Rubber carboy stopper smells like last batch

[beerisuber]

I've tried pbw and bleach. I can't get the smell of the last batch to go away. Aside from taking a 2 hour round trip to the nearest brew store, any suggestions?

 

[SD-SLIM]

I've tried pbw and bleach. I can't get the smell of the last batch to go away. Aside from taking a 2 hour round trip to the nearest brew store, any suggestions?

The only thing I can think of is to soak it in a vinegar/water solution...similar to what is used to clean a coffee pot, but leave it in this solution over night.

 

[mgortel]

This is not a problem.....as long as you have cleaned it and sanitize it.

My primary fermenters (ale pales) always smell like last batch......

 

[cyclonite]

This is not a problem.....as long as you have cleaned it and sanitize it.

My primary fermenters (ale pales) always smell like last batch......

+1

Mine smell like the last batch as well, but the beer always comes out great! Don't worry about it, just make sure it's cleaned and sanitized as mgortel said!

Cheers!

 

[DakotaRules]

You can also boil with pbw, oxy, and that may help but as long as there sanitized your good to go.

 

[DubbelDach]

What's the problem with a smelly stopper? Your beer doesn't touch it.

 

[unionrdr]

My lil airlock grommets get soaked in PBW & then the sanitizer when cleaning/sanitizing. But my problem with ale pales,cooper's micro brew fv's is the spigot & hole it goes in. I soak the fermenter with PBW to loosen the gunk. Then fold one of those blue paper towels to scrub it gently. But it still smelled of stale beer. I had to unscrew the tap,clean it as best I could,then soak it in PBW for a couple hours. Then use the blue towel to clean the threads for the tap in the fv hole. No more smell after some star-san.

 

[jsweet]

If it bothers you, next time you are at the Not-So-Local HBS, just buy a dozen stoppers or something. They're dirt cheap.

I have almost twice as many stopper/airlock pairs as I need, because they are so freakin' cheap and I figure that way I'll always have a clean one handy no matter what.

 

[kyle6286]

This is not a problem.....as long as you have cleaned it and sanitize it.

My primary fermenters (ale pales) always smell like last batch......

Good to know. My first batch didn't leave a smell in my ale pale, but my last batch, a belgian wheat beer, definitely left a small trace, even after soaking in oxiclean free for a night.

 

[SD-SLIM]

I thought rubber stoppers were not porous...so wouldn't his be a cause for concern if they did have a smell to them?

 

[unionrdr]

That's what I was thinking. If I can smell stale beer in there,then the nasties can find it as well. I'd try soaking it in enough PBW to cover for a day. I've had PBW soak moldy yeast gunk out of a bottle in minutes. Cleaned the smell out of my FV's with a folded paper towel. So this shouldn't be too much of a problem for good ol' PBW to handle. Is there anything that PBW won't clean?!

 

[HerotBrewer]

I'd try soaking it in some ethanol, like Devil Springs 160 proof vodka. Should kill anything.

 

[unionrdr]

That'd cost 3-4 times as much as 8oz of PBW. It's cleaned everything I put it against so far. But fermenters have to be taken completely apart & soak,scrub everything with the brewer's wash. you can't sanitize dirt. You have to clean it off,then sanitize.