Soured fermenter

[kcoect]

I've done a couple of batches since I had an infection in two of my big mouth bubbler fermenters and the last Cream Ale I did has a distinctive "sour" flavor and odor to it, so I think I've "soured" these two fermenters of mine. I've kind of already resigned myself to the fact that I need to replace them but does anyone have any idea what I could possibly do to try and salvage them for normal use? I've never made a sour (not on purpose) only once did I have the infection, so I didn't think much of it until subsequent batches had either an additional infection or an off flavor.

I was thinking an intense cleaning followed by an extended PBW soak and possible soaking them in other solutions to get rid of it if possible... Anyone else have a similar thing happen to them?

 

[OleBrewing]

I would to a deep sanitize of all your equipment on the cold side (fermenters, spoons, syphons etc.) with a bleach solution I not sure what portions of bleach to water would be. hose can be cheaply replaced. if problem persist then replace, if replaced and still have problem there must be something in your sanitizing process. what sanitizer do you use

 

[OleBrewing]

remember pbw is not a sanitizer it is a cleanser.

 

[tgolanos]

Bleach bomb the fermenters for 24 hours, make sure the bleach-water mixture reaches the top of the fermenter otherwise you might not reach all the bacteria. Then just give them a good hot water rinse. Dump all the O-rings, grommets, and other possibly infected plastics in, as well.

Proceed as normal on your next brew, sanitize the fermenter and fill it up.

Hope that helps.

 

[helibrewer]

If you have a pressure cooker, all the small stuff can be sterilized in it. On brew day I use a spray bottle of 150 proof grain alcohol for everything after the boil.

EDIT: What are you using to cool your wort?

 

[kcoect]

What solution concentration on the bleach? I'm starting with a PBW soak to make sure there isn't any left over gunk suck to the side that I'm either not seeing or just didn't get off... Next I'll bomb it with a bleach solution (say 1 cup per 5 gallons?)... Then a good rinse. Someone at the local HBS suggested that I wear gloves and take some straight star san (what I use for sanitizing) and wipe down the entire inside surface, let it sit, and then do a strong star san soak (say double concentration) and a good rinse before my normal brew soak/sanitize and try again.

As for all the other misc parts, they've already been taken out and throughly cleaned (short of boiling), but I will order some new gaskets, they're cheap to replace!

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'll let you know how I make out!

Edit: Almost forgot additional questions:
Full mash in coolers, gravity sparge and pump into 16 gallon kettle, counterflow chiller for cooling and basement temps generally for fermentation here in New England (Central CT to be more specific).

Everything sits in a bucket of sanitizer on brew day (Hoses, spoons, paddle, etc...) just about the entire time untill needed and is throughly cleaned after brew day and left to dry. If it can't go in the bucket, it gets sprayed down with sanitizer before use. Oh, and O2 wand also sits in the sanitizing bucket all brew day and is baked once or twice a year.

 

[flars]

Use some care in the cleaning. 140°F liquid will deform the BMB. Cleaning solution soaks should not last for more than a few hours. Caution doesn't say why but I suspect strong cleaning solutions may make the plastic brittle.

 

[Weezy]

1 tablespoon per gallon of water. Soak for 20 minutes. Boil the rubber and silicone parts.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/brewing-preperations/sanitation/sanitizing-your-equipment

 

[tgolanos]

What solution concentration on the bleach? I'm starting with a PBW soak to make sure there isn't any left over gunk suck to the side that I'm either not seeing or just didn't get off... Next I'll bomb it with a bleach solution (say 1 cup per 5 gallons?)...

It should say on the back of the bleach bottle. Mine says 3 tablespoons per liter for a good 'soak' solution. 5 gallons is about 19-20L. Use warm water for best results.

 

[IslandLizard]

Make sure to use real bleach (chlorine/hypochlorite based), not "color safe bleach," which is peroxide based. Rule of thumb, if it doesn't smell strongly of chlorine, it's most likely peroxide.

A 2% dilution of common household bleach should suffice to kill off bacteria on smooth surfaces. I put cleaned and sanitized fermentation buckets out in bright sunlight for a day to let UV sterilize them. Long live the damaged ozone layer...

 

[IslandLizard]

If you have a valve on your kettle, take it apart to clean the inside. Lots of gunk can harbor in there, hosting colonies of bacteria. Pediococcus is a main culprit, seems to survive heated areas. Usually the taste of diacetyl (butter or butter flavored popcorn) is a give away of Pediococcus at work, but is harder to detect when the beer has soured.