I've done a bit of research already, but I have a very specific question regarding mold and I'm curious what the folks here think. I've brewed a few times now, and clearly I left one of my siphon lines not completely dry. It wasn't until I started my siphon from fermentor to keg that I noticed a decent black spot in the tubing, clearly some mold. It transferred for about 2 minutes before I realized it, then I stopped it immediately. I switched to a clean tube and continued the transfer. I sterilized everything (the molded tubing included) in star san prior to use. So now I have a keg full of beer that was exposed to that small bit of mold for a couple minutes. Is the batch a waste? Can I test it after carbonating, or can I expect to get ill from the batch?
Newbie - Mold in siphon line question
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I suspect you won't notice much of anything in the keg. The reason being that even if some viable mold got into the beer and into the keg, it's going right into a kegerator (I assume). Mold doesn't grow well at that temp.
If it develops much it may not affect the flavor. Beer is a generally inhospitable environment to mold too.
You may want to keep an eye on the flavor and get to drinking it before anything can develop, though. It takes me about a month to drink a full 5 gallon keg of beer.
If it develops much it may not affect the flavor. Beer is a generally inhospitable environment to mold too.
You may want to keep an eye on the flavor and get to drinking it before anything can develop, though. It takes me about a month to drink a full 5 gallon keg of beer.
This, & either replace the tubing, or get a dollar store funnel set like I did & a keg line cleaner with 3/8" brush on the end of the 66" flexible wire handle. I use the funnel to pour PBW or Starsan through the tubing. Fill tubing with PBW, both ends up & prop it in a bucket or something to soak for a couple hours. Then run the keg line brush through both ends & drain. Run water through it. then use the funnel to pour Starsan through it after that. Hang to dry till needed next time. Should be fine after that.
Thank you for the replies! I'm less concerned about the potential for for illness now! I actually let the tube soak in PBW then forced the liquid out by blowing on the tubing. The mold blew right out! Really, I'm less concerned about the 10 cent tubing than the 5 gallons of brew. But it's been in the fridge since kegging, get carbed. I'll try it out in a few days. Thank you so much!
Cold and alcohol should keep anything at bay for a while.
Toss that tubing. Just because you have cleaned the surface, anything sub-surface could affact another beer, and if it doesn't go straight into the cooler, could infect a batch.
Supposedly, no pathagens can survive in beer, so it will be fine to drink if it tastes Ok.
Toss that tubing. Just because you have cleaned the surface, anything sub-surface could affact another beer, and if it doesn't go straight into the cooler, could infect a batch.
Supposedly, no pathagens can survive in beer, so it will be fine to drink if it tastes Ok.
