Ridenour64
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I just made a new starter last night and went down this morning and saw 2 pieces of my dogs hair on it. I can’t win.
Yes, that's a bubble from the stir bar. Starter looks good so far, and no signs of a pellicle!So this one is creating larger bubbles as well that stick around for a while but then burst. I’m wondering if it’s just because the stir bar is brining all the small bubbles to the center and causing them to combine into what’s seen.
[...]
Thoughts?
How do you separate the wort from the grain? Wouldn't any hair and fur stay with the grain, not in the strained liquid (wort)?I’m fairly confident that the only opportunity for hair to have gotten into it was during the one hour mash on the stove. I open and stir a few times over the course of an hour. Then I transfer to flask and boil. Once it’s into the flask, I assume risk for debris entry is minimal.
I also turn the AC/heat pump off on the thermostat when working with yeast and infection-critical things. I expect Brett to live in the duct work, but likely something way worse.Also, my wife knows full well no scooping of litter, running the vacuum cleaner, or anything else that raises dust until after the yeast has been pitched and the fermenter is sealed up.
Once you brew electric you never want to go back to gas. At least not on a regular basis.I’m brewing on a electric /220V system. I also have a detached garage on a house that I don’t planning staying in forever so I don’t think it’s worth it to make a run to the garage. I would love to brew in my garage and away from pets. I have thought about buying a propane setup until I move to a home that has a better set up for this.
Similarly here.[...] and drape a sanitizer-soaked paper towel over the lid hole to minimize the gaps.
The video above looks completely normal to me, but since you can see the dog hair, I'd dump the starter and pitch a dry yeast. No point in risking the entire batch over the cost of the starter. As far as brewing lessons learned, this was a relatively cheap one.I thought I was serious about about cleaning / sanitizing sounds like you guys are levels above me.
So what would you guys recommend here. Is a starter with a confirmed piece of hair a dumper? Wait and see?
Looks fine to me..I feel like I’m taking over thing thread, but this is clearly infected right?
No dog hair here but we have two cats; however I brew in the attached garage where they are not allowed specifically to minimize fur contamination. Ditto on the hot shower and fresh clothes on brew days, also brush my teeth and use listerine after reading here about another brewer who identified breathing over kettle and fermenter as a potential vector for infection. Sleeves stay rolled up, dipping hands frequently in sanitizer then wiping hands/forearms with wet paper towels. Can't be too careful.
Also, my wife knows full well no scooping of litter, running the vacuum cleaner, or anything else that raises dust until after the yeast has been pitched and the fermenter is sealed up.
Could you install an immersion chiller through the lid? Drop that on just before flame out to sanitize before switching on the coolant flow.
I too like to keep the lid on the fermenter once it's been sanitized, and transfer from the kettle valve with a short length of silicone tubing through a hole in the lid, and drape a sanitizer-soaked paper towel over the lid hole to minimize the gaps.
Using the same cloths for covering pickle jars. Do you worry about introducing Acetobacter which could convert you entire brew into vinegar.Similarly here.
I have a whole bunch of dedicated small, thinnish cotton washcloths (Dollar store) that live in my Starsan bucket for just that purpose. Also used for mopping the inside of buckets, funnels, lids, etc. It prefer the "scrubbing/mopping" over merely spraying onto surfaces, and it generates a thick foamy film that stays on, even vertical surfaces.
Those same washcloths cover the wide open mouths of pickle jars and flasks while waiting to be filled or while being oxygenated.
Ah, good catch!Using the same cloths for covering pickle jars. Do you worry about introducing Acetobacter which could convert you entire brew into vinegar.
I've made apple cider vinegar in the past but keep everything separate from my homebrew & even make it in another room.
Not clearly!I feel like I’m taking over thing thread, but this is clearly infected right?
Wow! I've used her cousin WY1318 a lot, but never had her bubbling thick like that.This one was imperial A38 Juice. Took off quick and strong. You say go for it even with the confirmed hair? I’m almost certain that hair was boiled though.
Smells good. Haven’t tasted
It's a funnel strainer...
No, the crying is for the verdict on your 2nd all-grain starter going down the tubes.Was the cry face for my choice of yeast?
As I mentioned before, I'm thinking something else is going on that causes those infections. To me, the "boiling" in the flask sticks out as being not good enough.The funnel strainer is for a future effort at an all grain starter. After the mash, I will funnel strain the wort into the flask pre boil. Dog hair won’t stand a chance. I agree on the mesh though and would never let something like that hit my wort post boil.
They really should not be any different from (DME or LME) extract based fermentations/yeast propagations.Maybe I just don’t know what an all grain brew fermentation looks like..
So this one is creating larger bubbles as well that stick around for a while but then burst. I’m wondering if it’s just because the stir bar is brining all the small bubbles to the center and causing them to combine into what’s seen.
I’m fairly confident that the only opportunity for hair to have gotten into it was during the one hour mash on the stove. I open and stir a few times over the course of an hour. Then I transfer to flask and boil. Once it’s into the flask, I assume risk for debris entry is minimal.
apparently I need to immediately shower, and put on a fresh pair of clothes prior to making a starter. Dang dogs.
Thoughts?
I'm flabbergasted!Soo I already made my batch of beer and pitched the dry yeast, but I kept this around just to see what would happen. This is what it looks like today.
Did it taste like that too?My fiancé said it smelled like puke but I think she was being harsh because I asked her to taste it with me .
So the starter may well be fine then, right?I swallowed it if that says anything lol. The best word I could use to describe it was musty. I actually took a few sips. It was far from rancid. I always sip my starters and I find them to be decent, but usually only a few days after making them and after cold crashing.
You'd learn by inoculating a small test batch (say a 3/4 gallon in a gallon jug) with some of this cultured yeast.I’m not going to use it at this point I’m just interested in learning more about infections and how to identify them.
You'd learn by inoculating a small test batch (say a 3/4 gallon in a gallon jug) with some of this cultured yeast.
Hi. I’m new to brewing and this was my 3rd brew. The first two came out perfect however this Irish blond ale is forming white dandruff in the secondary after almost 4 weeks. It was in the primary for 2 weeks. Was curious if this is a byproduct of the reactions or scary mold.
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