Tomcat0304
Well-Known Member
Well... I think I have an infection in my equipment somewhere. Best case I can figure is that it is in my bottling bucket, worst case, it's in my autosiphon. I siphon from my kettle to my Ale Pail and would be spreading the bug through all my equipment...
I have 2 batches of beer that have become over carbonated and are gushing on every bottle. The older batch, the Black Pearl Porter brewed on Sept 22, I had trouble getting the FG down to where I expected it be. I had an OG at 1.073 and only got it down to 1.030. I took it out of my ferm chamber and brought it inside for 10 days (brought the temp up to ~76*) and gently roused the yeast. No luck, so I sent it back to the chamber to cold crash to drop the yeast for a few days. Bottled 2.5 gallons with 54g (1.9oz) sucrose for 2.4 volumes CO2 on October 28. The other half of the batch I racked onto a cranberry puree that I made. Brought the puree up to 160* for 30 minutes to sanitize. Let that part sit for about 2 weeks until the FG settled at 1.020. Bottled 2.25 gallons with 49g (1.72 oz) sucrose for 2.4 volumes CO2 on November 11. Around mid December both brews began to gush when I opened them. None have exploded yet, but I have been releasing some CO2 slowly as they are put into the refrigerator.
The newer batch, a Strong Scotch brewed on November 11, has begun showing signs of over carbonation as well. This fermentation went a lot smoother, I didn't have any problems with it. OG was 1.087 and FG was 1.026, and steady across a week. I bottled 4.75 gallons on December 10 with 108g (3.83 oz) sucrose for 2.3 volumes CO2. Cracked one open over the weekend, and it slowly began to foam out of the bottle.
My sanitation for the two years I have been brewing had been thorough, I thought. I would always make a new batch of StarSan before bottling or on brew day and keep the equipment in the solution for at least 20 minutes. I had a sponge that I use specifically and only for brewing equipment that is soaked in the StarSan to wipe down equipment (autosiphon, tubing, bottling wand, bottling spigot, sample thief, inside of bucket, etc) that was not below the sanitizer level.
For bottles, I have a Vinator that I use to sanitize the insides, and put the caps in the reservoir of the Vinator, and let them drain in the rack of the dishwasher that had just gone through a full cycle with heated drying. I also always wash out the bottle after pouring a beer.
My cleaning regimen does not always involve PBW, unless I have a stubborn bit of gunk or used a carboy (then I use a carboy cleaner anyway). Usually I wipe down with the sponge to get all of the fermentation residue off, then sanitize before the next use.
So, couple of questions. Is there any way to sanitize the equipment I currently have to kill this bug? Bleach, stronger food safe sanitizer? How about for the bottles? I have heard of foil over the mouth of them, in an oven. Would that work? Do you need to use PBW after every use, or is it clean when there are no observable debris on the equipment? Any other suggestions or thoughts?
I have 2 batches of beer that have become over carbonated and are gushing on every bottle. The older batch, the Black Pearl Porter brewed on Sept 22, I had trouble getting the FG down to where I expected it be. I had an OG at 1.073 and only got it down to 1.030. I took it out of my ferm chamber and brought it inside for 10 days (brought the temp up to ~76*) and gently roused the yeast. No luck, so I sent it back to the chamber to cold crash to drop the yeast for a few days. Bottled 2.5 gallons with 54g (1.9oz) sucrose for 2.4 volumes CO2 on October 28. The other half of the batch I racked onto a cranberry puree that I made. Brought the puree up to 160* for 30 minutes to sanitize. Let that part sit for about 2 weeks until the FG settled at 1.020. Bottled 2.25 gallons with 49g (1.72 oz) sucrose for 2.4 volumes CO2 on November 11. Around mid December both brews began to gush when I opened them. None have exploded yet, but I have been releasing some CO2 slowly as they are put into the refrigerator.
The newer batch, a Strong Scotch brewed on November 11, has begun showing signs of over carbonation as well. This fermentation went a lot smoother, I didn't have any problems with it. OG was 1.087 and FG was 1.026, and steady across a week. I bottled 4.75 gallons on December 10 with 108g (3.83 oz) sucrose for 2.3 volumes CO2. Cracked one open over the weekend, and it slowly began to foam out of the bottle.
My sanitation for the two years I have been brewing had been thorough, I thought. I would always make a new batch of StarSan before bottling or on brew day and keep the equipment in the solution for at least 20 minutes. I had a sponge that I use specifically and only for brewing equipment that is soaked in the StarSan to wipe down equipment (autosiphon, tubing, bottling wand, bottling spigot, sample thief, inside of bucket, etc) that was not below the sanitizer level.
For bottles, I have a Vinator that I use to sanitize the insides, and put the caps in the reservoir of the Vinator, and let them drain in the rack of the dishwasher that had just gone through a full cycle with heated drying. I also always wash out the bottle after pouring a beer.
My cleaning regimen does not always involve PBW, unless I have a stubborn bit of gunk or used a carboy (then I use a carboy cleaner anyway). Usually I wipe down with the sponge to get all of the fermentation residue off, then sanitize before the next use.
So, couple of questions. Is there any way to sanitize the equipment I currently have to kill this bug? Bleach, stronger food safe sanitizer? How about for the bottles? I have heard of foil over the mouth of them, in an oven. Would that work? Do you need to use PBW after every use, or is it clean when there are no observable debris on the equipment? Any other suggestions or thoughts?
