Well, I finally registered for assimilation

[vicki167]

Well, after lurking for several months, I finally got around to registering. Started over at the MB forum and saw references to this forum and so here I am. Wanted to start off by saying thank you all. Just lurking for the past few months, I have learned a ton already. I have brewed maybe 13 MB kits so far with undecided results. And that's what brings me here to register and ask for thoughts. I think I have a wild yeast problem. Basically, of the 13 batches I have done so far, they all pretty much taste the exact same... a very acidic taste. The exceptions being a pumpkin ale and a spiced christmas ale. And my guess is that the spices in those are masking the tartness. From reading the forums, I have been assuming that the beer is just green, but I am beginning to think that is not the fact and that I have some wild yeast contamination. My reasoning is...

1) A Honey Blonde with OG 1.050 has been bottle conditioning for 7 weeks and tastes the exact same as it did at 3 weeks. Sour and acidic.
2) I bottled a pilsner last night. It smells (as do most of my beers) the exact same as my sour dough starters. That very astringent alcohol smell. Similar to most of my beers.
3) I bake a lot. Cookies several times a week and bread twice a week. I have a lot of yeast flying around my kitchen. It takes about 6 hours for me to get a sourdough starter going from scratch.

I think I have been pretty good about sanitation (famous last words). I have a sink full of StarSan that I immerse everything in during the brew process. LBK, utensils, etc. I currently have a non-MB recipe kit fermenting in a 5 gallon bucket as well as two MB recipes in glass carboys. This should allow me to rule out it being the MB kits just taking forever to age as well as the LBK and MB instructions in general. I did a full wort boil for one of the MB kits. I guess I will know in a few weeks the results (patience, right?). Currently, I am prepared to let all of my beer sit in bottles for a few months to see if I just have the ability to make beer that takes forever to condition. (However, I am getting thirsty.)

Assuming I can narrow it down to wild yeast contamination, I am thinking that I will need to do full wort boils, possibly outside. I am moving away from the MB kits anyway (for price and variety). I can't possibly be the only person who bakes and brews a lot, so maybe it is just poor sanitation on my part. I guess I am wondering, assuming all of my equipment is sanitized properly, is it likely that an un-lidded pot of wort for any amount of time (a matter of minutes) can get a yeast contamination from the air?

Anyway, appreciate any advice that can be offered to this n00b. I am really enjoying the mix of science and art that home brewing is. I'll enjoy it a tad bit more when I can get consistent results.

[Beer-lord]

Welcome to the Borg vicki.
I feel your pain but you should also try cleaning the items well with PBW for a few hours and then use the Star San to sanitize. It is possible that you have wild yeast that's causing the problem but it seems like you have a good handle on what needs to be done so far.
Best of luck!

[vicki167]

Thanks for the reply. I have been cleaning with PBW post brew and fermentation. The LBKs get rinsed, then soaked overnight in PBW, valves taken apart and cleaned in the PBW, then rinsed again, dried and put away. Soaked before use in the StarSan. I have also been draining the PWB solution and star san out of the LBKs through the valves. I think that I'll brew a batch tonight doing a full 5 gallon boil and just do everything outside. It'll come inside only after the lid and airlock are on and straight into the brew closet. If this doesn't work, the wife and I will have to enter negotiations for me to build a clean-room in the garage.

What's the best way to take gravity readings with minimal contamination? The current brew bucket I have was given to me by a friend. It has a valve in it. I was thinking to use the valve to take gravity readings and then rack it to the bottling bucket via auto-siphon and avoid the valve all together in case of contamination. Up until now, I haven't been doing gravity readings to determine if beer was ready to bottle. I have just been waiting 3 weeks.

[gwcr]

Welcome to the Borg vicki167! Glad you found us!!

Sorry to hear about your issues. Besides the acidic taste, you also mentioned an alcohol smell. What temperature are you fermenting at? High temperature fermentation can cause that hot phenolic alcohol smell/taste. I had a batch last year that I thought was infected, but in reviewing it got up in the high 70's while fermenting. While the phenols did mellow quite a bit over time, they never completely went away.

Keep plugging away and asking more questions. If you can give us more detail about your entire process from start to finish, we may be able to narrow down any other problem areas you might have.

[vicki167]

The batch that I bottled last night was actually pretty consistent between 62-66 degrees. I wasn't recording temps early on in the process but from memory of checking the fermometers, the highest temp that my beers ever hit were about 76. Never above that. Usually the fermentations were occurring in the low 70s, (72-74).

My current brew closet setup has the air temp at 68-70 and the fermometers all say 70. The blue, green, yellow colors are situated on 68,70,72.

Thanks.

[gwcr]

Doesn't sound too bad. Keep in mind though, that the actual temp of the fermenting wort can be as much as 4-6-8 ish degrees above ambient room temp depending on how vigorous of a fermentation you have going on. The yeast work up quite a sweat chewing through all that sugar...

[RickBeer]

I take my sample from the spigot, then take my spray bottle of Star San and spray up into the spigot (putting one hand over the top of the spigot to catch the spray), which then drips. I wipe it up. Little mess, no fuss, no contamination.

[vicki167]

@gwcr : That seems to track along with what I am seeing with my fermometers and the room temp. Stable temps in the brew closet can be a bit of a pain in the spring and fall. Warm, but not warm enough for AC yet or cold but not cold enough for heat yet. I can throw a heater in there. Cooling can be a bit more challenging. However, I'll make sure the temps stay good. Thinking of a temp controlled rig in the not too distant future.

@RickBeer : Thanks. I'll give that a try.

[BlackDuck]

Looks like your already on your way to figuring out what is going on, and since I've not much to add at this point, I'll just say.....welcome, glad you decided to register. You're in for a great ride!!!

[berryman]

Welcome to The Borg

[Dawg LB Steve]

Welcome to the Borg! You will find that if you have questions more than likely someone here will have answers, you have found a great bunch of brewers!

[jimjohson]

Welcome to the forum

[LouieMacGoo]

to the Borg Vicki/John. I'm glad you found your way here. There's a lot of great advise that has already been given. I'm sure you've already checked, but it bares repeating to check your sanitation through your entire process. Another piece of advice I have is to read the article that Yankeedag (The Beer Nong) wrote, Simple guide to brewing.

I know you said you've been lurking but if you haven't already, you might also find some of the information here useful.

Cheers and again welcome to the Borg.

[Gymrat]

Hi John

[John Sand]

Hey Vick. Welcome aboard! I too have suffered the pain and frustration of making poor beer. My house is old and has some wild stuff about apparently. I never uncover or open my fermenters in the musty basement. Twice I have thrown out all of my plastics to clear an infection. Any bottle that has even a haze after cleaning gets recycled. On the other hand I have made tart beer by fermenting Nottingham yeast in the seventies. I hope you work it out, do keep us posted.
If you don't mind my asking, your avatar pic implies LE. Are you on the job? (I'm retired after 22 years in two departments)