What is wrong and how do I fix it??

[sparkyaber]

I have seen many people say to replace tubing but what about the auto-syphon, I don't use one my self but have seen a few threads where they were found to be the cause of infections. Are you sanitizing the lid you cover your brew pot with when you move it to the basement and the spoon you use to whirlpool. These are just some random thoughts I had while reading this thread, hope they help

One other thing, if I were in you shoes I think I would bleach every thing that comes in contact with the post boil beer including the bottles, rinse well and soak in star san until time to use it and I think I would continue to do that until I figured out what the problem was. Good Luck,

All excellent ideas, as for the auto siphon, I use it to rack beers to secondary. But it should go. About the lid and spoon, yes, we spray them both down with star-san. I did bleach bomb the whole works, and replaced the bottling spigot a while back, which did seem to help,for a while, but why does the star-san not kill the stuff? The super bug!!

 

[sparkyaber]

When was the last time the bottle tree was disassembled and thoroughly cleaned? Any chance of the prongs carrying an infection?

consider it done!

 

[jmwc95]

All excellent ideas, as for the auto siphon, I use it to rack beers to secondary. But it should go. About the lid and spoon, yes, we spray them both down with star-san. I did bleach bomb the whole works, and replaced the bottling spigot a while back, which did seem to help,for a while, but why does the star-san not kill the stuff? The super bug!!

It is a super bug, and whatever you are doing to clean and sanitize is not erradicating it. I would get rid of your bottle collection, replace all plastic parts and tubing and boil/soak in chlorine/uv lamp/autoclave anything else that comes in contact with the wort/beer after the boil.

 

[JeepDiver]

Your bottling tree should come apart and get dipped in starsan before using it, as well as the base of it.

It also sounds like you are putting in your bottling sugar at too hot of a temp. It needs to cool off before going in the bucket and the wort going on top of it, or you will shock the yeast.

I start my sugar and get it boiling, then move it off the heat to cool before doing anything else.

I make up 5 gallons of starsan in my bottling bucket, rinse the top of the bucket with the starsan, then move half of the starsan to another bucket using my auto-siphon, and the other half through the bottling bucket spigot. Then all of the equipment, including the broken down bottle tree and vinator gets put in the bucket of starsan. Then I take out the auto siphon and hose and transfer the beer to the bottling bucket while the rest of the equipment rest. The top from my fermenter gets cleaned off and sprayed with starsan and goes onto the top of the bucket.

I then rinse off the hose and re-sanitize it by running some starsan through it and dipping it in the bucket then put on the bottling wand (don’t forget to run starsan through the wand a few times by depressing the end of it)

Then the tree gets put together and my already clean bottles (I just rinse them out completely when I empty them, put them upside down to dry, then into a box until I need them for the next batch), gets pumped several times to make sure they are almost filled up, then the mouths are dipped in the starsan in the vinator (usually work with 2 bottles at a time and dip one while pumping the other), and hang them on the tree.

After the bottles are cleaned I throw the needed bottle caps in the vinator tub to soak.

I’ve found that putting the bottles in the boxes while filling is not a good thing. The cardboard is too close to the open mouths, and you have a good chance of hitting it when moving the bottling wand around. It works much better to just put them on a flat surface (table, or floor, or dishwasher door). I fill a dozen or so bottle, then cap them (I turn off the spigot and put the bottling wand in the bucket of starsan while I am capping the bottles). I also dip my capper in the starsan as well.

After through bottling, I clean everything with un-scented oxyclean and/or ivory dishwashing detergent by hand, then let it all air dry for a day or two, then it goes back up in it’s storage area clean and ready for the next time, where all I have to do is sanitize it again.

 

[sparkyaber]

Well, now I wait, I just bottled my second half of my 10 gallon furious clone on Saturday, all new stuff. Auto siphon, hose, bottling bucket, bottling spigot, filling wand, all new. I let the sugar cool longer than I used to, so we will see.
Not expecting much here, bottled the first half awhile ago with no issues. Right in the middle of bad batches.

 

[maztec]

Just out of curiosity, how could the mash tun be responsible for an infection? Short of it not even being washed out for weeks on end between uses any small infection it may have should get wasted in the boil, right? It was my understanding that sanitation really became key after the wort dropped below 170 or so during the chill.

I operate on the theory of eliminating everything extraneous from the equation. There are some heat resistant bacteria that have been known to get into milk and survive, despite aggressive pasteurization. On that theory, I do not think it is impossible that someone could pick up a heat resistant bacteria that is living in the wort equipment. Equipment that may get a less vigorous clean because it seems unlikely to be the cause of infection. Even then though, you are right, it is unlikely, but why leave it in the equation when it is one of the easiest things to eliminate as a possibility?

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Sounds like Sparky is headed down the right path. Hope replacing the bottling equipment solves his problems!

 

[sparkyaber]

Another update, this is getting too bizarre- The latest bad batches are turning around- the off flavor seems to be reducing, along with the "film" on the inside!!! The two batches that I kegged that I thought were bad, turned out ok. The nut brown was a little estery, and the SNPA which when I kegged it, I was sure it was ruined, tastes just fine. The batch of ESB that was brewed last summer/fall, is still bad. I am going to a Minnesota Homebrewers Meeting this weekend and hopefully someone can identify what I have.