Quitting brewing

Yakima 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
rohanski said:
Do you buy from San Antonio Homebrew Supply?
Click to expand...
No, all my ingredients have come from either Austin Homebrewing Supply or More Beer.
My wife (hates beer) smelled my batch yesterday and said it smell like apple cider. I think my problem might be aceto bacteria. I have the ingredients for a 5 gal batch of Irish Red Ale. I plan to do two 2.5 gal batches with this. One will be in glass using bottled water, the other will be in glass using tap water. If the one with bottle water is good and the other is bad, that will confirm the water. if they both are good, that will confirm contaminated plasitc fermenters. If neither turn out good, then it may be my sanitizer or I may just have to quit the hobby. It is getting really fustrating and I hate to spend any more $ just to throw it away...
 
I hate deer too when they run into my truck.

Maybee this cold front blowing through will clear the air.
Has anyone in San Antonio had unusal infection problems. Maybee this should be another thread. I'll start it.
 
Someone a while back finally beat a long string of infections by soaking his fermenter in a bleach solution for a few days, then rinsing with water, then star san. His theory, which was apparently proved correct, was that the scratches in the buckets were harboring the bacteria - the bleach killed that, and then the water star san eventually got rid of the rid of the bleach. At this point, new fermenters are probably in order anyway.

kvh
 
rohanski said:
I hate beer too when they run into my truck.

Maybee this cold front blowing through will clear the air.
Has anyone in San Antonio had unusal infection problems. Maybee this should be another thread. I'll start it.
Click to expand...
Opps, fixed that. :)
 
kvh said:
Someone a while back finally beat a long string of infections by soaking his fermenter in a bleach solution for a few days, then rinsing with water, then star san. His theory, which was apparently proved correct, was that the scratches in the buckets were harboring the bacteria - the bleach killed that, and then the water star san eventually got rid of the rid of the bleach. At this point, new fermenters are probably in order anyway.

kvh
Click to expand...

The easy way to fix that is to only use your buckets for beer and never put anything abrasive in them. You don't need to scrub them, just a little oxyclean and a soft sponge prior to sanitizing.

Treat your bucket like your ears.
 
Cheesefood said:
The easy way to fix that is to only use your buckets for beer and never put anything abrasive in them. You don't need to scrub them, just a little oxyclean and a soft sponge prior to sanitizing.

Treat your bucket like your ears.
Click to expand...
Don't put anything smaller than my elbow in them?
 
This is going to sound really demeaning, but please understand that I am not trying to talk down to anyone. I'm only trying to observe and offer feedback/help. That said;

I don't doubt you've are having some issued, but are you sure they are all actually infected? Is it possible that a few bad batches and a lot of frustration is just messing with your head? I say that because the symptoms you are reporting are all over the board (see below). Bandaid, grass, sour, sweet, aceto. That describes a number of different things, some of which are microbic, some procedural, and some just weird fermentation smells.

At this point, I think you need another set of senses to help you unravel this. I'd recommend finding someone close and make arrangements to work together. If that's impossible, I'd start bottling the mistakes and sending them to HBT members for opinions. I'm no expert, but I'd be happy to look at anything you want to send.


> I am 95% sure is bad. It smells like the last really bad one

> Smells like bandaids

> My wife (hates beer) smelled my batch yesterday and said it smell like apple
> cider. I think my problem might be aceto bacteria.

> It appears to be brett and pedio

> I'm getting that grassy smell again.

> Pumpkin orange, extreemely sweet

> pumpkin orange, tastes sour and had the bandaid flavor
 
pldoolittle said:
This is going to sound really demeaning, but please understand that I am not trying to talk down to anyone. I'm only trying to observe and offer feedback/help. That said;

I don't doubt you've are having some issued, but are you sure they are all actually infected? Is it possible that a few bad batches and a lot of frustration is just messing with your head? I say that because the symptoms you are reporting are all over the board (see below). Bandaid, grass, sour, sweet, aceto. That describes a number of different things, some of which are microbic, some procedural, and some just weird fermentation smells.

At this point, I think you need another set of senses to help you unravel this. I'd recommend finding someone close and make arrangements to work together. If that's impossible, I'd start bottling the mistakes and sending them to HBT members for opinions. I'm no expert, but I'd be happy to look at anything you want to send.


> I am 95% sure is bad. It smells like the last really bad one

> Smells like bandaids

> My wife (hates beer) smelled my batch yesterday and said it smell like apple
> cider. I think my problem might be aceto bacteria.

> It appears to be brett and pedio

> I'm getting that grassy smell again.

> Pumpkin orange, extreemely sweet

> pumpkin orange, tastes sour and had the bandaid flavor
Click to expand...

Remember, you grouped together what 2 different people are finding, no one claimed all that...........
 
pldoolittle:

I do appreciate the input and definately no offense taken.
The cider one was another homebrewer here in san antonio having a bunch of infection problems. Unfortunately here in south texas the weather is humid and there is a bunch of stuff floating around in the air. This year we have has record rainfall and it is quite a bit worse. I have read symptoms and tastes of the different infections and it seems at times I have everything available including some extras. It is quite possible it is wild yeasts but I don't know. All I know is the beer is extreeeemly bad both taste and smell.
On a brighter note the last batch that I said had a grassy smell is mellowing out now and is actually starting to smell like real beer. I went to a lot of extra effort to sanatize the carboy's this time and hoping it pays off. I also switched water sources.
 
rohanski said:
It cranked up within 10 hours but I'm getting that grassy smell again.

I said had a grassy smell is mellowing out now and is actually starting to smell like real beer.
Click to expand...

I hope it was helpful. I know that a loosing streak can get into your head, and I just wanted to remind you not to let that prejudice your analysis of the actual problem. For example, in the two snips above, you can clearly read the difference in your tone. The first is very "here we go again" while the second is clearly optimistic. Same beer, just two days later...
 
I know I don't sound optomistic but it's hard after so many bad batches as I am sure JNJ cad attest to. It has become so bad that I am asking myself why am I going through all of the trouble for another bad one. I want to switch to all grain but not until I solve this. I built a 3,800 sf two story house with just the help of my father. It took 3 years slab and all, so I don't give up easy.
 
rohanski said:
I know I don't sound optomistic but it's hard after so many bad batches as I am sure JNJ cad attest to. It has become so bad that I am asking myself why am I going through all of the trouble for another bad one. I want to switch to all grain but not until I solve this. I built a 3,800 sf two story house with just the help of my father. It took 3 years slab and all, so I don't give up easy.
Click to expand...
Exactly my feelings, I've done PM and am ready to move to AG, but if this keeps up I;ll just buy beer......
 
Instead of sanitizing you could try sterilizing. That is, with bleach, water and a little vinegar. DON'T ADD VINEGAR DIRECTLY TO BLEACH! I'm sure you know this, but I had to say it. look at www.basicbrewing.com for information about how to use bleach, water, and vinegar as a sterilizer. This is my advice: Get another brewer to help you out, sterilize, and directly pitch two packets of dry yeast. If this doesn't work, I just don't know what to say... Oh, and small batches would facilitate the learning process.
 
mew said:
Instead of sanitizing you could try sterilizing. That is, with bleach, water and a little vinegar. DON'T ADD VINEGAR DIRECTLY TO BLEACH! I'm sure you know this, but I had to say it. look at www.basicbrewing.com for information about how to use bleach, water, and vinegar as a sterilizer. This is my advice: Get another brewer to help you out, sterilize, and directly pitch two packets of dry yeast. If this doesn't work, I just don't know what to say... Oh, and small batches would facilitate the learning process.
Click to expand...

The only way to truly sterilize would be with an autoclave. We don't have to worry about sterile, sanitary is fine. Bleach is not a good sanitizer for brewing, because of the chance of off-flavors.

I'm sure you'll be able to get to the bottom of this and correct whatever this issue is.
 
Hell If I could get an off flavor of bleach I would be ecstatic.
I'm meeting up with JNJ this Thursday to compare notes. I hope to post a thread after the big POWOW and report something posative. We are going to try each other's bad beer. What? We're having a bad beer party. Anyone interested?
 
I'm taking a break from brewing for other reasons. I would say in regards to your situation, I'd definitely stick with it. My reasons are financial and priorities changing. Infection would never stop me! :rockin:
 
You started a huge thread for someone that is quitting :)

If i was you, Id just get a new bucket for a primary and try that....no secondary.
 
I didn't know it would get this far but probably 1/3 of it is mine. You guys keep me going. I have used glass for at least 8 months now because I had problems with plastic in the past. So I thought.
 
Rohanski, thank you for starting this thread. I have been all grain brewing for about 2 years and have loved it, although i poured out my fair share of bad brews. January of this year I purchased a sculpture and moved up to 10 gallon batches. I had 5 successful brews until I did a 5 gallon batch of a mexican lager. Damn, it had a definite rubbery aftertaste, not like bandaid but like rubber band, almost medicinal. I had to pour it out and that had me dicouraged! So I immediately went to my house IPA to recover. Everything went great, 1st sample before pitch tasted great. Put it in the stainless fermenter for 16 days, crash cooled and pulled another sample. Damn, same rubbery aftertaste! I had a friend taste it to make sure I wasn't just going crazy, I had to pour it out this morning! Ouch, 10 gallons down the drain :mad:. Now I'm really getting worried, although I'm not going to quit.

My feeling is, it is going into the fermenter tasting and smelling good, but after 2 weeks it is really bad. I ferment in a fridge with Ranko controller, I have a 15.5 converted keg for a fermenter. I use PBW, and the starsan, although I may have just PBWed and forgot to starsan. Could PBW give off flavors like rubber bands or is it another infection? I have wriien down a cleaning regiment and plan a major cleaning this week, with the idea of brewing on the weekend. I hope it goes well. Any input on the above info would be greatly appreciated!

Eastside
 
Join the flock brother and we will see the light.
Just a thought. After going through all of this it seems that most people never have a problem but when you do get one it can be bad. My thought is that occasionally some big hearted homebrewer start a thread on sanitation for all of the new guys and experienced also. It's kinda like defensive driving. You know how to be safe but you need reminding. Plus some people might have new tips on sanitizing.
 
Hey, maybe you should just try a different sanitizer. Forgive me if it has already been mentioned( didn't read the entire thread).

But maybe you can't get rid of this thing because it has built a tolerance for whatever sanitizer you are using. Maybe switch to Iodophor or something for a batch.
 
rohanski said:
If you are talking to me I just started using starsan. It seemed to act like food for the infection.
Click to expand...
I was.

And in that case...I guess switch back :)

Is it possible that this is a wild yeast or something? Maybe thats why starsan made it 'worse'...doesn't it provide nutrients to yeast or something...

I dont know, Im just thinking out loud
 
Hmmm. That's a thought. This area is loaded with molds and pollen. Before I was just using one step which I found out later is like having sex without a condom.
 
hmmm. tolerant strain of yuck is a good guess. Then when you're sanitizing your actually clearing the field to make even more room for that one remaining bug. Perhaps replace anything that might be etched like plastic buckets, tubes etc. Any glass could be soaked in a heavy handed bleach mixture for a few days. clean and sanitize stainless and if you can get it in your dishwasher, run it through a couple heated drying cycles (can you soak SS in bleach? I don't think ya can, but I'm not sure). Have you been using different yeasts? I'm sure it doesn't happen often, but theoretically the yeast itself could be infected. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all the 'sick' breweries:(
 
Howdy,

This might seem a little different but what do you use to fill up your airlocks? It is possible that some of that liquid can get sucked in your carboy especially when you first transfer it into the primary.

I'm just bringing that up because that is how I lost my first and only batch to infection. I moved the carboy (Secondary) to get ready to bottle and for some odd reason I managed to get some of that water sucked into my carboy which had cat hair in it... hence the infection. I don't think that would happen that many times though.

Now I moved my brewing to a different area in my house away from any cats. Before I was in the basement I had my litter box, and my general rule was if I could smell the box then doing any homebrew in the area was out of the question. Usually the day before I went down and swept, mopped, opened windows, and cleaned the litter box the day before.

Anyway sorry to hear about your bad luck. Hope it works out for you...
LS_Grimmy
 
mew,

I don't know who said it a couple of weeks ago but it seems that one step is not a sanitizer but just a cleaner not a sanitizer.
 
Okay today is the day, I am going postal on my Brewery as far as cleaning goes, I already have the recipe, I'm picking up my ingredients on Friday, and I'm brewing on Saturday! I will keep you posted on the results. Wish me luck!

Eastside........
 
rohanski said:
mew,

I don't know who said it a couple of weeks ago but it seems that one step is not a sanitizer but just a cleaner not a sanitizer.
Click to expand...


True, sort of. To be considered a sanitizer, it must go through some government testing, etc.

It IS an effective sanitizer, but is listed as a cleaner. This is because of some regulations, not because it's not as an effective sanitizer. I use it for all my winemaking and much of my beer making. I use it for bottles, especially. Never had an off-flavor or infection in many, many, many batches of beer, wine, cider, and mead. It works very well.
 
Damn I'm jellous of you guys that can include the quote in the reply. My button no workey. Any of you techies have an answers to this problem.
 
rohanski said:
Damn I'm jellous of you guys that can include the quote in the reply. My button no workey. Any of you techies have an answers to this problem.
Click to expand...
Are you at work? Maybe the firewall is blocking the javascript.

If you can get the button to work just use the quote tags...

Code: 
[quote="USERNAME YOU ARE QUOTING"] PASTE TEXT HERE [/quote]
 
Well that didn't work...

Basically the code is like this...except spell QUOTE

[QOUTE="person you are quoting"]
Paste text here
[/QOUTE]
 
Dont give up. Seems like your doing everything right so you might want to take your self out of the equation.

Get a few of these and wear them during your next brew.

olg.JPG
 
rohanski said:
It does it at home also.
Click to expand...

Well, as the prev poster said, do it manually. I do it all the time for edits. Your quote above would be typed/copied as follows

{QUOTE=rohanski}It does it at home also.{/QUOTE}

except replace {} with []
 

Similar threads

C
Trouble Shooting Low Mash Efficiency Spike Solo 20g
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
TinkerLynx
New Brew System Sanity check.
Replies
7
Views
311
TinkerLynx
TinkerLynx
M
Infection after 2weeks in bottles?
2
Replies
67
Views
2K
IslandLizard
IslandLizard
D
Years long infections
Replies
30
Views
901
depecid
D
S
Sour … what do I keep doing wrong?
Replies
15
Views
692
Sculptorofstone
S

Latest posts

Back
Top