Jonell
Member
So last summer I bought a 5 gallon Northern Brewer Bubbler so I could start doing some secondary fermentations on more complex brews. I've been brewing about 2 years and ~15/18 brews under my belt, some good, some bad, none ugly...until I tried doing secondaries with the Bubbler. I have made three beers with secondaries, and all three have had problems. I soaked the Bubbler in Oxyclean overnight when I got it (2 tbsp/5gal hot water), and then lots of rinsing and starsan. Here were the brews:
Brewers Best: Imperial Nut Brown - 10 day Primary, fully attenuated, 3 week secondary. It never carbonated despite 5 oz of priming sugar and 3 months of ~69-74°F temps, plus what I felt was a severe plastic-y taste. Girlfriend agreed bad, and we poured it out after 3-4 months in the bottle w/ no improvement.
Jaspers Homebrew: Fireside Winter Warmer - 10 day primary, fully attenuated, one month secondary, plus spice 'potion' of vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I can't drink it. Other than having too much vanilla I still smell and taste plastic when I drink it. 3 months in the bottle has helped, but the aroma and aftertaste are there. My girlfriend can drink it. She says she notices something off, but she enjoys the flavor none-the-less. Just now getting carbonated
Wolf Breakfast Stout (friend's tried-and-true recipe) - 10 day primary. finished slightly higher on OG (1.020). 6 week secondary with all sorts of sanitized cold brewed coffee goodness. Bottled one month. Slight plastic aroma, flavor is complex enough that off-taste is slight. barely carbonated.
After each brew the Bubbler is soaked in 5 gallons of Oxyclean for several hours, rinsed thoroughly, and then sanitized+airlocked.
What more can I do?!
I'm convinced that I'm not crazy, but has anyone else had this problem? Maybe I just received a bad one. If anyone doesn't know they are fairly thick PETE (recycling symbol #1).
Help!
Brewers Best: Imperial Nut Brown - 10 day Primary, fully attenuated, 3 week secondary. It never carbonated despite 5 oz of priming sugar and 3 months of ~69-74°F temps, plus what I felt was a severe plastic-y taste. Girlfriend agreed bad, and we poured it out after 3-4 months in the bottle w/ no improvement.
Jaspers Homebrew: Fireside Winter Warmer - 10 day primary, fully attenuated, one month secondary, plus spice 'potion' of vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I can't drink it. Other than having too much vanilla I still smell and taste plastic when I drink it. 3 months in the bottle has helped, but the aroma and aftertaste are there. My girlfriend can drink it. She says she notices something off, but she enjoys the flavor none-the-less. Just now getting carbonated
Wolf Breakfast Stout (friend's tried-and-true recipe) - 10 day primary. finished slightly higher on OG (1.020). 6 week secondary with all sorts of sanitized cold brewed coffee goodness. Bottled one month. Slight plastic aroma, flavor is complex enough that off-taste is slight. barely carbonated.
After each brew the Bubbler is soaked in 5 gallons of Oxyclean for several hours, rinsed thoroughly, and then sanitized+airlocked.
What more can I do?!
I'm convinced that I'm not crazy, but has anyone else had this problem? Maybe I just received a bad one. If anyone doesn't know they are fairly thick PETE (recycling symbol #1).
Help!