Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

A spot to talk general homebrew
Post Reply
User avatar
Ruby
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 161
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:34 pm
Name: Ruby
Location: Halifax

Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by Ruby » Wed May 23, 2018 6:07 pm

We all know it, cleanliness is next to Godliness, especially where our craft is concerned. However, not all of us have the luxury of having a completely closed-off, controlled brewery. So we brew where we eat, sleep and do other things. I'm interested to see where we cut corners and what - if any - major or minor effects have been.

Tell Uncle Ruby your "dirty" secrets. Tell me if they had an impact on your brewing. I'll start.

1. I don't sterilise scissors before opening packets of dried yeast. (hasn't had an impact that i'm aware of)

2. I have been known to clean a fermenter quickly after use and then just spray Star-san before I use it. Even if weeks have passed. (I have had a Brett infection passed from a wild brew to a clean brew and I suspect this was why)

3. I am waaaaay too confident in the abilities of Star-san.

Go on - I wont tell!
Give a man a beer, and he'll waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he'll waste a lifetime.

User avatar
GAM
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 5402
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 2:50 pm
Name: Sandy MacNeil
Location: North End HFX

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by GAM » Wed May 23, 2018 9:21 pm

Uncle Ruby
1. I don't sterilise scissors before opening packets of dried yeast. (hasn't had an impact that i'm aware of)
My teeth are fine!

2. I have been known to clean a fermenter quickly after use and then just spray Star-san before I use it. Even if weeks have passed. (I have had a Brett infection passed from a wild brew to a clean brew and I suspect this was why)

Nope. I have done no chill and let the wort at 100' do the work for me, but the work of brewing makes me more aware of the process and Ill take the time to sanitize.

3. I am waaaaay too confident in the abilities of Star-san.
I do PBW soak for days, rinse and hit with Star-san

User avatar
LeafMan66_67
Award Winner 2
Award Winner 2
Posts: 4596
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:10 am
Name: Derek Stapleton
Location: Lower Sackville, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Thu May 24, 2018 7:52 am

LeafMan:
1. Like Uncle Ruby, I don't sterilize scissors before opening packets of dried yeast. I do however sanitize my liquid yeast packs. Go figure.
2. If I forget to boil and sanitize some water for rehydrating yeast, I've been known to use a fresh bottle of water, heated in the microwave. Haven't had issues that I know of with this.
3. Way back I used to run PBW, rinse and sanitize through my pump and ball valves. That is until I saw the crap that came out of the pump one day. After that it was full tear down each and every time. Scary what was inside the ball valves.

I'm sure there are more ...
"He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

User avatar
LiverDance
Award Winner 6
Award Winner 6
Posts: 4011
Joined: Fri Sep 24, 2010 4:50 pm
Name: Brian
Location: Sprybeeria

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by LiverDance » Thu May 24, 2018 1:39 pm

I have so many! Def no scissors opening my yeast, never rehydrate my dry yeast, I use standard oxyclean for cleaning, and i have a bag of smoked malt that is probably 5 years old that I still use :wtf:
"Twenty years ago — a time, by the way, that hops such as Simcoe and Citra were already being developed, but weren’t about to find immediate popularity — there wasn’t a brewer on earth who would have gone to the annual Hop Growers of American convention and said, “I’m going to have a beer that we make 4,000 barrels of, one time a year. It flies off the shelf at damn near $20 a six-pack, and you know what it smells like? It smells like your cat ate your weed and then pissed in the Christmas tree.” - Bell’s Brewery Director of Operations John Mallet on the scent of their popular Hopslam.

User avatar
sgrhyno
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:20 pm
Name: Shaun Rhyno
Location: Lewis Lake

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by sgrhyno » Thu May 24, 2018 8:49 pm

Well..brewed this weekend. 10gal batch into 2 fermenters.

1. Also definitely did not sanitize scissors before cutting open the yeast nor did I hydrate.

2. Was short an airlock, so it is currently fermenting with a price of paper-towel twisted and jammed in the bung...this is definitely a first.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

User avatar
weisseguy
Registered User
Registered User
Posts: 58
Joined: Mon May 02, 2016 1:46 pm
Name: Clinty McClintock

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by weisseguy » Fri May 25, 2018 8:21 am

I used to use my stand up shower as a fermentation chamber so the drain could handle the blowoff lol! Easy to clean up!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Bottled: 10 of Wands RIS

User avatar
mckay75
Award Winner 6
Award Winner 6
Posts: 750
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:36 pm
Name: Mark
Location: Truro
Contact:

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by mckay75 » Fri May 25, 2018 8:26 am

I often repitch on a yeast cake that's been sitting in my fermenter for over a week. Granted its in 15 gal keg, sealed and sitting on co2. Guilty of using old malt too...from my days of rounding up random bags on the group buy haha.

User avatar
Ruby
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 161
Joined: Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:34 pm
Name: Ruby
Location: Halifax

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by Ruby » Sun May 27, 2018 7:28 am

Wow!

Some fantastic bad habits i haven't tried yet!

I always like to reuse yeast when i can, but i've been nervous about not pitching straight onto a wet cake. Maybe i dont need to sweat about waiting til the next brew day!
Give a man a beer, and he'll waste an hour. Teach a man to brew, and he'll waste a lifetime.

User avatar
mckay75
Award Winner 6
Award Winner 6
Posts: 750
Joined: Tue Feb 14, 2012 5:36 pm
Name: Mark
Location: Truro
Contact:

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by mckay75 » Mon May 28, 2018 8:07 am

Ruby wrote:
Sun May 27, 2018 7:28 am
Wow!

Some fantastic bad habits i haven't tried yet!

I always like to reuse yeast when i can, but i've been nervous about not pitching straight onto a wet cake. Maybe i dont need to sweat about waiting til the next brew day!
My scenario might be a little different...I ferment in 15 gal ball lock kegs and pressure transfer when kegging...so there is no oxygen in the fermenter at all.

User avatar
oceanic_brew
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:14 pm
Name: Glen O'Keefe

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by oceanic_brew » Tue May 29, 2018 12:38 pm

I had such a large run of infections that I went though my entire process with a fine tooth comb and went above and beyond with the cleaning and sanitizing.

It was a tough process since I started getting infections prior to discontinuing the use of my CFC, I didn’t rule out the CFC as I still got them when I began no chill brewing using the coffee urn fermentors from Noble Grape.

Adding the wort at 180 to the urns helped to sanitize a low quality spigot on the them and I only had a noticeable infection every 8-10 batches. I replaced those with SS plugs but made the mistake of using my CFC again only to get more infections.

It’s really hard to narrow down infections when they are coming from two sources.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

saosborne
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 1:05 pm
Name: sean osborne
Location: Fall River

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by saosborne » Wed May 30, 2018 4:16 am

about to do my first no chill with one of the urns . never liked the look of the cheap spigot but havent replaced it because I"ve never had a problem. Your opinion, should I replace them or just sanitize the sh8t out of them as I've been doing? keep in mind I'll probably still drink the beer (unless its really bad) but swear and lament about what I should have done.

saosborne
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 134
Joined: Sat Jan 25, 2014 1:05 pm
Name: sean osborne
Location: Fall River

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by saosborne » Wed May 30, 2018 4:36 am

there's my dirty little secret. I'll drink almost anything I've made but won't share it unless I can genuinely say I want feedback on how to improve an awesome beer

User avatar
oceanic_brew
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:14 pm
Name: Glen O'Keefe

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by oceanic_brew » Thu May 31, 2018 2:45 pm

saosborne wrote:about to do my first no chill with one of the urns . never liked the look of the cheap spigot but havent replaced it because I"ve never had a problem. Your opinion, should I replace them or just sanitize the sh8t out of them as I've been doing? keep in mind I'll probably still drink the beer (unless its really bad) but swear and lament about what I should have done.

I think if I hadn’t used that dirty CFC I probably wouldn’t have had a problem.

But the fact that when I did start to have infections it was visibly obvious by inspecting the components inside the spigot.

I’d bet if you dismantled and boiled them they’d be fine but they are by no means meant to be a sanitary component at least not to the standards we need. Fine for serving coffee.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RossBee
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 551
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:36 pm
Name: Steffen Rosswog
Location: Baie Verte, NB

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by RossBee » Sun Jun 03, 2018 10:35 pm

I run 18 kegs, never taken one apart, never changed a beer line on three keezers nor a tap, and yes, I flush with 40% mixture of bleach and copious amount of water. Once the kegs are empty and flushed they get filled with 15 grams of Metabisulfite and water. Haven't had an issue so far.
Why brew beer I can buy?

elreplica
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 478
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:36 am
Name: Don
Location: South Shore, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by elreplica » Mon Jun 04, 2018 4:43 am

saosborne wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 4:16 am
about to do my first no chill with one of the urns . never liked the look of the cheap spigot but havent replaced it because I"ve never had a problem. Your opinion, should I replace them or just sanitize the sh8t out of them as I've been doing? keep in mind I'll probably still drink the beer (unless its really bad) but swear and lament about what I should have done.
I still haven’t fixed my urn...got a weldless ball valve after reaming out the keystone hole that the coffee spigot set into...haven’t been able to find gaskets to seal it back up. Had custom nylon ones made but need to make them a touch larger. Knowing what I know now and after what I’ve been through I’d leave them.
At Bat: several Czech Pils
On Deck: Cream Ale
In the Hole: Kolsch
Clean Up: Tall Ships Ale clones
On tap: Propeller Pils, Festa Cream Ale

User avatar
oceanic_brew
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 625
Joined: Wed Aug 26, 2015 6:14 pm
Name: Glen O'Keefe

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by oceanic_brew » Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:15 pm

elreplica wrote:
saosborne wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 4:16 am
about to do my first no chill with one of the urns . never liked the look of the cheap spigot but havent replaced it because I"ve never had a problem. Your opinion, should I replace them or just sanitize the sh8t out of them as I've been doing? keep in mind I'll probably still drink the beer (unless its really bad) but swear and lament about what I should have done.
I still haven’t fixed my urn...got a weldless ball valve after reaming out the keystone hole that the coffee spigot set into...haven’t been able to find gaskets to seal it back up. Had custom nylon ones made but need to make them a touch larger. Knowing what I know now and after what I’ve been through I’d leave them.
That’s surprising. The hole I ended up with after rounding out the the keyhole was perfect for the plugs I installed. I guess it depends on the differences of threading on the weldless spigot. Did Everwood have anything?

I have a flat rubber washer on the outside and on the inside there’s a SS washer that receives a gasket inside a slot in the washer. Works great.

However I do dismantle it and soak it after each use. I would much rather use a weldless 3 piece ball valve. Let me know if you find something that works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

elreplica
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 478
Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2012 11:36 am
Name: Don
Location: South Shore, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by elreplica » Wed Jun 06, 2018 9:26 am

oceanic_brew wrote:
Tue Jun 05, 2018 12:15 pm
elreplica wrote:
saosborne wrote:
Wed May 30, 2018 4:16 am
about to do my first no chill with one of the urns . never liked the look of the cheap spigot but havent replaced it because I"ve never had a problem. Your opinion, should I replace them or just sanitize the sh8t out of them as I've been doing? keep in mind I'll probably still drink the beer (unless its really bad) but swear and lament about what I should have done.
I still haven’t fixed my urn...got a weldless ball valve after reaming out the keystone hole that the coffee spigot set into...haven’t been able to find gaskets to seal it back up. Had custom nylon ones made but need to make them a touch larger. Knowing what I know now and after what I’ve been through I’d leave them.
That’s surprising. The hole I ended up with after rounding out the the keyhole was perfect for the plugs I installed. I guess it depends on the differences of threading on the weldless spigot. Did Everwood have anything?

I have a flat rubber washer on the outside and on the inside there’s a SS washer that receives a gasket inside a slot in the washer. Works great.

However I do dismantle it and soak it after each use. I would much rather use a weldless 3 piece ball valve. Let me know if you find something that works.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Haven’t got to Everwood yet ( in quite awhile)Glen but I appreciate the tip. Robert from the Grain Barrel was helping me with some custom ones...would you be able to provide me with the dimensions or part numbers or pics? I’ll then call Dave at Everwood and try and sort it out as my reamed hole (doesn’t sound good) is preventing me from using the fermenter. Btw I have the two piece Everwood ball valve but the nipple and measures should be the same for the gasket/washers.TIA oh and I have the SS inner gasket washer but need to find something for the outside.
At Bat: several Czech Pils
On Deck: Cream Ale
In the Hole: Kolsch
Clean Up: Tall Ships Ale clones
On tap: Propeller Pils, Festa Cream Ale

MikeMorrison
Registered User
Registered User
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:33 pm
Name: Mike Morrison
Location: Sydney, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by MikeMorrison » Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:17 pm

Brewed tonight after reading this thread earlier. Did a double rinse with oxy clean, flushed with water 3 times, fresh star san all around, sanitized scissors, yeast pack, thermometer and my cat. Then wiped out the neck of my carboy and dried off the bung with my t-shirt when it wouldn't stay in place! :lol:
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
On Tap: Good Morning Spider Hop Harvest IPA

User avatar
LeafMan66_67
Award Winner 2
Award Winner 2
Posts: 4596
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2012 7:10 am
Name: Derek Stapleton
Location: Lower Sackville, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by LeafMan66_67 » Thu Jun 07, 2018 6:12 am

Excellent!
MikeMorrison wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:17 pm
Brewed tonight after reading this thread earlier. Did a double rinse with oxy clean, flushed with water 3 times, fresh star san all around, sanitized scissors, yeast pack, thermometer and my cat. Then wiped out the neck of my carboy and dried off the bung with my t-shirt when it wouldn't stay in place! :lol:
"He was a wise man who invented beer." - Plato

User avatar
sgrhyno
Verified User
Verified User
Posts: 146
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2016 12:20 pm
Name: Shaun Rhyno
Location: Lewis Lake

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by sgrhyno » Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:01 am

MikeMorrison wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:17 pm
Brewed tonight after reading this thread earlier. Did a double rinse with oxy clean, flushed with water 3 times, fresh star san all around, sanitized scissors, yeast pack, thermometer and my cat. Then wiped out the neck of my carboy and dried off the bung with my t-shirt when it wouldn't stay in place! :lol:
That's awesome!! :lol: How did the cat make out?

MikeMorrison
Registered User
Registered User
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Nov 24, 2015 10:33 pm
Name: Mike Morrison
Location: Sydney, NS

Re: Tell Me Your Dirty Secrets!

Post by MikeMorrison » Thu Jun 07, 2018 11:10 am

sgrhyno wrote:
Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:01 am
MikeMorrison wrote:
Wed Jun 06, 2018 11:17 pm
Brewed tonight after reading this thread earlier. Did a double rinse with oxy clean, flushed with water 3 times, fresh star san all around, sanitized scissors, yeast pack, thermometer and my cat. Then wiped out the neck of my carboy and dried off the bung with my t-shirt when it wouldn't stay in place! :lol:
That's awesome!! :lol: How did the cat make out?
Clean and bitter!! Hopefully I can say the same about the beer!
Fermenting: Sticke Altbier, Amarillo Saison, DDH Amarillo IPA with Verdant Yeast
On Tap: Good Morning Spider Hop Harvest IPA

Post Reply

Return to “General Homebrew Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 20 guests