What are the chances of infection?

[Calder]

This is not really a Wild Beer question, but want to find out what the collective thinks my risk is of infecting my beer using equipment previously used for our beers (Lambic/Flanders type).

OK ...... I brewed 6 gallons of a decent Porter, and moved it onto fruit (plus a few other things). I split it into 3x2.75 gallon HPDE fermenters, and added roughly 3 lbs of fruit to each (or ~0.5 gallons).

I have a lot of these fermenters, and as I was racking the beer I noticed a big 'S' written on the side of all 3 of the fermenters. It is what I put on the side of my fermenters when I have used them for sour beers.

When not in use I store all my fermenters filled with a mild bleach solution. These probably hadn't been used for at least a year.

Seals for the caps, + caps + airlocks are usually submerged in a mild bleach solution after use for a week or two.

I think I'm safe, and if I do get an infection, it might make an interesting beer, so I'm not really worried. Just interested in what others might think.

 

[ColoHox]

Do you not have an issue with the plastic absorbing the chlorine after such a lengthy storage time?

All the spoilage or souring bugs are susceptible to a >1% bleach solution. That solution must be able to penetrate any biofilms or porous/scratched surfaces though.

I would bet that those fermenters are not completely free of spoilage microbes. I doubt though that they are contaminated enough to influence the beer. Let us know.

 

[Calder]

Do you not have an issue with the plastic absorbing the chlorine after such a lengthy storage time?

All the spoilage or souring bugs are susceptible to a >1% bleach solution. That solution must be able to penetrate any biofilms or porous/scratched surfaces though.

Chlorine concentration is probably around 200 ppm, which is about .02%; about 1 tablespoon per gallon. That's the sanitizer concentration. Once I have poured it out and rinsed a few times with hot water, there is basically zero chlorine left.

I've never had a problem that I or others have noticed.