
is fatal if inhaled.
contributes to the erosion of our natural landscape.
accelerates corrosion and rusting of many metals.
may cause electrical failures and decreased effectiveness of automobile brakes.
has been found in excised tumors of terminal cancer patients.

Despite the danger, dihydrogen monoxide is often used:

as an industrial solvent and coolant.
in nuclear power plants.
in the production of Styrofoam.
as a fire retardant.
in many forms of cruel animal research.
in the distribution of pesticides. Even after washing, produce remains contaminated by this chemical.
as an additive in certain "junk-foods" and other food products.

Do we really want that **** in our beer???

 

[jsweet]

I heard that when the Bush administration overhauled the EPA guidelines, they didn't even set a limit on the parts per million of dihydrogen monoxide that is allowed to be in our drinking water. Worst part is that it is colorless. odorless. and tasteless, so you wouldn't even know it if you were drinking it. Scary stuff!

As far as its use in brewing, I heard that the BMC breweries actually take pure dihydrogen monoxide and heat it in excess of 200 degrees Farenheit (!) and then put it in straight into their wort, just to increase their hop utilization a little bit. Apparently their bottom line is more important than our health, eh?

I even heard that some of the major sellers of brewing yeasts, such as Wyeast and White Labs, don't even bother to purify the DHMO out of their yeast cultures before they ship it, so the stuff you are putting in your beer could have several ounces of that chemical. That's why I only use the Safale products -- they remove most of the DHMO in the factory, so I don't have to worry about it contaminating my beer.

Now if only I could find a yeast vendor that sells S. cerveisiae-free yeast, then maybe I could get rid of this terrible zymurgy infection. I heard that Saflager guarantees there is no S. cerveisiae or DHMO in their yeast packets, but I have yet to find an ale yeast that makes the same guarantee...

 

[filterban]

I have the same infection. I have found it to continually get worse with no hope of a cure.

I've noticed large amounts of dihydrogen monoxide in my beer, too. Not to mention the carbon dioxide that is being released into the atmosphere during fermentation... is my beer causing global warming?!

 

[hector]

Actually I heard it's because beer contains vast amounts of dihydrogen monoxide. It's some nasty stuff.


Do we really want that **** in our beer???

I would like 100% to have that **** in my Beer !

Hector

 

[jsweet]

Not to mention the carbon dioxide that is being released into the atmosphere during fermentation... is my beer causing global warming?!

Probably some, but I think I have found a way to balance it out. I put a fermentation lock on the top of my car, and so far I haven't noticed it bubbling. Therefore, as Revvy has stated many times, that must mean my car is no longer producing any CO2. I figure that more than cancels out what little I produce with my beer, right?

 

[alestateyall]

Oh no, I just talked to my friend a little more, and I think it's getting worse. He said that a S. cerevisiae infection can cause off flavors that are described as "pleasant" and "beer-like". My most recently-bottled beer tastes probably twice as "pleasant" than the others, and it most definitely has a "beer-like" flavor. There must be trillions of the little buggers floating around in my beer by now

Gotta love S. cerevisiae!

 

[Revvy]

As far as its use in brewing, I heard that the BMC breweries actually take pure dihydrogen monoxide and heat it in excess of 200 degrees Farenheit (!) and then put it in straight into their wort, just to increase their hop utilization a little bit. Apparently their bottom line is more important than our health, eh?

Now if only I could find a yeast vendor that sells S. cerveisiae-free yeast, then maybe I could get rid of this terrible zymurgy infection. I heard that Saflager guarantees there is no S. cerveisiae or DHMO in their yeast packets, but I have yet to find an ale yeast that makes the same guarantee...

Not to mention the fact that I read on the internetz that some folks put a relative of the cannabis plant in their beers. The more I think about it, the more I believe I might have to switch to coca cola, I have a feeling it contains less chemicals in it.

 

[jsweet]

Not to mention the fact that I read on the internetz that some folks put a relative of the cannabis plant in their beers. The more I think about it, the more I believe I might have to switch to coca cola, I have a feeling it contains less chemicals in it.

Are you kidding me? Coca-Cola puts a chemical in their drink -- about 45 mg of it! -- that is basically the same thing as StarSan. You wouldn't drink undiluted household bleach, would you? So why would you drink any other sanitizer??!?


(This thread is starting to remind me of a depressing real life story: http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=htt...4&fPath=%2Fnews%2Flocal&fDomain=10202&h=2548d Um, dude... you know how many birds crap in that reservoir? What a sickening waste of taxpayer money...)