A while back I started a thread about stuck fermentation. Eventually I dumped the ferment – strong smell and fermentation did not take off. First failure in over 25 years.
So, tried again – Jimbo’s recipe with white wheat mash and OG of 1.062 and into fermenter for on grain fermentation. The picture is shown after eight days. Some bubbling in the mixture.
Strong smell – not overpowering or vomit like, just strong and not pleasant.
First question – is this a lacto infection?
Second question – from what I read in other threads this mash can be used in a stripping run without major issues. Do I just wait until the SG drops?
Third question – removal of the bad bugs. These are HDPE barrels that were recently put into service – no telling where they have been. I tried to clean them carefully but they may harbor some bad bugs. Can I use muriatic acid (diluted hydrochloric acid) to rinse and clean these barrels? I have gallons of the stuff in storage.
Mr_Beer wrote: ↑Mon Oct 02, 2023 8:03 am
Can I use muriatic acid (diluted hydrochloric acid) to rinse and clean these barrels? I have gallons of the stuff in storage.
I wouldn't recommend muriatic acid.
Star San is good for cleaning fermenters. Water and bleach works also.
You beer people worry to much , your stuck in beer making/ sanitary mode, Ive not cleaned a fermenter in years except for a squirt with a cold water garden hose occasionally, once or twice in the last ten years Ive got really carried away and used some fairly hot water and a scrubbing brush.
From my experience in brewing, the infections that sit on top of a beer like this are generally aerobic bacteria; meaning they need oxygen to metabolize/reproduce. That's why they don't thrive down in the liquid itself, not enough free oxygen. With carbon dioxide being heavier than air, it is pretty simple to collect CO2 from another ferment and deposit a nice layer on top of a finished ferment to protect it. You can use a large balloon to collect it from a bubbling airlock and then empty the contents into the headspace in the vessel you want to protect.
But I'm new here and new to distilling. From the reading I've done here so far, some infections like lacto or butyric can even be desirable for certain flavors.
Last edited by venkman on Tue Oct 03, 2023 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Time, patience, and perseverance will accomplish all things.
Saltbush Bill wrote: ↑Tue Oct 03, 2023 12:31 am
You beer people worry to much , your stuck in beer making/ sanitary mode, Ive not cleaned a fermenter in years except for a squirt with a cold water garden hose occasionally, once or twice in the last ten years Ive got really carried away and used some fairly hot water and a scrubbing brush.
That one made me laugh! I do the same. Nothing but garden hose available in he garage. An old, broken push broom head makes a nice handy brush for some of the stubborn stuff.
It just gets air dried in the sunshine for a while before I spray it down with StarSan and put the cover back on for storage between uses.
Now, oddly enough, I just chatted with a buddy yesterday about a run he’s working on. We’re using same methods, largely the same equipment setup, same recipe. It was pretty basic AG bourbon with some extra enzymes. Ferment on the grain.
He had a good looking conversion and OG of about 1.070. But with the relatively large volume and warm weather it took a bit of extra time to cool to pitch temp. It didn’t just gain a bit of lacto film, it went to a full-on cap that showed all signs of a full-on yeast fermentation. He hydrated out some DADY and hoped it would suppress whatever had already started.
It stopped at a 1.030 and the initial strip run showed all the hallmarks of a weak beer. Everything about this is stuff that has been successful for me for several years and has worked for him, too as we’ve gotten him rolling. This one got weird.
Our best guess is that he maybe opened the vessel up to check and stirred too much and too often during that critical phase where temperature is too warm for yeast, too cool to prevent unwanted growth; the dreaded inoculation zone. I always figure if the outside of the barrel is obviously too hot for yeast then there’s no point in opening it up to check. And when I do (I leave the mud mixer in the barrel until I add yeast, just unchucking it), I avoid aeration to the greatest extent by simply lifting the mixer a time or two to help get at the core area a bit.
He may try to repitch proper yeast now that the wild seems done to try and finish out the rest of beer. Or he may just finish running it. Might just be the best dang bourbon ever!
