Whats my infection? oo er missus..

[Frisp]

Two back to back Kit brews, both seemingly fine when leaving the fermenter (30L Chubby) going into a 20L king keg Junior on a closed loop. and then kept at 4C in my fridge under 8-10Psi co2 after kegging.

Both had a strong homebrew whiff that seemed to get stronger the longer it matured.. on tasting it started ok but after 5 or 6 weeks in keg, they both developed a strong acidic taste on the backend . ( not carbonic acid).

1st one I just tipped and rinsed outside.

The second one ,same king keg jnr as 1st, when I degassed it to take the lid off the keg I was hit by an awfull whiff of really sour, soggy dog. I tipped the very clear yorkshire bitter down the sink.
When I then stuck my nose into the empty vessel.. the sourness was overpowering.. then came the soggy wet dog smell. I dont think its yeast as it was fairly bright when kegged and the yeast on the keg bottom was negligable.

Needless to say all my kit is being stripped, soaked in chemsan, followed by a long soak in bleach and once rinsed its having another rinse with starsan.. and all silicon dip tubes are being replaced with new

Now that I think its an infection Im just intrigued as to what kind of infection it sounds like.

 

[Frisp]

anyone?

 

[MashBag]

Nope. Let me know.

 

[MashBag]

I would also use steam not chemsan, if you think it's an infection and not just a local stray.

 

[phildo79]

Check this. Might be on it. Don't forget to bleach your fridge too.

 

[Frisp]

Check this. Might be on it. Don't forget to bleach your fridge too.

That is a worthwhile resource.. at a glance several possible offenders are found within the document.
And teh fridge is getting nuked tomorrow.

 

[Frisp]

I would also use steam not chemsan, if you think it's an infection and not just a local stray.

good p[oint Ill get the old Vaparetto steam cleaner out for any cracks and crevices, But Im thinking bleach is my friend here..

 

[foxy]

Check this. Might be on it. Don't forget to bleach your fridge too.

Interesting about the mash stabiliser. I have noticed it is favoured among the UK homebrew fraternity, I have seen Martin Brungard speak out against its use.

 

[Frisp]

Check this. Might be on it. Don't forget to bleach your fridge too.

best descriptions are : horsey (microbial contamination) and /or musty (Generally mould contamination.) so, as Billy Connoly once said, its out with the wire brush and dettol !!

 

[divrack]

Two back to back Kit brews, both seemingly fine when leaving the fermenter (30L Chubby) going into a 20L king keg Junior on a closed loop. and then kept at 4C in my fridge under 8-10Psi co2 after kegging.

Both had a strong homebrew whiff that seemed to get stronger the longer it matured.. on tasting it started ok but after 5 or 6 weeks in keg, they both developed a strong acidic taste on the backend . ( not carbonic acid).

1st one I just tipped and rinsed outside.

The second one ,same king keg jnr as 1st, when I degassed it to take the lid off the keg I was hit by an awfull whiff of really sour, soggy dog. I tipped the very clear yorkshire bitter down the sink.
When I then stuck my nose into the empty vessel.. the sourness was overpowering.. then came the soggy wet dog smell. I dont think its yeast as it was fairly bright when kegged and the yeast on the keg bottom was negligable.

Needless to say all my kit is being stripped, soaked in chemsan, followed by a long soak in bleach and once rinsed its having another rinse with starsan.. and all silicon dip tubes are being replaced with new

Now that I think its an infection Im just intrigued as to what kind of infection it sounds like.

I think it's pretty impossible to identify exactly what it was. I've had/have some wild house infections that have chased me around. One I foolishly nurtured because it was an interesting flavor in dark beer, almost acetic but not quite, very bizarre, comes on quick and anaerobic but worse with oxygen. It's a real *******. In general things with a funky flavor I would put down as yeast, but then it's subjective what "sour dog" smell is.

Anyway all I know is that there's lots of infections out there that defy the normal rules of engagement when it comes to taxonomy. Was going to send my one to bootleg biology but I don't want to be responsible for spreading it lol

 

[Frisp]

I think it's pretty impossible to identify exactly what it was. I've had/have some wild house infections that have chased me around. One I foolishly nurtured because it was an interesting flavor in dark beer, almost acetic but not quite, very bizarre, comes on quick and anaerobic but worse with oxygen. It's a real *******. In general things with a funky flavor I would put down as yeast, but then it's subjective what "sour dog" smell is.

Anyway all I know is that there's lots of infections out there that defy the normal rules of engagement when it comes to taxonomy. Was going to send my one to bootleg biology but I don't want to be responsible for spreading it lol

Yep.. Having gone through the judging notes above I came the conclusion it could be anything. but realised that almost every off flavour listed has dirty or unsanitised kit as a possible cause.. So scrub, wash, dissinfect till it complains is my new pre brew regime..

 

[MashBag]

So scrub, wash, dissinfect till it complains is my new pre brew regime..

Do people wash and scrub post brew, pre brew or both?

 

[divrack]

Yep.. Having gone through the judging notes above I came the conclusion it could be anything. but realised that almost every off flavour listed has dirty or unsanitised kit as a possible cause.. So scrub, wash, dissinfect till it complains is my new pre brew regime..

Yea after a number of spoiled batches I clean everything manually then soak in horrible caustic soda then rinse, boil what can be boiled, then star san, and even then I won't repitch yeast more than one generation as whatever this thing is can hang around and multiply from seemingly nothing. Touch wood, so long as I am super cautious about oxygen post brew and use relatively new yeast it's not a problem, in fact my first house infection elevated my brewing as it's what caused me to be super anal about oxygen getting anywhere near the brewed product

 

[Frisp]

Flippin eck! I think I know what ihas happened and its not an infection
(please feel free to correct my thinking here)
Last time I did AG water treatment wasnt the thing it is now. and I just used to throw a campdent tablet in to deal with the chlorine

NOW THIS TIME ROUND I bought a bag of Sodium metabisulpate and sought advice from the interweb on dosage. stupidly I took the first thing I found as gospel...

further research shows that the weight of a campdent tablet is roughly 0.4 to 0.5g so I should only need 0.2 to 0.25g for 25 L..
NOT the 1/2 to 3/4 a teaspoon as per the first article I stumbled on...

I think what I tasted was sulphite overdosing...

 

[Sadfield]

Both had a strong homebrew whiff that seemed to get stronger the longer it matured

Unlikely a sulphite overdosing issue if it tasted fine out of the FV, and got worse. However, the overdose could have had a negative affect on the pitched yeast, opening the door to other wild yeast of bacteria.

same king keg jnr

Have you had a successful brew from another keg or bottle in the same time frame?

 

[Frisp]

Unlikely a sulphite overdosing issue if it tasted fine out of the FV, and got worse. However, the overdose could have had a negative affect on the pitched yeast, opening the door to other wild yeast of bacteria.

good point

Have you had a successful brew from another keg or bottle in the same time frame?

nope only the King keg.. Next brew will go in a Corny.
Since the last brew the king keg has bad a megga deep clean down teo the disconnects being stripped . everything soaked in a strong bleach solution then rinsed and de Bleached with Sodium metab.