Mould around outside of fermenter

[Daron]

HELP!!!!!

I was just about to bottle and went to the fridge in the garage where I've kept the lager on 6-9 deg temp. However, after a few weeks - me thinks about 3 and half - mould has grown around the outside of the fermenter and bottom of the fridge!!!!

IS MY BREW WELL AND TRULY FORNICATED?

It doesn't appear to have entered the brew, but....

[Chris]

Only 1 thing for it. Bottle and see.

[chris.]

HELP!!!!!

I was just about to bottle and went to the fridge in the garage where I've kept the lager on 6-9 deg temp. However, after a few weeks - me thinks about 3 and half - mould has grown around the outside of the fermenter and bottom of the fridge!!!!

IS MY BREW WELL AND TRULY FORNICATED?

It doesn't appear to have entered the brew, but....

I had this happen recently after f--king up & pouring a good portion of a wort kit down the outside of the fermentor. I tried mopping it up but missed some in the thread (yes Shaun, I should get pails ) I found the mould before botting but decided to go ahead & bottle anyway.
Mine did end up developing a mouldy taste to it but as Chris has said bottle it & see how it goes.
Good luck.

[Tipsy]

I once had mould from a spill that I didn't clean properly, it had no noticeable affect on the beer.

[lethaldog]

Ive had the same although it was barely noticable on the thread ( and no im not gonna get pails ) and it has never made any difference to the end result

[Ed]

I seem to always get small spots of mould on the outside of the fermenter on brews done in the fridge. So far, haven't had it enter the brew and been using a fridge (when required) to ferment in for nearly a year now. You know I'm touching wood right now, umm just in case.

Cheers, Ed

[Daron]

Thanks for your replies. I'll bottle tomorrow and have a taste around New Year's Eve... cheers.

[Rod]

Darin ,

how do you clean your fermenter

Do you just slosh some "sterilant " around the inside and then rinse

I do mine in the laundry sink

I put 1 teaspoon of PSR ( chlorinated tri sodium phosphate ) in the tub and scrub it out with a scotch brite , then rinse .

I then put 15 teaspoons ( 3 to 4 tablespoons ) of PSR into the tub and then add 15 litres of water .

Put the fermenter into the tub and leave for 5 minutes , rotate the fermenter about 1/4 turn and leave for 5 minutes , and so on until the "sterilant" has come in contact with all of the fermenter . It is essential that all of the fermenter including the outside has come in contact for at least 5 minutes . Tip the fermenter upright so all of the base has had a go .

Then rinse in cold water at least 3 times .

The PSR or sterilant are not going to sterilize the container only sanitize it . Some bugs will still survive .

Because I bulk prime I have 2 fermenters , so after doing the fermenter to use for bulk priming I wash my bottles in the same solution .

When I finish bottling I sanitize the fermenters and put away until the next brew , you need to do this so nothing can grow between batches .

I know this may sound as over kill but you cannot be clean enough .

short cuts can lead to moulds and contaminated batches . Moulds live as spores and can take a lot of killing , better to try and make sure you do not get any to start with , Wipe your benches and all equipment , even those that do not come in contact with the beer

If you keg you will need to take similar steps

I have yet to have a contaminated batch in 6 years of brewing

[Cortez The Killer]

I've had this issue a couple of times due to a leaky tap

(Don't ever put your tap in boiling / extremely hot water - it'll cause it to leak - also have a couple of spare taps handy - they are $1.50 each from bunnings)

and anyway

My brew fridge ended up with mold all through it - it was a bugger to clean - also mold formed on the outside of the fermenter.

This having happened a couple of times - hasn't resulted in an infected brews.

Cheers

Since the big clean I haven't had any issues- I also took out anything from the main section of the fridge that was easily removable and put it all in the freezer section.

[Noodles]

I've just picked up a fridge to brew in the warmer months. It needs a good clean, which i'm hoping to do on the weekend.

Should I just be cleaning with soapy water or will the fridge require steralising too?

[Rod]

I would clean it with soapy water first

then wipe it out using a small sponge dipped in strong bleach solution , use gloves .

pay particular attention to the door seals and any crevices

[Noodles]

Thanks Rod, will do.

[Shaun]

Welcome to my world. If I leave something sit still for 24 hours that is not spotlessly clean it grows mold. If I leave it for 2-3 days it gets up and walks away. One of the great things about living in the tropics.

Vinegar and water is a good mould killer if you don't like chemicals like Exit Mould or Bleach. I give my brew fridge a clean with this ever couple of weeks during the wet.

Pails all the way, and I did not even need to bring it up thanks Chris

[Sathias]

My fermenter has got a bit of black mould around the inside of the lid, on the screw thread part. There is none on the underside of the lid above where the brew is, or any visible contaminents in my stout. What are my chances of saving my brew?

[BierMeister]

Should be fine and is probably only outside the rubber seal by the sounds of it. Taste it before bottling and check none has made it to the inside or surface of Brew. Tastes good, is good, bottle.

[Boonie]

Ive had the same although it was barely noticable on the thread ( and no im not gonna get pails ) and it has never made any difference to the end result

Ditto.

And ditto to Chris.

Bottle it. If it is shite later you can tip out , but if you tip out now, you may tip out your best brew yet.

If you are like me, it has to be extremely undrinkable to chuck it.

Cheers

Boonie