Wine vs Beer Infection Rates

[johnsmh2]

I just started making wine. I know with beer that sanitation is a big concern. I have heard with wine that it is very difficult to ruin a batch compared to beer.

Is this true and if so what is the reason?

 

[wooda2008]

Sanitation is just as important, if not more so because you're not boiling anything. I've never seen a beer go bad, but i have seen a wine ruined

 

[johnsmh2]

even with the wine kits?

 

[wooda2008]

I've never done a kit, so i wouldn't know. I've only ever done fresh fruits, where you have to be all paranoid about wild yeasts and spoilage organisms. and dead spiders. Campden tabs are mandatory.

Yooper, care to chime in?

 

[johnsmh2]

I may just be overly paranoid, I was checking the gravity and a hair dropped in the bucket. I was able to siphon it out though.

 

[Revvy]

It's really hard to ruin a batch of beer as well. Although you may see a bunch of "is this infected" or "is my beer ruined?" threads, when you actually read them, and especially when you follow up later with the poster, you find that those threads are more about the nerves/paranoia of the brewer, combined with only the barest understanding of the process, than any actual issues. There are very few true infections that actually show up on here, and of those, many are intentional.

If you read enough stories on here like those in here, you see just how resiliant out beers really are.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/ne...virtue-time-heals-all-things-even-beer-73254/

People have put far worse in their beers than mere hairs.

 

[malkore]

Since this is a beer forum (predominantly) you'll see more beer infection threads than wine infection threads.

In reality, both processes involve a perfect sugary mix of food for wildborne infections.

 

[Yooper]

In my experience, it's easier to ruin wine than beer. Wine is more susceptible to problems, simply because it's in the fermenter longer. Headspace is a problem, and sometimes people don't realize that and they get mold or infection just from allowing the contact with air. Or aceterobacter from fruit flies- a huge problem for me in the summer. As was previously mentioned, wine isn't boiled like wort for beer, and that is yet another avenue of potential infection.

Sanitation is critical, and so is siphoning properly. I use campden tablets to minimize oxidation risks, but with beer it's consumed relatively quickly so I don't worry too much about oxidation with my beer like I do with wine.

Wine is easier to make, but easier to ruin. In my humble opinion.

Kits are which are pre-sanitized and quick to bottle, so probably not as much as a risk in making them. In grape wines, you've got acid adjustments, pressing, etc, which can also be problematic.

 

[pkeeler]

There are two issues here. Ruination from infection and ruination from poor process. I've tasted a lot of bad beer, wine, and mead. I don't think many of those were infected; they just had done certain things in the process that led to off flavors.

Beer is consumed very quickly compared to wine. Many problems with staling compounds and oxidation, problems that would show up 12-18 months down the road, don't get the chance. Home brew especially seems to have resiliency commercial beer doesn't have because of its large population of living yeast. Wine, after it is aged (especially if fined and filtered), doesn't have that active yeast population and really depends on good technique, especially with sulfite, to survive.