Diagnosing an Off Batch

It is difficult to diagnose the precise source of a bacterial infection since this can occur almost anywhere in the brewing process. The only ‘solution’ is to maintain proper sanitation throughout the brewing process (while recognizing that bacterial infection is a bit more problematic during the initial brewing process since bacteria really, really likes to ‘eat’ wort).

As regards the discussion about sanitizing the spigot and obtaining a new siphon hose it could be argued this would fit within the category of practicing proper sanitation. Whether this will ‘fix’ the problem is unknown. Since sanitizing the spigot is not a major effort and the cost of new siphon hose is cheap, why not do it?

I hope that your IPA turns out well.

Cheers!

 

When you say fermentation temps never got above 68, are you talking about the temperature of the wort, or ambient.. I know you said "fermentation temperature" but in my experience that usually means ambient..

 

Seeing how you've been home-brewing for quite some time...let me ask;
What's your process for keeping racking hoses clean and sanitary?
How often do you replace your hoses?

Thx.

 

What's your process for keeping racking hoses clean and sanitary?

My cleaning process for my racking hose is simply to thoroughly rinse it out with water after use. My racking cane has never gotten dirty (in the sense of having visible crud) so a water rinse if sufficient to just get any beer residue liquid removed. I started homebrewing in 1995 and we didn’t have all of the ‘fancy’ sanitizers that are available now (or at least I was unaware of them). I use a weak bleach solution to sanitize (2 ounces of bleach per 5 gallons of water). I sanitize my racking cane within a plastic pan that you use to soak pre-pasted wallpaper; I bought this pan at Home Depot for a few dollars. I am still using the same racking hose that came with my homebrewing kit back in 1995. I have used it or 283 bathes and it is still ‘going strong’.

How often do you replace your hoses?

I read an article in BYO about 10 years ago that recommended that you replace your hose every few years. The rationale is that since it is a soft plastic it will scratch easily and therefore could be a source of a bacterial infection (bacteria within the scratches). I am unsure whether this is a genuine concern but since hoses are cheap I do replace them every couple of years of use. My present hose is about a year old and it does not have a hot plastic smell. My cleaning/sanitizing process for my hose is the same as my racking cane: thoroughly rinse with water and sanitize in a weak bleach solution. I doubt that the source of the OPs infection is his hose but you truly never know. For about 2 bucks to obtain 5 feet of plastic hose I figure this is cheap for a bit of ‘peace of mind’.

Cheers!

 

Great stuff Jack!
Appreciate the thoughtful reply.

I've been getting funk colonies in my 2ndarys recently after years of no trubbles and had wondered whether it might could be related to cleaing / sanitation issues with my hoses.

I hot rinse them well after use...over-night soak in PWB...Star-sanitize and otherwise handle with deliberate care.

Something's happen here.
What it is ain't exactly clear.
There's a man with a beer gun over there.
Tellin' me I got to beer-ware.

- apologies to Stills

 

“I've been getting funk colonies in my 2ndarys recently after years of no trubbles …”

Are your secondaries 5 gallon glass carboys? I don’t secondary my ales but I do use 5 gallon glass carboys for my lagers and ciders. My cleaning/sanitizing process for my carboys is to thoroughly rinse them after use using a Jet Bottle Washer and then soak using a weak bleach/water solution (2 ounces of bleach per 5 gallons of water). The bleach/water solution dissolves any remaining crud in the carboy. I re-sanitize the carboy using a weak bleach/water solution prior to the next use.

I have read where some folks use Oxiclean to clean their carboys. Maybe this would help you? Or maybe just a simple bleach/water soak will do the trick?

Cheers!

 

I use Oxiclean Free to clean my carboys and a carboy brush... I let them sit w/ the OC in there for a few days. Then I rinse well and pour some SS in there while they are not being used...

Product Features

• The unique formula is activated by water, unleashing bubbling oxygen power for safe, effective cleaning
• For regular and he washers
• Free of perfume, dyes, chlorine

 

My small batch sizes are brewed and secondaried in plastic. If a 2ndary isn't used...there's more lost volume that I can afford at bottling time.

It's kinda odd there's no visible trubble in the primary...only in the 2ndary and this trubble has only come about relatively recently. Maybe the time has come to replace the fermentors. Some of them have been in service going on six years...but before I put them out to pasture...will water board them with a weak bleach solution.

 

“ …secondaried in plastic.” What kind of plastic are your secondaries made of?

Performing a secondary in a plastic vessel (unless it is made out of PET like Better Bottle) is not a good idea due to the potential for oxidation. Below is a copy of a related post I made in a different forum which provides more details.

Cheers!

Jeff,

I personally do not have experience fermenting in poly conicals. I conduct my primary fermentations in 7.9 gallon plastic buckets made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE). I limit my fermentation time within the bucket to less than 4 weeks out of concern of oxidation since HDPE is oxygen permeable. I would never consider conducting a secondary fermentation in a HDPE vessel. I utilize glass carboys for secondary fermentation (cold conditioning of lagers, secondary fermentation of ciders, etc.).

Do you know exactly what material the poly conicals are that you are considering? I suspect that no matter what poly material it is (with the exception of Polyethylene Terephthalate – PET) that oxygen permeability would be a real concern and consequently you would not want to conduct a secondary fermentation in it.

Below is a link to an interesting article from Better Bottle; of importance to you is Table 1 which details the oxygen permeability of various plastic materials. For example the Oxygen Permeability Coefficient numbers (the lower the number the better) for:

- PET: <1

- Polypropylene: 35-373

- HDPE: 44-91

Other than the concern over oxygen permeability I am very satisfied fermenting in my HDPE buckets.

Cheers!

http://www.better-bottle.com/pdf/Closures_Oxygen_Passage_Study.pdf

 

Primaries and secondaries are PETs.
Apparently they've forgotten they've been house-trained.