Realistic to expect that sanitization temperature might save my infected 30L Speidel

[madscientist451]

Where can you get them for $7.50?

 

[kmarkstevens]

Go to the Mr Beer site and wait for an xmas sale. I'm sure they were on sale for black Friday. That's where I got a few last year. Here is the website: https://www.mrbeer.com/lbk-fermenter

I think these are great for split batch experiments.

 

[kmarkstevens]

Update: pichia is back. I thought I had killed those buggers off, but NO. After 3 weeks fermentation, I couldn't detect the pichia, but after 5 weeks ithere is no mistake it has revived.

Well, lesson learned on non -tamed fermentation. Stuff was insidious. Would taste fine at bottling, only to turn a few weeks later in the bottle. Then if one wasn't real careful about using what fermenter, could infest a different fermenter. Whack a mole. thankfully my keg didn't get infected, nor did other brewing vessels. Any future bugs in my garage are going to be tracked and quarantined

Some folks might like the soured taste that come from pichia. To my palate, it was not horrible, and had a unique souring affect. First taste test was kinda interesting. That said, pichia did not make any of my half dozen attempts or infections better. At best neutral, generally distracting and sometimes not again.

life is too short and Marie Kondo would jiu-jitsu me if she know I was still obsessing over this fermentation chamber. I did pick up a new 8 gallon speidel at black Friday from More Beer at a good price. No rescuing this fermenter but I will raise a glass to it's previous, honest service. Then take someone's advice upthread and use it for grain storage. Or for some future bug experiment. Actually I got a good black Friday deal on another 30L speidel

so be careful if you play with the pichia apotheca

 

[BruceH]

Did you try iodine? I'd try a strong iodophor solution (with soft cloth scrubbing, just like they do in the hospital prior to a procedure) prior to giving up. Iodine kills fungus, bacteria, mold, and yeast.

 

[RPh_Guy]

It's a bummer to see someone struggling with cross-contamination... I'm one of the guys saying it's ok to use the same plastic gear for both wild batches and clean batches IF you have a good cleaning procedure.
I generally agree with MTF's recommendations:
http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/FAQ#Do_I_need_separate_equipment

I've made over a dozen batches of cider with unpasteurized juice, which probably all had Pichia since I believe it's a pretty ubiquitous genus of yeast, especially on fruit. I also have made a number of batches with Brett, Pedio, and/or Lacto, and with dregs containing who-knows-what. All my cold side gear is plastic, which is also used for clean batches. I bottle everything and store it at room temp, so if one of my clean batches gets contaminated, I'd know it (people who keg have as easier time because the cold temperature suppresses microbial activity and will mask a contamination).

I'm a little tempted to try this Pichia strain just to further test my cleaning procedure, which is one of the most thorough I've seen used by homebrewers.

 

[kmarkstevens]

@RPh_Guy you could try emailing Dr. Maitreya Dunham ([email protected] ) at the university of Washington department of genome. This is her page. She has various grants and mailed me a sample just on a simple email request.

Pichia has multiple strains. This one is Pichia Apotheca. Here is a link to the basic brewing radio podcast that got me intrigued. Scroll down to the Aug 2, 2018.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Thanks ... I'll have to see whether anyone gave it a favorable recommendation. Your review of it isn't exactly glowing, even besides the fact that you're having difficulty getting rid of it.

Pichia apotheca is a species, not a strain.