Take a look. Ok or dump?

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Chiror0b

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Yet another batch potentially down the drain. Different fermenter, same refrigerator but all sealed up the whole time. The only hydro sample taken was via the spout (big mouth bubbler fermenter), and sprayed with sanitizer afterwards. I sanitized during the boil, racked direct from the grainfather and covered the opening with a paper towel sprayed with sanitizer while it was pumping. Added yeast (rehydrated s05) and a 3-piece airlock with sanitizer in it, and left it for the past 10 days. This crap wasn't here 2 days ago. The fermenter fridge was temp controlled to 68 degrees using an inkbird, and I have a fan blowing the air around to try to keep temps stable in the whole fridge.

So what is your opinion, is this gone or no big deal? ... And if I keep it and rack to keg, will this crap form inside the keg? What if it is carb'd and refrigerated?

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If you know where I'm messing up I'd love to know! I've run 3 good batches since, but my 2nd batch ever was a vanilla rum oatmeal stout in a ssbrewtech conical that looked a good bit worse than this.
 
Goner. The waxy stuff doesn't look like typical spread from infection, but the bubbles are a problem I think. Below my post you'll likely see a bunch of ideas about racking from under the surface, bottling/kegging and keeping cold, using in cooking. All a waste of time and a REALLY big drag on your confidence. Dump that sucker as fast as you can, go nuclear on sanitation, re-brew immediately, and never look back.

Where'd the infection come from? No idea. I've only had a few out of a LOT of brews, and the causes were pretty obvious (don't throw a dirty beet into your fermenting beer BTW; oh, and maggots are ALWAYS bad if they get into your cooling beer).
 
This is just a "FLAT TIRE" clone from midwest I believe. Nothing fancy at all, was set to hit the keg tomorrow I was going to cold crash it tonight.
 
My $ is on the spigot
I bet it let something in when you pulled your sample.
After you do whatever I ou do, tear that spigot out and I bet you find the culprit
If you keg, the an keg it quick(now!) and chill it fast. May still taste kinda like beer.

Spigot are great, but they add far more places for nasties to hide and/or grow between brews.
If you put your fermenter up with a tiny bit of beer in it, and yank it back out weeks/months later, something grew in it in that time. Once the fermenter is clean, break the spigot down and detail it and store it unassembled until the next use, spray with sanitizer as you reassemle.
 
My $ is on the spigot
I bet it let something in when you pulled your sample.
After you do whatever I ou do, tear that spigot out and I bet you find the culprit
If you keg, the an keg it quick(now!) and chill it fast. May still taste kinda like beer.

Spigot are great, but they add far more places for nasties to hide and/or grow between brews.
If you put your fermenter up with a tiny bit of beer in it, and yank it back out weeks/months later, something grew in it in that time. Once the fermenter is clean, break the spigot down and detail it and store it unassembled until the next use, spray with sanitizer as you reassemle.


+1 on this. Spigot make sanitation difficult if not properly cared for.
 
My $ is on the spigot
I bet it let something in when you pulled your sample.
After you do whatever I ou do, tear that spigot out and I bet you find the culprit
If you keg, the an keg it quick(now!) and chill it fast. May still taste kinda like beer.

Spigot are great, but they add far more places for nasties to hide and/or grow between brews.
If you put your fermenter up with a tiny bit of beer in it, and yank it back out weeks/months later, something grew in it in that time. Once the fermenter is clean, break the spigot down and detail it and store it unassembled until the next use, spray with sanitizer as you reassemle.

Tastes like beer.. but I just didn't want to keg it, chill it, put it in the new keezer I've been working on and 2 months later after sipping on it for awhile pull out a chunk of that crap in my glass. eeww.

This is the 2nd batch made from this fermenter - ever. I kegged "Hops lamb" kit from norther brewer, washed, sanitized and the flat tire went right into it. I rinsed sanitizer through it, but did not take the valve apart with sanitizer, since I mixed the sanitizer directly into the fermenter. (StarSan)
 
Tastes like beer.. but I just didn't want to keg it, chill it, put it in the new keezer I've been working on and 2 months later after sipping on it for awhile pull out a chunk of that crap in my glass. eeww.

This is the 2nd batch made from this fermenter - ever. I kegged "Hops lamb" kit from norther brewer, washed, sanitized and the flat tire went right into it. I rinsed sanitizer through it, but did not take the valve apart with sanitizer, since I mixed the sanitizer directly into the fermenter. (StarSan)

Every single time I use my bottling bucket with a spigot I open the spigot and let it soak all by itself in a bowl of star san. Never had an infection in 13 batches.
 
There's a reason pro brewers use simple butterfly valves and disassemble-able valves...all kinds of gunk and nasties can hide in there and no amount of PBW or Star-San will flush it out without manual intervention - a brush and a vigorous scrubbing. Plastic spigots will scratch under that abuse and give the yuck further refuge, so are worse than useless IMO.

Think about it...when a pro is back-flushing his valves or circulating PBW/Star-San, he's doing it with a pump and under some pressure. You're doing it with a hot soak and a gravity run. No way that will ever get all of the crap out of a plastic ball spigot.
 
I think it could be acetobacter. You have lots of space between the beer level and the top of your carboy.
 
You're fermenting in plastic, so you probably want to get rid of that infected fermenter anyway. As far as I'm concerned, why not let it ride for a while? If it's something nice, it'll benefit from some aging. I have an infected batch of Irish Red Ale that is still sitting in my basement with a beautiful pellicle, in the exact same plastic siphonless big mouth bubbler . . . of course it smells like paint thinner, but who's to say you won't end up with a tasty sour?
 
+3 on the spigot. I never ferment in a bucket with a spigot. I have replaced one of my bottling spigots because there was a spot I could not get to. I replaced it one that can come completely apart for cleaning. (Which that one does) but the seal that keeps liquids in without leaks may still let infections in. Positive pressure only keeps things out if it's air, not liquid.

I have never had an infected batch. Had other issues, but not infections, but I have only done 30 batches or so...
 
Definitely a goner.

Opened it today (dumping it anyway), smells of paint thinner.

I'll start making full dis-assembly and soak of spigot a part of my process, at least I learned something out of this!
 
Taste it first
If it tastes fine, consume it
Chilling it can slow/stall the infection
just drink it fast
 
Spigot. No doubt. Clean it thoroughly. Better yet, get a fermenter without one. It's a bit more work but one less thing to worry about.

All the Best,
D. White
 
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