What makes my beer go bad Options

[Steve_O]

This is a common theme with most of my beers. I bottle condition and I don't store them in the fridge until a day or so before I'm ready to enjoy them. After a few months (3+) stored at room temperature they start to go bad. It's a slow gradual thing, but starts with a more acidic taste and a BIG head. What's going on, and how do I stop it? Or is this just the shelf life of homebrew? Should I try and store as many in the fridge as possible?

[AUGIE91]

I've heard that most homebrews should be enjoyed asap. If you've got homebrew that is 3 months old you should consider brewing a smaller batch or as you mentioned storing more in the fridge. I cannot appreciate what you're talking about b/c most my brews (except my barleywine) are gone in less than a month. Drink up brother!!!!!!

[Mike H]

Acidity and foaming are sure signs of contamination. You've likely got some slow working bug in your system some where. Home brew can and does last 3+ months.

You might try replacing all the cheap, plastic parts of your brewery, boil what can be boiled, and soak everything else in cleaner, then sanitizer.

mike

[HanSolo]

In addition, store all the bottles in a cool dark place. I keep mine in the basement until I decide to fridge a couple of bottles. Cleaning and sanitizing is a major factor too. I had a bottle stored in the basement for a year and it tasted excellent.

[ewanzel]

Acidity and foaming are sure signs of contamination. You've likely got some slow working bug in your system some where. Home brew can and does last 3+ months.

You might try replacing all the cheap, plastic parts of your brewery, boil what can be boiled, and soak everything else in cleaner, then sanitizer.

mike

+1...light does not cause sour flavors. Homebrew does not have a short shelf life if brewed in clean conditions. You may want to consider a bleach water soak and rinse in addition to those steps suggested by mike.

[alemonger]

It's an infection. If proper sanitation is maintained, the beer will be good for months and, depending on style, years.

[BobH]

I have a a few brews that are 4 years old and the rest spread out to recent sessions. They have changed but none have went bad.

Can you describe your cleaning and sanitizing procedure, including your water source for equipment and bottles.
What about the caps. I pour boiling water over them before I cap. They soak 10 minutes or more before use.
Then summarize your brewing process. Cooling and bottling technique.
Maybe then we could do better pinpointing the problem.

Put them beers with this problem in the fridge. It will stop or greatly slow any bacteria or yeast growth. Drink them quick!

I'm not saying I have never had infected or bottled stuff too soon. Been there and done that. I remember a bottle that blew the cap off like a shotgun blast as I pried on it. Made a dent in the ceiling and I had to look to see if all my fingers where there. The rest went to the cooler in the garage and opened outdoors with gloves on.

This post has been edited by BobH: Mar 31 2008, 09:48 PM

[hophead]

After a few months (3+) stored at room temperature they start to go bad. It's a slow gradual thing, but starts with a more acidic taste and a BIG head. What's going on, and how do I stop it? Or is this just the shelf life of homebrew? Should I try and store as many in the fridge as possible?

Some styles have a longer shelf life than others...My motto...I don't care how you drink 'em...but drink 'em young..

peace

[Hentai]

If you have a good beer without infection it will be fine for a long time.
You have something funky in your brewery.

You might try replacing all the cheap, plastic parts of your brewery, boil what can be boiled, and soak everything else in cleaner, then sanitizer.
mike

Mike has a good suggestion. Hard plastics, like racking canes will get small cracks that will hold infections from batch to batch. Lightly scratched buckects as well. Toss what you dont need and keep it clean.

[Steve_O]

I was afraid you guys were going to say that. I actually try and be pretty meticulous about making sure everything is sanitary (of course I have no idea if there is something hiding in the equipment) There are a few places where things could go wrong:

The Boil:

• Flameout - I put my chiller in after soaking in iodophor (I don't boil it for the 15 min)
• I dump the contents of the kettle into my bottling bucket with a nylon bag (both sanitized in iodophor).
  • Could be something hiding in the bottling bucket (especially in the nozel portion)
• Here's where a lot of you are going to cringe: I wring out the nylon bag with my iodophor dunked hands (too much wort goodness in there to just let it go)
• Last, I top off the last gallon or so in the fermenter with bottled water

I've actually never noticed anything weird smelly/taste wise after fermentation and usually do a single stage in the primary for about 3 weeks before bottling which leads me to believe it is something during the bottling process that is the culprit...

Bottling:

• I soak the caps in iodophor
• I fill all the bottles 1/4 up and give them a shake (I buy new bottles - I've tried scraping the labels - it's no fun)
  • Maybe I need to give them a better cleaning
• Again, the bucket and tubing could be a source of contamination
• I fill up the bottles with the wand
• When they are all full I put the caps across the top of them
  • Something could creep in during this time
• I cap them and let them sit at about 68 until they go in the fridge

[zymological]

I was afraid you guys were going to say that. I actually try and be pretty meticulous about making sure everything is sanitary (of course I have no idea if there is something hiding in the equipment) There are a few places where things could go wrong:

The Boil:

• Flameout - I put my chiller in after soaking in iodophor (I don't boil it for the 15 min)
• I dump the contents of the kettle into my bottling bucket with a nylon bag (both sanitized in iodophor).
  • Could be something hiding in the bottling bucket (especially in the nozel portion)
• Here's where a lot of you are going to cringe: I wring out the nylon bag with my iodophor dunked hands (too much wort goodness in there to just let it go)
• Last, I top off the last gallon or so in the fermenter with bottled water

I've actually never noticed anything weird smelly/taste wise after fermentation and usually do a single stage in the primary for about 3 weeks before bottling which leads me to believe it is something during the bottling process that is the culprit...

Bottling:

• I soak the caps in iodophor
• I fill all the bottles 1/4 up and give them a shake (I buy new bottles - I've tried scraping the labels - it's no fun)
  • Maybe I need to give them a better cleaning
• Again, the bucket and tubing could be a source of contamination
• I fill up the bottles with the wand
• When they are all full I put the caps across the top of them
  • Something could creep in during this time
• I cap them and let them sit at about 68 until they go in the fridge

I think these two are the big ones. Although the bottled water more so. Whatever bacteria that's in that water is in your beer and it's making up 1/5 of the total volume. In the case of the chiller - why not just put it into the boil for the last 15 mins? It's much easier. I pretty much assume my chiller always has a little bit of hop material hiding on it from the last batch b/c it's pretty tricky to clean it off really well.

This post has been edited by zymological: Apr 1 2008, 03:57 AM

[MixnMatchBrew]

I'm going to vote your hoses, raking cane and/or your bottling bucket if it has a spigot on it.

You really need to get a hose brush to get these items clean. If the bottling bucket has a spigot, you should take it apart and clean it well and then sanitize it.

The other two mentioned above should also be addressed.

[JPicasso]

Couple of process items that I'll always do now:

Replace tubing at least every year.
No fermenting in a bucket with a spigot.
Wring any hop bags out with sanitized tongs.
All bottles get the bottle brush hooked up to my drill with HOT, soapy water.
The next bucket I ferment in, holds my 5 gallon starsan supply for at least the week prior.

I don't have a coil chiller, but I would agree that boiling wort would do a good job
of "scrubbing" any leftover material off and killing nasties.

[Stuster]

With the bottles (and the fermenter??) if you are only using iodophor, you are only half way there. Iodophor is a great sanitizer but a useless cleaner. Make sure you clean your bottles between uses with a proper cleaner. This time make sure you soak them in something (not sure what products are called there but think it's oxyclean??) for a few hours of overnight. Buy new taps for fermenters

Wringing out the wort with your hands. Hmmm. Saving half a gallon to lose 5. (IMG:style_emoticons/brewboard/shock.gif)

zymological's spot on with the bottled water and the chiller. I doubt the bottles being uncapped for a few minutes is the issue here.

[Hokieborn]

A lot of good information already being presented - although I do ferment in a bucket with a spigot and have never had a problem, I am very meticulous with it though.

The only other thing that I would add is about your iodophor - I don't use it so take this with a grain of salt - Have you confirmed that your dilution is correct? If you are diluting it too much it might not be working, and not enough there could be residual that is having a long term effect.