Help! Wild yeast?

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Jakeyboi

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Hi everyone,

I have got a very medicinal/aspirin/plastic flavour in my beers. This first happened back in Feb this year. It was a 6.5% IPA and when I first tasted it I figured it need to condition so kegged it. It never got better and I ended up chucking it.

I've made 5 brews since and all has been well. I've used the keg also. I only clean my kegs with hot water. I have 3 fv's and don't think I used at fv until my next batch below. But I can't be sure as I don't record which fermenters I use.

I made a youngs NWS 5 weeks ago and that exact taste was back. It hasn't got any better. This was also up in the 6% bracket. So I started doing some research and thought maybe it was due to stressed yeast, under aerated, temp producing phenols and chlorophenols.

I decided to make a coopers AIPA in the same fermenter, only this time I made sure I used a fresh packet of yeast, really aerated the wort, 1041 OG, pitch at 19C and set fridge to 19C. And 1 week in I can taste and smell it. Which is making me think yeast infection, but when I brewed this I ended up too hot, so stuck it In the fermentation fridge for 24hours before I pitched the yeast. There was zero activity when I pitched, surely if it was wild yeast it would have started to bubble through the airlock?

I have been brewing with my tap water for 18 months and haven't had a problem other than those above, which makes me think it's not chloromine or chlorine I the water.

Please if anyone has any experience with this I need some advice, I'm running out of beer and need plenty for xmas!

Jake
 
Interesting jake since I just chucked 2 brews down the sink. One was defiantly infected, the other, i wasn't sure so chucked anyway and a third looked dodgy, but bottled anyway. I gave my FV the "treatment". reasons for this outbreak...no idea
 
There was zero activity when I pitched, surely if it was wild yeast it would have started to bubble through the airlock?

In my experience, wild yeast is a real slow burner compared to normal yeast, I doubt it would bubble the airlock. Seems to take weeks/months to get going rather than hours/days.
 
Are you using campden tablets? It sounds like chlorophenals rather than wild yeast. Although you say you've been using your tap water for 18 months, I've read water companies can change the level of chlorine/chloramines in their water depending on the weather/temp, using more when the weather/temp is warmer, and we've had a quite warm october
 
Wild yeast will take more than a day to take hold, so I don't think that discounts it being a possibility. Bear in mind that with a sachet of yeast you are adding maybe 150bn yeast cells in hopefully good condition. Your dodgy fermentor might have a couple of billion (if that) wild yeast cells stuck in a scratch or clinging to some unseen dirt. These have been hanging around at room temp in a harsh dry environment, they are not going to be happy. It might take a couple of days before they get back to shape and start multiplying.

If you aren't prepared to dump that fermentor, which would be my advice, then you are going to need to thoroughly clean it with something strong. Bleach or an iodine based sanitiser should do it, but give time a good soak.
 
Interesting jake since I just chucked 2 brews down the sink. One was defiantly infected, the other, i wasn't sure so chucked anyway and a third looked dodgy, but bottled anyway. I gave my FV the "treatment". reasons for this outbreak...no idea

Did yours have the same taste..?
 
Thanks for the replies, I think I will be buy a cheap kit and some campden tablets to rule out the water. Then if it's still present it can only be wild yeast.
 
Are you using campden tablets? It sounds like chlorophenals rather than wild yeast. Although you say you've been using your tap water for 18 months, I've read water companies can change the level of chlorine/chloramines in their water depending on the weather/temp, using more when the weather/temp is warmer, and we've had a quite warm october

I've never used campdden tablets before, what's the best way to do it
 
Did yours have the same taste..?

One brew was covered in spider webb type structures and another tasted like petrol...though I did have a dreadful cold at the time. I soaked the FV in bleach and then really hot water and dried. Touch wood etc..:thumb:
 
So checked on the batch which has been in the secondary for 2/3 weeks. Looks pretty evil, that scum on the top has a greenish colour to it. It smells quite solventy, there is almost a banana smell in the background. I'm reluctant to taste it at this point. My instincts say infection. What's everyone's opinion? I was going to split a two can kit this evening into campden treated water but in that bucket with a quick rinse. And the other half in a brand new bucket but with tap water. Should I even bother?
Thanks

Jake

IMG_2604.jpg
 
JMHO the "solventy" smell is Co2. It does feel like burning in your nose. Take a small sniff of any fermenting beer and you will see what I mean.
Again JMHO... Wild yeast is just a product of your imagination, It cannot be proven (well,it can but it will cost you thousands of pounds, to identify the yeast stain)
 
JMHO the "solventy" smell is Co2. It does feel like burning in your nose. Take a small sniff of any fermenting beer and you will see what I mean.
Again JMHO... Wild yeast is just a product of your imagination, It cannot be proven (well,it can but it will cost you thousands of pounds, to identify the yeast stain)

It's different to the sharp co2 smell you get.
 
I was going to split a two can kit this evening into campden treated water but in that bucket with a quick rinse. And the other half in a brand new bucket but with tap water. Should I even bother?

No, treated water won't make a difference to that stuff on the top. You need to work out what's going on with this brew and whether it's got some sort of infection: take a sample and taste it. Might save you bottling and then being disappointed later.

I've been there with multiple brews trying to work out what is happening, you end up going round in circles: sort this one first.
 
Just go with it, bottle/keg as per your routine and see whats its like. You have nothing to gain by tipping it down the sink at this stage.

It is undrinkable, and it did not improve the last time this happened. I haven't said I was chucking it, I am trying to work out what the cause is as it has happened to another brew in my brew fridge. Please read the original post.

Thanks

Jake
 
No, treated water won't make a difference to that stuff on the top. You need to work out what's going on with this brew and whether it's got some sort of infection: take a sample and taste it. Might save you bottling and then being disappointed later.

I've been there with multiple brews trying to work out what is happening, you end up going round in circles: sort this one first.

Ok I just took a sip, and it is so vile. TCP/medince taste as before but much much worse. It has cleared nicely tho!
 
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