I've never had an infection, plz help confirm. TIA

[rizziot]

So the last few batches i've noticed an odd taste that I had likened to 'chewing on a hop pellet'. This taste got progressively worse and the last 2 batches the fermentation would just go on and on (little teeny tiny bubbles for weeks).

I just dumped my second batch, but this time I looked at the coil and found a pinkish hugh on my coil and above what looks to be the yeast.

Any guidance would be appreciated as I have been blessed with 9+ years of brewing great beer and never actually had an infection until recently .

 

[lumpher]

Woooffff... scrub that down with a greenie scrub pad till you see nothing but shine, then boil it for a while.

 

[rizziot]

i have no way to fully submerse it, but am recirculating currently with exchilerator brewery wash @ 200F through my rims tube to CIP.

Hopefully that's hot enough.

 

[rizziot]

Ok, I boiled and took apart ALL fittings, gaskets, etc. Boiled in brewery was for 2 hours. Then recirculated via CIP through RIMS at 200F for 2 hours. Brewed a delicious batch, fermented, bang, infected again :-/!?!?

The last 5 batches, no matter the style, all have the same 'hop bite / not great aftertaste".

Upon dumping and cleaning keg I found the yeast looked a bit pinkish, but under the sun it seemed normal (IDK). I put the fresh jar (dumped kviek straight from pouch into jar).

I also found the same white stuff on the inside lid of a keg i pulled out of the keezer to clean:

 

[hotbeer]

You dumped it because it tasted bad? Or you dumped it because you saw the stuff shown in the pictures?

I'd have tasted the beer.

But you probably have an infection. I'd take valves and everything apart completely and soak in a bleach solution for an hour or two. Then rinse and do your normal sanitation methods when it's time to brew. Or at least change your sanitizer for a brew or two if you don't want to do the bleach or something else as broad ranging as that.

Don't let it sit all day in the bleach if you use it.

 

[rizziot]

This particular batch was actually a hard seltzer (cheap and easy to test for infection). Used a fresh packet of lutra and proper seltzer.

Prior to this I boiled and took apart every valve, fitting, hose, clamp, sample valve, air stone, etc. for hours.

Also CIP'd at 200F for 2+ hours with brewery wash, THEN used fresh starsan after.

It's been 'clearing' for 4 weeks at 37F and is still not clear. I used lutra at 85F for for 12 days (it kept bubbling tiny bubbles) when everything online / youtube shows 4 -6 days max and crystal clear with lutra nd proper seltzer.

The taste is very tart / orange and it still has a yeasty smell to it.

 

[RM-MN]

Try a different variety of yeast. I do not like the aftertaste when using Lutra. It seems to be quite tart.

 

[rizziot]

I am setting up to do that tomorrow, however I've had 5 batches in a row with the same blach taste. regardless of style.

There is a thread on here that sounds exactly like my experience:

 

[hotbeer]

There are threads everywhere that will sound exactly like your experience. If they are solved then did that solution work for you? If not, then it probably wasn't exactly like your experience. Perhaps it's not your sanitation procedures, but other stuff in your brewing environment and dust or stuff traveling in the air or where you by chance set something down that was sanitary until you set it on a unsanitary surface.

In the other conversation you mentioned your beer is tart and you don't like tart. Someone else mentioned that they get a tart flavor with Lutra. Where all the batches you threw out done with Lutra? Maybe there is something about the temps of fermentation that makes Lutra express more tartness. Maybe you should try another type of yeast.

Though the pictures look like contamination, I can't say that definitively. Might be just normal crud that did no harm. Even the pinkish looking slurry I wouldn't say is absolute proof of anything.

 

[marc1]

Did you take apart the ball lock valve on the kettle?

 

[OleBrewing]

the pics around the silicone gasket look like infection with the webbing going on.

 

[rizziot]

There are threads everywhere that will sound exactly like your experience. If they are solved then did that solution work for you? If not, then it probably wasn't exactly like your experience. Perhaps it's not your sanitation procedures, but other stuff in your brewing environment and dust or stuff traveling in the air or where you by chance set something down that was sanitary until you set it on a unsanitary surface.

In the other conversation you mentioned your beer is tart and you don't like tart. Someone else mentioned that they get a tart flavor with Lutra. Where all the batches you threw out done with Lutra? Maybe there is something about the temps of fermentation that makes Lutra express more tartness. Maybe you should try another type of yeast.

Though the pictures look like contamination, I can't say that definitively. Might be just normal crud that did no harm. Even the pinkish looking slurry I wouldn't say is absolute proof of anything.

Thanks for the reply, no they have not worked. I have bleached all surfaces, but the air thing is interesting, not exactly sure what to do there. I do have a whole house air cleaning system with ultraviolet as well ( Activtek )

The same flavor exists with 001,002, omega dipa, and 004.

The pinkish looking slurry ended up not AS pink and more normal yeast color under sunlight, however still a tinge of pink.

 

[rizziot]

the pics around the silicone gasket look like infection with the webbing going on.

Yeah that's kind of what I was thinking too. I did spill some brewery wash water on the jacket and on that connection point, thought for a moment it was crystalized cleaner (didn't really appear til cold), but after seeing the webbing I had the same thought .

 

[rizziot]

Did you take apart the ball lock valve on the kettle?

Yes, and boiled it for an hour in a pan on the stove.

 

[IslandLizard]

First off: Please, don't use bleach on stainless steel.
Never!

the pics around the silicone gasket look like infection with the webbing going on.

I would call that a pellicle, which looks like a chalky skin floating on top of the beer surface. Pellicles are often developed by an intruding microorganism, in order to keep other intruders (microorganisms) out. The pellicle tends stick to the sides and other parts as the beer level recedes. Although the pellicle itself is harmless, it's consists mostly of carbohydrates, it is a sign of a (lingering) infection in the beer underneath.

The pink yeast such as shown on the coil or from the dump port is abnormal, yes.

Everything your wort or beer touches from the boil kettle onward, needs to be thoroughly cleaned, scrutinized, and sanitized. Don't forget the exit port/valve on your boil kettle, all the hoses, chiller, pumps, valves, and any nooks and crannies. Valves, spigots and anything else with tight or friction channels need to taken apart. Same for the fermenters.
All seals will need to be removed to allow thorough cleaning in and around, then sterilized or replaced.

I'd recommend strong alkaline cleaners (with a dash of caustic soda), brushing (mechanical friction), rinses, and use 2 different sanitizers, one being iodine based (e.g., Iodophor).
If you have access to Peracetic Acid you can use that after the alkaline cleaning and rinse.

Please protect yourself and others when using these chemicals. Long sleeve rubber gloves, eye and face protection, etc.

 

[VikeMan]

I have no direct experience with pink yeast, but I've seen quite a few threads on the web suggesting that it's caused by a bacteria, Serratia marcescens.

 

[hotbeer]

@IslandLizard

You can use chorine bleach on stainless steel. Just dilute it to the instructions on the bottle for the type of disinfecting being done. Don't let it soak for days as some people seem to want to do.

I do this with stainless steel and it's never been an issue. But I don't soak for more than 1 hour, 2 at the most, and I rinse afterward.

 

[rizziot]

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Currently I am washing all my fittings via CIP in a basket in my mash tun at 195F with a double dose of brewery wash. I have also hosed down the fermenters and have them sitting naked in the driveway under the sun (day 2 today). I have not cleaned my kettle ball valve for a few brews, but will do that today. I have io-star AND starsan to use for a double dose of sanitizing. I will keep everyone posted.

While I know it's "possible" that the valve on my boil kettle is causing it, I just cleaned it a few brews ago AND it sits for an hour at boiling temps, would that not kill anything in there anyway?

If anyone has any other ideas or comments while I clean more than I brew, I'm all ears

 

[hotbeer]

While I know it's "possible" that the valve on my boil kettle is causing it, I just cleaned it a few brews ago AND it sits for an hour at boiling temps, would that not kill anything in there anyway?

Ball valve or butterfly valve?

Ball valves have been involved in a lot of hard to get rid of infections. If yours doesn't disassemble completely to the point where you have the ball in your hand and nothing else, then that might be where some of the issue is. Though I'm having trouble figuring out how infection from the valve would get to those other places.

 

[rizziot]

It's a 3 piece TC ball valve (Came with SS Brewtech system). All cold side is butterfly.

EVERY part is disassembled.

I've put all the parts into my mash tun and have been recirculating CIP 5 gallons of water with 10 TBSP of Brewery wash at 195F for 2 - 4 hours a day over 5 days lol.

 

[Jaybird]

It's a 3 piece TC ball valve (Came with SS Brewtech system). All cold side is butterfly.

EVERY part is disassembled.

I've put all the parts into my mash tun and have been recirculating CIP 5 gallons of water with 10 TBSP of Brewery wash at 195F for 2 - 4 hours a day over 5 days lol.

What sanitizer do you use?

Cheers
Jay

 

[rizziot]

Starsan

 

[Whisky River]

Long shot, but you might want to PH test your starsan. It looses its effectiveness over time which you can detect by measuring the PH. If the PH is too high when it’s mixed to the standard ratio, just add more concentrate until it’s under 3.5 or so.

 

[rizziot]

There are threads everywhere that will sound exactly like your experience. If they are solved then did that solution work for you? If not, then it probably wasn't exactly like your experience. Perhaps it's not your sanitation procedures, but other stuff in your brewing environment and dust or stuff traveling in the air or where you by chance set something down that was sanitary until you set it on a unsanitary surface.

In the other conversation you mentioned your beer is tart and you don't like tart. Someone else mentioned that they get a tart flavor with Lutra. Where all the batches you threw out done with Lutra? Maybe there is something about the temps of fermentation that makes Lutra express more tartness. Maybe you should try another type of yeast.

Though the pictures look like contamination, I can't say that definitively. Might be just normal crud that did no harm. Even the pinkish looking slurry I wouldn't say is absolute proof of anything.

Hi, thanks for the input. Only did the one batch with the Lutra, others were done with 001, 002, 004. I have now taken everything outside and let it sit in the sun for 2 days. I've bleached down the entire brewery area, taken apart all my fittings, valves, etc. cleaned, sanatized (starsan & iodaphore) and bought new gaskets for my sight glasses.

 

[rizziot]

Long shot, but you might want to PH test your starsan. It looses its effectiveness over time which you can detect by measuring the PH. If the PH is too high when it’s mixed to the standard ratio, just add more concentrate until it’s under 3.5 or so.

That is a great idea and thank you for the suggestion! I did do that though and it was fine :-/.