Three gushers in a row.

[Brewbirds]

Banjo-guy you posted this on Jan.1 have you opened any more of those bottles?

Curious if the rest of the bottles turned out the same re: batch wide issue or bottling day issue.

In the OP you said the taste changed over time, from okay to off, so it sounds like infection is likely but you also mentioned hops in split batches. I have heard that it is possible to get gushers if there are hop particles in the bottles.

[Banjo-guy]

The Moose Drool clone just gushes like crazy when it is opened.It must have an infection. The Moose Drool was one of the bad batches.
I brewed another beer in two different kettle on a different brew day. I put each beer in its own LBK.One batch usedjust citra for the hop additions and the other wort got fuggle hops.
On an early tasting the citra hop was great. The fuggle was nothing special. Both beers were tried after about 3 weeks after bottling. They both got a bad taste after bottling.

I always ferment for 3 weeks and check for two gravity readings two days apart.

[Yankeedag]

so maybe the problem is in the bottling...

[mashani]

Or the bottles...

[Banjo-guy]

After drinking the beer I rinse my bottles out by filling them half way with water,turning them upside down and shaking them.
I do this three times. I then put them away. It's possible that some of the residual water remains in the bottle and slowly evaporates.

On bottling day:
First I microwave 1 cup of water for 4-5 minutes in a Pyrex measuring cup,bringing it to a boil.
I add the sugar and cover the Pyrex cup with a piece of sterilized foil,letting it sit to cool.
For my Last brew I added the sugar solution it right to the beer without cooling the sugar mixture.
( I spray Starsan around the Lid before screwing it off)

On bottling day I generally don't rinse out the already rinsed bottles . I put them on a bottling tree with a Vinater ( the pump that shoots Starsan into the bottles ).
I Starsan each bottle with the Vinater and place them back on the rack. Meanwhile I am soaking the caps and bottling wand in a tray filled with Starsan.
I spray the kitchen counter, spigot ,LBK, and front of the base kitchen cabinet with Starsan.
I rinse and soak my clean hands in Starsan.
After I fill a bottle I place a cap on it until I have about 6 bottles ready to be capped.
My bottle capped has also been soaking in Starsan.
I cap the bottle.


I think my process seems solid but I does look like something went off during bottling.
Is it possible that the batches were infected right from fermentation but the infection took a while to grow and the longer it sat in the bottles the stronger it became?

[gwcr]

When I bottle, I always give each bottle a visual inspection (when it's dry) before adding it to my bottling rotation. Hold it up to a light and check for any residue that may still be lurking (usually at the base, but sometimes at the neck). If there is anything there, I set that bottle aside to clean with a bottle brush and oxyclean free (or your cleanser of choice). Once satisfied that it is visually clean, it gets the starsan treatment from the vinator and then onto the bottling tree.

Are you using a bottling wand? Make sure to take that sucker apart for a thorough cleaning. Goobies really like to hide around the spring and the little o-ring on the stopper...

[John Sand]

I'm with GW here. I've had an infected bottling problem too. Good at bottling, still good when conditioned, but changes over time. And I concluded that the bottling was the problem. I threw away all of my plastics. New fermenters, new bottling wand and autosiphon. Threw out the turkey baster, use a pyrex cup to pull samples. The problem stopped. But I do notice stubborn stains in bottles that were infected. Holding it up to the light when dry will reveal a ring at the neck, and often traces on the bottom. Dish soap and a bottle brush doesn't get it. I plan to do a PBW soak on those.

[Banjo-guy]

Thanks. I will have to give my bottling wand a good cleaning and really go through the bottles before the next batch.

[BigPapaG]

Over time, a biomass can build up inside bottles, wand, hoses etc.

It generally needs to be cleaned with a good cleaner like one-step or pbw and most importantly be brushed free with a bristle brush.

Those brushes come in different diameters and lengths are I have found them to be invaluable in keeping things clean.

The folks at Five Star Chemicals have said that brushing is most important to relieve the gear of the biomass. Star San alone is not enough and is to be used after proper cleaning.

Just a suggestion...

[Brewbirds]

When I bottle, I always give each bottle a visual inspection (when it's dry) before adding it to my bottling rotation. Hold it up to a light and check for any residue that may still be lurking (usually at the base, but sometimes at the neck). If there is anything there, I set that bottle aside to clean with a bottle brush and oxyclean free (or your cleanser of choice). Once satisfied that it is visually clean, it gets the starsan treatment from the vinator and then onto the bottling tree.

Are you using a bottling wand? Make sure to take that sucker apart for a thorough cleaning. Goobies really like to hide around the spring and the little o-ring on the stopper...

What he said! A visible inspection under a good light source should show cracks, flaws and residue in the bottles.

I rinse each bottle after pouring but the collar/shoulder and bottom often retain residue after plain hot water rinsing.

I also soak /wash them with brewery cleaner before storing them upside down in boxes to use again. Then they are rinsed and placed on the bottle tree to dry, where they should dry uniformly, and get an inspection under light.

If any of them have spots of water vapor in them while the rest are dry they are re-washed not placed upside down in the box.

On bottling day I pull a case/box of bottles out and hold them up to the light again to check them before sanitizing with the Vinitor and putting them on the bottling tree to dry.

I throw the caps in the vinitor filled with Star San where they soak and grab a few at a time as I bottle.

Also on bottling day when I am setting everything up I spray the inside of (holding the spray bottle upside down in the opening) and the outside of the spigot and I spray the lid and top of the LBK with Star San before I start bottling as a precaution.

Hope any of this helps we are all mourning your beer loss.

[Banjo-guy]

If the bottles are soaked in Oxyclean overnight do you find that they still need to be srubbed with a bottle brush?

[Yankeedag]

I'll use the bottle brush quickly just for the S&G's of it.