Third attempt and still no good!

[unionrdr]

The thing is,dish soap has an enzyme in it that makes the water sheet off,preventing spots. It's a head killer. Besides if it isn't rinse thoroughly,it can leave off flavors.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

I know it's overkill - but every time I brew I scrub my brew pot down with water and a sponge - no soap - and then I fill it with about 3/4 of an inch of water and boil/steam it for about ten minutes. I do it with my top-off water pots as well.

What I really want to avoid is any exposure to oils or animal fats that might have gotten on them in between brews. Call me paranoid I guess - but I like those pots to be pretty sterile when I use them.

 

[xHeight]

I'm still curious at which point did the cinnamon sticks get added?

To the boil - they were boiled for about 5 mins. Surely they're fine, right?

 

[xHeight]

He's using soap in his brew pot.

Soap.

I rinse and then boil. Do you think there is still flavor to the pot?

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

The thing is,dish soap has an enzyme in it that makes the water sheet off,preventing spots. It's a head killer. Besides if it isn't rinse thoroughly,it can leave off flavors.

That is true. And it's not the ideal choice. But it's not gonna kill your beer if you use it. Especially if you rince thoroughly. If John Palmer says it's ok to use so do I

 

[xHeight]

Also, just as an added question. I am wilderness first aid certified and in my studies I have been taught that an 8 minute rolling boil kills 99% of living elements in water. There's a fraction of a fraction of life that can withstand the 8 minute boil and still effect a human negatively.

Does this also apply to beer?

 

[unionrdr]

Let that sheeting enzyme get on your beer glasses. It'll kill the head. So you have to figure that it can't be good for the BK either.

 

[progmac]

to me, the common element is that primary bucket. pitch it.

 

[LLBeanJ]

Also, just as an added question. I am wilderness first aid certified and in my studies I have been taught that an 8 minute rolling boil kills 99% of living elements in water. There's a fraction of a fraction of life that can withstand the 8 minute boil and still effect a human negatively.

Does this also apply to beer?

No. It applies to wort, but once it becomes beer, the remaining fraction cannot survive in it.

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

To the boil - they were boiled for about 5 mins. Surely they're fine, right?

Just checking.. Wanted to make sure..

 

[unionrdr]

Here's another one. If your fermenter pail has a spigot,unscrew it & clean the mounting hole & sanitize it. Then soak the spigot,seals & lock lug in cleaner. I use some aquarium lift tube brushes to clean inside the spigots. Then rinse,sanitize all the seals,lock lug,& spigot. Reinstall. Just cleaning the bucket isn'enough,as nasties can get into the gunk behind the spigot's seals & lock lug. not to mention,the mounting hole itself.

 

[MileHiBrewingSupplies]

Norie was right. Ignore the instructions and leave your primary alone for 3 full weeks, then bottle. BigFloyd also nailed it when he says the yeast need time to clean-up their early fermentation byproducts. As I always tell my customers, there is nothing to be gained by rushing your beer.

 

[unionrdr]

Yup. Like I say frequently,patience is the first thing a noob home brewer needs to learn. Kinda like the terminator,the more you brew,the more you learn (best arnold voice).

 

[Norie_]

I know it's overkill - but every time I brew I scrub my brew pot down with water and a sponge - no soap - and then I fill it with about 3/4 of an inch of water and boil/steam it for about ten minutes. I do it with my top-off water pots as well.

What I really want to avoid is any exposure to oils or animal fats that might have gotten on them in between brews. Call me paranoid I guess - but I like those pots to be pretty sterile when I use them.

What do you mean by "exposure to oils or animal fats that might have gotten on them in between brews"? I am not sure by this statement if you are using the same pot to cook and brew with. I am not sure if it is necessary but I would dedicate a kettle/pot for brewing only. That way you do not have to worry about animal fats and oils. I understand if one does have space to have separate equipment. I am just a little obsessive about my brew equipment and make sure that my wife knows that no brew stuff should be used in the kitchen for cooking food. That is just me tho and it works.

 

[Norie_]

Yup. Like I say frequently,patience is the first thing a noob home brewer needs to learn. Kinda like the terminator,the more you brew,the more you learn (best arnold voice).

I just came home from a little home brew bottle share. I tried to tell someone that I thought they should leave their beer in primary for longer than a week and more like 3-4 weeks and he got so defensive. I remember how it was when I first started. But I remedied my impatience by brewing more beer and filling all my buckets and carboys. Instead of focusing all your attention on that one beer fermenting I diverted my energy to brewing. The more you brew the more you learn and the more you learn to RDWHAHB!

 

[mike_in_ak]

I just came home from a little home brew bottle share. I tried to tell someone that I thought they should leave their beer in primary for longer than a week and more like 3-4 weeks and he got so defensive. I remember how it was when I first started. But I remedied my impatience by brewing more beer and filling all my buckets and carboys. Instead of focusing all your attention on that one beer fermenting I diverted my energy to brewing. The more you brew the more you learn and the more you learn to RDWHAHB!

Totally agree

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

What do you mean by "exposure to oils or animal fats that might have gotten on them in between brews"?

Being a chef - all of my pots are multipurpose - and most of the time there is potential that there could be some cross contamination so I take the extra step. I have ABSOLUTELY no space for an extra dedicated pot. None whatsoever. At least not in the house. I'd have to bury one out in the shed somewhere.

I also don't allow any of my brewing tools to come in contact with the sink area if I can help it. I have a dedicated brewing tub that I use which holds all of my spoons, siphons, etc.. I try to keep them all away from any type of food product. The only oils I want on them are hop oils.

 

[progmac]

this thread is so strange

 

[Pelican521]

Just having done my first brew I didn't want to chance anything and bought 6-7 gal jugs of Poland spring water. I know my tap water is fine for drinking (besides high chlorine and its hard) but for $6-7 bucks it was worth the peace of mind in addition to the $50 I spent on my extract kit.

Just my 2 cents...

 

[brewinchef_fairfax]

this thread is so strange

+1

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Just having done my first brew I didn't want to chance anything and bought 6-7 gal jugs of Poland spring water. I know my tap water is fine for drinking (besides high chlorine and its hard) but for $6-7 bucks it was worth the peace of mind in addition to the $50 I spent on my extract kit.

Just my 2 cents...

If your water is fine to drink it should be fine to brew. Especially extracts. Filter your water with a Brita filter or something like that or if you know you only have Chlorine not Chloramine the night before you brew pour all the water you need into your kettle, fermenter, and wherever else you think you can store it overnight and the chlorine will dissipate. As far as hardness, depending on the beer, may add some nice flavors to it depending on styles. Burton on Trent was famous for it's hard water and it's Pale Ales.

 

[nutty_gnome]

Plastic tastes come from chlorine or chloramine in your tap water, soap residue, bleach, too-hot fermentaion temps, some hops, some infections, and active fermentation.
My first few batches had this taste and those were the culprits, it is common for newcomers to experience this. Don't give up.

Things to think about: I think you are fermenting too hot (use a swamp cooler at least). Stop scrubbing and soaping items that will be boiled (pot and spoon). Use camden
tablets to kill chlorine/chloramine in your tap water. Don't aerate hot wort with your mixer, wait till it cools. Monitor the temp of the wort to ensure it is cool
enough prior to pitching. if you've scratched your bucket by scrubbing, get a new one and use the old one to hold a starsan solution. Ensure that your 5 gallon
batch actually turns out to have 5 gallons. And wait at least 2 weeks prior to mucking with it. And don't use cinnamon. Yuck.

 

[william_shakes_beer]

Most kit instructions are written to get you to purchase the next kit as soon as possible. Throw them away. Find a process that works for you. Everybody has a cleaning and sanitization regimine that works. If it works don't change it. If it doesn't work, make adjustments. Sounds like you are not happy with yours. Here's mine. When I complete a brew day, I rinse out each vessel and then rub the inside with a hand dipped in clear water. If there are stuborn stains, I will then put a little clean water in the bottom of the vessel and shake in some PBW, which is a no-rinse brewing cleaner. Then I upend it to air dry and put them away. I store them with a paper towel in each vessel to absorb any remaining moisture. On the next brew/bottling day, I bring them out and mix up 2.5 gallons of star san in a spare fermenter. Drop all the small parts into it (tubing, disassembled airlock, autosiphon, racking cane, bucket valve) I also pour a cup of starsan into each vessel that will not see a boil, swish it around to coat the entire inside, and let it sit until I'm ready to use. At the end of the day, repeat. Some people do with good results using a secondary. I'm not one of them. You have described your brew equipment sanitization, but you did not describe your bottle process. In my experience, bottles are much harder to clean. Whenever I share brew with others that dont brew, there's crud at the bottom that I need to scrub out. Do you look in the bottle before you put it away to be sure its clean and dry?

 

[unionrdr]

PBW isn't a no rinse cleaner. Read the jar,it must be rinsed. It's their starsan that's a no rinse sanitizer.

 

[xHeight]

And don't use cinnamon. Yuck.

You lose a little credibility with your last sentence haha. Thanks for the advice!

EDIT:

 

[whoaru99]

Ditch the soap. Use your Oxy or PBW to clean your stuff.

1.5oz, or a little more as you say, of Star San per 5 gallons is at least 50% too much. The correct ratio is 1oz per 5 gallons. You do not need to use more. Likely not your problem but it is a cost savings and a process improvement.

As others have said, it looks like you are way short on your post boil wort volume unless it's a ~10gal carboy in the pictures. The Midwest kits I've made needed a bit over 5 gal total volume in the fermenter to be at the kit's target OG. What ever you have after the boil is done needs to be 5 gallons. If it is not you need to add top off water until it is 5 gal or a little more. Best is to check the OG with a hydrometer but I have found that the OG is pretty much spot on when you are at 5-5.25 gallons in the fermenter (boiled wort + top off water).

Don't bother transferring to the secondary unless it needs to age/condition for a long time (or you need your fermenter to start another batch).

 

[Brulosopher]

It's amazing how many times the same thing has been said in this thread.

 

[nutty_gnome]

Lol at liking cinnamon in a beer. You guys crack me up.

 

[mike_in_ak]

It's amazing how many times the same thing has been said in this thread.

And in lots of other threads!

 

[whoaru99]

It's amazing how many times the same thing has been said in this thread.

It is, isn't it? Smurfing amazing.