Something is contaminating my brewery and I have a evidence but need help diagnosing

[cannman]

I've attributed the rare infection to poor starter car....

BUT the one issue that gets overlook IMHO is line care. Line is cheap. Just dump it. All transfer and bottle lines should be discarded and replaced. I seem to replace my lines once in the spring and again in the fall. I keg and even though I use LLC, I still replace. I'll never lose beer to bad lines again.......

 

[Colbizle]

Along with the above, a couple of things strike me as off. But first, is your brewery and work area in your basement? And how old is your home? Airborne mould could be your culprit. In my work/brew area I have an exhaust vent running 24/7, plus a dehumidifier and an air cleaner to eliminate any dust that escapes the vent. With regards to your stir plate, the vortex will cause a constant draw of air, that is how something might be entering your test wort at that test site. The other thing that I notice is you said that you let your DME wort cool in the pot before pouring it into to your erlemyer flask. If you poured the wort in there boiling hot you avoid picking anything up during transfer and also sanitize the flask in the process. Make sure you flask is made from borosilicate glass to avoid shattering when quick heating/cooling.

Good luck with this one. Following with interest.

AJ

is your brewery and work area in your basement?

Actually what I do is brew outside, then on flameout I put the lid on and carry the pot downstairs to my basement where I chill with my immersion wort chiller in the basement sink, then I rack into to a bigmouth bubbler, then move it into the fermentation chamber. So post boil is all in the basement in an area that is not fully finished.

How old is your home? Airborne mould could be your culprit. In my work/brew area I have an exhaust vent running 24/7, plus a dehumidifier and an air cleaner to eliminate any dust that escapes the vent.

I live in a home that was built in 1950s (as with 90% of homes in this area), I agree, I suspect airborne mould as well.. Although I've lived in this home for 2+ years now, this issue just started about 6 months ago and nothing really hasn't changed much in my brewing process and techniques. Although with this new problem, I'm looking into purchasing some air purifiers to put around my home and basement.

With regards to your stir plate, the vortex will cause a constant draw of air, that is how something might be entering your test wort at that test site. The other thing that I notice is you said that you let your DME wort cool in the pot before pouring it into to your erlemyer flask. If you poured the wort in there boiling hot you avoid picking anything up during transfer

Actually I use a big 1 gallon glass jar with tinfoil on the top. (I've always made my starters with these jars.) but I suspect, maybe, with this increase in "airborne mould", that with the such large opening of the jar, I'm drawing in too much air for the tinfoil to block out the nasties. For normal starters, I already do what you suggested, I pour the hot dme into the thick glass jar, cap it, and then put in the freezer or in a ice water bath until cooled. However, for the sake of this experiment, I cooled it in the pot first then poured it into the 1/2 pint jars since they were so small.

 

[Colbizle]

Solved the issue. First my wife and I went on a cleaning rampage and cleaned the entire home lol. Then I threw away everything plastic including fermentors, lines, thiefs, spoons, ect, that I've had for a few years. I swapped my HLT to my mash tun and got new parts for it, and I switched to glass carboys. I also switched my sany from star-san to iodophor.

Just checked a recent batch from the fermentor and the PH came in at a 4.37 which also used the same yeast I've been using since this problem started.

I know I changed many variables but I mentally couldn't bare another failed batch so I just said f-it and switched as much things as I could without breaking the bank.

MAN, It feels really good to finally overcome this issue that has plagued me for far far too long.