Infection?...the perils of brewing in a student house

[chri1577]

My latest brew is worrying me...

It's been going 3 days and has a goodstart to fermentation and currently has a thin later of fome with plenty of gas.

However... one of my m8s tasted it with an unsteralised spoon...he then droped the lid in it as he was puttign the lid back on yesterday evening.

There is now a faint, slightly sweet vinigary smell

The kit is Burton bridge porter

When and how will i know if I have an infection?...

[brysie]

is there any swelling or soreness?
or is it just red?

probably best get down the doc first thing tomorrow and get one of those morning after thingys - just in case.

[KevP]

The best thing to do is just carry on as normal, off smells and tastes can be perfectly normal, but you'll never know until its matured a bit, no point in chucking it, you never know!

[brysie]

oh no you didnt chris

[chri1577]

thanks KevP for making the only usful comment...

So lets say it get's throught primary fermentation with out growing green mold and i stick it in a barrel... how soon afterwoods will I know if it is a chucker and how will i tell then?...

[Ditch]

chri1577; From ye overall description of the worts condition, and those it's encountered, it's still a case of anybodys guess, mate. I mean, wther or not ye sanitised the Top of that FV lid could be a maker or breaker. As could what that spoon was last used for ~ and how well It was cleaned. No one can really make worthwhile guesses on the unknown variables of ye situation or the fates.

" A faint, slightly sweet vinigary smell " though actually gives me hope. See, this is one of the biggest pit falls of the mind set one may develop, in the early days, as ye trawl this place. Ye'll read of " TCP ". " Vinegar ". " Twang ". " Tang ". " Cidery ". And ye'll be unconsciously paranoid as all hell!

Just try to forget all that. Concentrate on two things:

1/ What ever's in that FV might smell nothing like beer. Because it 'Isn't Beer'. Not yet. It's a substance in the process of evolving into beer. Like something in the womb, it'll undergo huge changes as it develops. This is why I tend to ignore it as it goes through it's thing. (Sadly, had ye mate known that, he might not have started all this in the first place But there we are)

2/ " Vinegar " ? One simple rule, with me; IF that stuff's gone over and is now what we refer to as " Vinegar " ? I believe " The Ditch Rule " will prevail. And The Ditch Rule is simplicity itself to implement. Take one sniff.

Ye've took a sniff. Then ye've taken a taste. The Ditch Rule says there's hope. Try again in a day or two. Sniff it.

I promise ye this; IF that stuff's gone to 'vinegar' ? One quick sniff and No F*cking Way will ye be even considering putting the shit near ye mouth! That Is " The Ditch Rule "!

They say that " You Know when ye've been Tangoed! " ? Believe me; Ye Know when ye have five gallons of liquid, acidic vomit!

Couple of days and ye'll Know.

Good luck.

[martyn142]

Chris - I agree no need to panic yet. Certainly don't ditch it (no pun intended although there is a reasonable chance your mate has introduced and infection. Leave it as long as you can and then take a taste - you'll know, as Ditch says

Good luck anyway. But - and I don't think you need telling - keeping things sterlised is about the only hard-and-fast rule you can't afford to break when brewing.

[boingy]

I'd also echo that advice. If it is infected then there is nothing you can do to rescue it but never be too hasty to bin a batch of beer. For the sake of waiting a week or so you might find you end up with something drinkable, o maybe even a great beer. The smells that come of fermetation are an eternal mystery to me. Sometimes it smells great, sometimes it smells bad. Just stick with it. Ditch's advice is good. Taste the beer. If you think "ew, its a bit funny/bitter/sweet/vinegary" then give it some more time. If you think "OMG, no way am I taking another sip of that!!!" then bin it...

[KevP]

thanks KevP for making the only usful comment...

So lets say it get's throught primary fermentation with out growing green mold and i stick it in a barrel... how soon afterwoods will I know if it is a chucker and how will i tell then?...

You're welcome mate, Ditch's advise is good, you'll know when its time to chuck it.

[brysie]

thanks KevP for making the only usful comment...

ooh get her

[chopperswookie]

i did a wherry that i thought "had gone" by the smell. smelt like bad feet and proper eggy, but went ok and after 6 weeks in a barrel was bloody brilliant.

fermentation is a strange thing, bit like scientology, no matter how hard you research it, you still are none the wiser.

[brysie]

oh chris.
you did it again.

[FlourPower]

I brewed as a student with no troubles.

Once the fermentation starts it's pretty difficult for a competitor to the yeast to gain a foothold. Microbio stories are scary because things can happen, but that's no reason to take the fun out of it.

The best part of being a student was watching people unable to syphon try. I learnt on car engines so seeing people with unsuspected mouthfuls of green beer is fairly funny.

Also as a student I introduced people to homebrewing. In return I levy a bottle of their brews. Win!

[chri1577]

just given it a smell and the vinigar has quitened down a lot... nosign of it in the taste... and it is stillbubbling away gravity was 1.18 this morning

Tim

[Ditch]

Sounds like ye home and dry, Tim. And a couple of good lessons learned. 1. Stay away from the initial process ~ what ever will be will be and there's simply nothing to be gained from poking it around.

2. Knock ye mate spark out if He ever gets near ye FV again. Teach Him a lesson!