Ok, I'm not just being paranoid about infections...

[cheeseshark]

A couple of months ago, I posted a thread about how I felt some of my batches were turning a bit sour after about 2 months in bottles.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f37/turning-twangy-79139/

I kind of decided that I was just being paranoid, and carried on. The only thing different I did was switch to Starsan instead of OneStep for sanitizer. I have always used Oxyclean as a cleaner.

Well, I am obviously still doing something wrong. Here's why:
1. An IPA I made, again after about two months in the bottle, all the bottles turned into quasi-gushers (I say quasi b/c, when you would uncap them, they wouldn't just spurt out, after about 30 seconds, they would slowly foam over - tasted fine, though).

2. I made a ginger flavored amber that tasted great coming out the secondary, but after bottle conditioning, tasted distinctly smoky instead of gingery. I read in a book (Homebrew's Answer Book, Ashton Lewis) that unexpected smoky flavors are likely from wild yeast in air). Also, I made this recipe before, and there was no smoky taste.

3. I racked my first all grain batch into the secondary last week. After racking, I noticed some unexpected activity. No airlock activity, but a lot of moving around inside carboy and some foaming. The foaming keeps stopping and reappearing. Now, there are some spider looking things encrusted on the carboy (see picture below).

I have read a ton of threads related to infections, and one of the main answers seems to be replace my tubing. Anything else I should consider? Should I replaced my airlocks/bungs, bottling bucket, bottling wand, and spigot, too? I assume my glass carboys are ok, or am I wrong?

BTW, I just upgraded to Premium, I figured it was about time with all the information I have been getting.

 

[Revvy]

Switching from onestep and replacing all your tubing are good things...also take apart any spigots you have and clean them thoroughly (bottling bucket and things like that.)

Or replace them....same with the autosiphon and bottling wand...you should at least take them apart and clean throoughly or replace them as well.

Make sure there are no scratches on any plastic that touches your beer (bottling bucket and fermenters) they can harbor, and the sanitizer won't be enough.


Racking to secondary will normally kick up some fermentation, so that just might be a wee bit of fermentation in the neck of your carboy...it's hard to tell in the pic...

 

[cheeseshark]

This picture might be a bit more illustrative. I should add that I found this weird, dark brown, flat stuff in the trub when I racked the all grain batch. The weird stuff looked like a bunch of tiny beads.

 

[slimer]

Since you said that it was AG, maybe it was proteins.

 

[hopsalot]

How are you bottling, are you going straight from your spigot, tubing, raking cane or a bottle filler?

 

[springer]

The close up doesn't look like an infection just CO2 bubbles with some lacing on the neck.

 

[cheeseshark]

How are you bottling, are you going straight from your spigot, tubing, raking cane or a bottle filler?

Spigot to tube to bottling wand.

 

[Revvy]

This picture might be a bit more illustrative. I should add that I found this weird, dark brown, flat stuff in the trub when I racked the all grain batch. The weird stuff looked like a bunch of tiny beads.

That looks like a combination of starsan bubbles and the stuff on the neck looks like dried krauzen after the small fermentation occrued and it fell....

 

[humann_brewing]

This picture might be a bit more illustrative. I should add that I found this weird, dark brown, flat stuff in the trub when I racked the all grain batch. The weird stuff looked like a bunch of tiny beads.

Wow!!! That thing is full. Hopefully you won't have a overly violent fermentation.

 

[Revvy]

I believe he said it's his secondary.....

 

[humann_brewing]

I believe he said it's his secondary.....

Man, I need to go take some reading lessons

 

[cheeseshark]

It's been in the secondary for a week now and there is still movement. The foam keeps appearing/reappearing, so I don't think it's starsan foam.

 

[BargainFittings]

My experience in the infection dept is that its usually something you don't physically clean like tubing, racking cane and spigots.

I now brush all my tubing and my raking cane. I invested in a stainless 3/8 " raking cane and I love it. I can boil it if I like.

I don't have spigots in any of my fermenter buckets because of the trouble of cleaning them well. My next step is to go stictly to corney keg fermentation and push everything with c02.

Hope you solve your problem. Look at your cane and tubing. Take that spigot apart each time and clean it well before you sanitize it.

 

[Ben25]

Looks like a spider got in there...

 

[cheeseshark]

A little update:
1. I tasted a sample of the "beer" from my secondary show in the picture. Mmm... It tasted like, uh, gross. That's really the only way to describe it. I can't really pin it to any of the typical off flavors you see described (grassy, cidery, etc..) because it was so overwhelming. It was just so gross when it hit my mouth that I spit it into the sink. I've drank a half bottle of wine since and I still can't get the taste out of my mouth.

2. Bought all new plastic stuff (tubing, auto siphon, bottling wand, spigot, bottling bucket, bungs, funnel).

3. I inspected the heck out of all my plastic equipment before it went in the garbage. I saw suspicious spots in the tube part of my funnel and the inside bottom part of my auto siphon.

Anybody think I should do anything else other than what I have already done? What about my glass carboys (I use glass for primary and secondary)? There are no cracks or scratches that I can see. Thanks for the help so far.

 

[EvilTOJ]

As someone who's been battling a microbial war, I have this advice.

Bleach Holocaust. Bleach all of your brewing equipment that doesn't get boiled. And I DO mean EVERYTHING! All your tubing, buckets, carboys, bottling tree, and your bottles. Yes, your bottles too. If the infection was in there, it will only sit and wait until you bottle and it'll show up again.

 

[BargainFittings]

I will say again that you have to actually clean what the beer touches. You either need to physically brush the insides or use a caustic or other inline cleaning solution designed to get the organics off the surface.

I prefer hot oxyclean and a line brush over harsh chemicals.

Many people rinse and sanitize and have no problems but you see what can happen sometimes.

 

[cheeseshark]

As someone who's been battling a microbial war, I have this advice.

Bleach Holocaust. Bleach all of your brewing equipment that doesn't get boiled. And I DO mean EVERYTHING! All your tubing, buckets, carboys, bottling tree, and your bottles. Yes, your bottles too. If the infection was in there, it will only sit and wait until you bottle and it'll show up again.

Thanks for the advice. I had been wondering about bottles. What was your bleaching procedure as far as ratio, time left in bleach solution, times rinsed, etc.?

 

[cheeseshark]

I will say again that you have to actually clean what the beer touches. You either need to physically brush the insides or use a caustic or other inline cleaning solution designed to get the organics off the surface.

I prefer hot oxyclean and a line brush over harsh chemicals.

Many people rinse and sanitize and have no problems but you see what can happen sometimes.

When you see caustic or other inline cleaning solution, do you mean something like PBW? Thanks again!

 

[Dr Vorlauf]

As someone who's been battling a microbial war, I have this advice.

Bleach Holocaust. Bleach all of your brewing equipment that doesn't get boiled. And I DO mean EVERYTHING! All your tubing, buckets, carboys, bottling tree, and your bottles. Yes, your bottles too. If the infection was in there, it will only sit and wait until you bottle and it'll show up again.

+1. Mixing up the sanitation regiment is always a good idea. I do this every 3 - 4 brews just to F up the microbes and wild yeasts. After a thorough cleaning - Bleach water + a little distilled vinegar to bring the pH down to neutral. Let it sit for awhile then rinse really well.

After that Star san..

 

[EvilTOJ]

For my bleaching procedure (and because I was pissed at the microbes for DARING to mess up my brews) I ran the bath full of water, and kept pouring bleach into the water until it reeked like a pool, then into the bath it went! I left it at least overnight.

Afterwords I gave everything a thorough bath until it no longer smelled like bleach and set it out to dry. A laborious process, but so far so good.

 

[Revvy]

For the glass I echo everyone's sentiments about a bleach slash and burn....

 

[cheeseshark]

For my bleaching procedure (and because I was pissed at the microbes for DARING to mess up my brews) I ran the bath full of water, and kept pouring bleach into the water until it reeked like a pool, then into the bath it went! I left it at least overnight.

Afterwords I gave everything a thorough bath until it no longer smelled like bleach and set it out to dry. A laborious process, but so far so good.

Cool, thanks, sounds like a good idea. I, too, am angered. I might add that your signature line also becomes much more clear.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Thanks, I stole it from Dave Barry. It seems quite appropriate for this mental ill.. erm hobby, don't you think?

 

[cheeseshark]

So, as I said, I bought new tubing, spigot, etc. Today, I'm bleaching my glass carboys and bottles. Think I should throw out the cardboard boxes holding my bottles, or is that too paranoid?

 

[EvilTOJ]

OK that's being TOO paranoid. The boxes are fine.

 

[cheeseshark]

Ahhh, too late. After an unknown amount of drinking last night, I decided it was imperative that I purge my house of the possibly, no almost certainly, infected cardboard. Hobby / mental illness line officially crossed. Oh well.

 

[cheeseshark]

Well, I ditched all my plastic and bleached all my glass. After a few month hiatus, I brewed two batches today. Morebeer's american amber extract to warm up, and then a Fuggles IPA all grain. Happily in the fermenters now. Waiting game now to see if the infection rears its ugly head again... Now, time to keep getting loaded off commercial beer (Hopslam!)

 

[Sudz]

Well, I ditched all my plastic and bleached all my glass. After a few month hiatus, I brewed two batches today. Morebeer's american amber extract to warm up, and then a Fuggles IPA all grain. Happily in the fermenters now. Waiting game now to see if the infection rears its ugly head again... Now, time to keep getting loaded off commercial beer (Hopslam!)

Okay... so how did it go? Inquiring minds what to know....

 

[cheeseshark]

Hydrometer samples tasted great. I bottled both batches today, and the samples I had tasted great as well. We'll see how it tastes in a few weeks.