Starting to get infected batches...

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Wangfu11

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My roommate and I have been getting into homebrewing this past year and we've had a few successes, but now they're starting to turn into failures and we're not sure why.

Our first two batches of beer turned out fine. One was quite good, and the other was at least drinkable. Then we did two more batches at once, one of which was good, the other had become infected somehow. We chalked it up to an anomaly and brewed two new batches. Both infected. We're very confused at this point because we're doing everything the same and somehow they're getting infected.

I figured that maybe we had gotten lax with our cleaning, so we did one more, and we were SUPER careful about cleaning everything really well. We were going to bottle today, but alas, this batch was infected as well... I could actually see mold or something growing on the sides of the fermenter where it had risen. All but one of the infections occurred in the primary fermenter. The exception may have been infected there as well, but we might not have noticed it until later.

So I'm at a loss to explain this. My roommate thinks we're leaving the beer in the primary for too long... this last batch was in there for a month. Could that be a problem? Also, I don't think the primary is air tight either... would that make a difference? We did have 3 successful batches with the same equipment earlier...
 
It is almost impossible to leave your beer in the primary too long... 7-10 weeks are generally perfectly acceptable for an Ale as long as temps aren't too far off, etc.

That said; If the primary is not airtight that could be a VERY big issue... Airlocks are important for proper fermentation. Provide a very detailed work flow (as listed above) so we can determine what exactly may be happening.
 
bleach soak everything (EVERYTHING), then wash everything. add a different sanitizer into your process. if you using sarsan, iodophor your equipment for a batch. If iodophor, starsan all your equipment for a batch.
 
did you get rid of all your plastic after your first infected batch??? are u using glass carboy's or plastic ale pails?? if using plastic you might want to ditch them and re get new buckets.
 
You are sure it's infected? What does it taste like?

What I was wondering too. Were the batches sour? Vinegary? Mold on the side of the fermenter would not necessarily signify a ruined batch (if it really is mold to begin with). From How To Brew:

Cause 2: Mold A simple case of mold.
Cure: Mold can usually be just skimmed off with no lasting effect on the beer's flavor. Withdraw a sample of the wort with a siphon or turkey baster and taste it. If it tastes foul then its not worth keeping. Otherwise the beer was probably not harmed. Infections in beer caused by molds are not dangerous. Be meticulous in your sanitation and you should not have any problems.

Any pics?
 
I would soak everything for a day or two. Also scrubbing your fermenter with harsh utensils can cause scaring on the inside, leaving cracks for organisms to grow and breed.

Helpful hint would be to soak everything while your wort is boiling. Fill the fermenter all the way to the top. Drop all your gear in it to soak as well.
 
I dunno too much about infections, but pics would help. Sounds like if it's up above the beer line, my guess would be left over krausen ring.
 
You just mention "cleaning", nothing about sanitizing. They are different processes. You clean with one product (oxy clean-free for example) then sanitize with another (i like star san).
 
Whatever you do, don't believe amandabab (post 4)
It was her 666th post, and obviously was inspired by the devil. :D
If she repeats it in the 667th or subsequent post, you could believe it. I think it's an excellent idea.

-a.
 
Whatever you do, don't believe amandabab (post 4)
It was her 666th post, and obviously was inspired by the devil. :D
If she repeats it in the 667th or subsequent post, you could believe it. I think it's an excellent idea.

-a.

Nice one :D

Ditto on post #4
 
Maybe I've been lucky, but I sometimes think I've almost been begging for a spoiled batch these last couple times. I use the Easy clean sanitizer but I've been a little lax on rules of sanitation. I use plastic buckets to ferment with and all I ever do is rinse my bottles then run them through the dishwasher with the hot dry option. then I spray sanitizer on the tops of the bottles right before I bottle. From what I've seen from other's posts, I'm not over-doing sanitation by any means. However, all my beers have turned out fine. I've done 8 or 9 batches total. If you really are trying to do a good job sanitizing then the only thing I can think of is you probably have infected buckets. If you have any scratches in your buckets you are risking the whole batch. Get new ones and see what happens.
 
I wash everything with bleach, rinse it out. Then I soak everything with Oxi-clean for 24 hours. Then I rinse and star-san the bucket for half hour before putting in the wort.
Fermenter must be sealed. That is the point of the air lock.
For bottles I wash with soap, rinse, oxi clean soak, rinse, then dishwasher with sanitation dry hot setting.
P.s. make sure you scrub your hands often like a surgeon.
 
First post and no response for over a day? They don't seem to concerned about the beer. I would guess they were just trolling through.
 
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