Is this an Infection

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luckyphill
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Location: Canberra, ACT

Is this an Infection

Post by luckyphill »

G'day all

Upon opening a Morgans Blue mountain lager the contents spew out of the bottle. It taste like apple and is ultra carbonated. This has never happened before so am thinking it is an infection of some sort. problem is this was the first yeast which I harvested for 2 more brews after that :( I had the current brew using the same yeast lagering for 6 weeks and I had to keep loosning the cap to relieve the pressure about once a week whilst it was lagering which I thought was odd ?.

am currently giving the fermenter a good sanitise. Does anyone know how to pull the tap apart ?
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lethaldog
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Post by lethaldog »

Are you letting them ferment out fully?
Cheers
Leigh
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KEG
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Post by KEG »

yeah, sounds like they're not done when you're bottling, then fermenting way too warm in the bottle (hence the apple flavour)
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Chris
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Post by Chris »

Yeah, as above- try dropping your temp and giving it a bit longer. As for pulling the tap apart, put it in boiling water a while to soften it up.
luckyphill
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Post by luckyphill »

They are all lagers brewed at 10 C then temp risen to 16-18 to finish them off and the D rest. They also tasted a bit sour but looked ok in the bottle with no gunk or film on the top. once bottled after lagering they were left at room temp. Have done 4 batches the same as this without any probs, so if it aint an infection then I dont know ?.

Phill
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warra48
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Re: Is this an Infection

Post by warra48 »

luckyphill wrote:Does anyone know how to pull the tap apart ?
The advice above to put it in hot water to soften it up helps. I unscrew the tap from the fermenter, turn it about ½-way on, and put a bit of doweling into the tap from the back. Then hold onto the tap body, and give it a sharp wack onto a firm surface. The dowel should push the tap inner out. You can then clean it. Reassemble simply by pushing it back together.
Chris
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Post by Chris »

Sounds a bit like a frontal lobotomy.
Pale_Ale
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Post by Pale_Ale »

The apple flavour could be Acetaldehyde, in which case I would leave it to condition for longer.

How long did it take to ferment out @ 10C?
Coopers.
luckyphill
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Location: Canberra, ACT

Post by luckyphill »

Hi Pale

It was in the primary for about 12-13 days then about 3 days at 16-18 C to finish off, racked to a cube then lagered for about 4 weeks at about
1 C.

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Pale_Ale
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Post by Pale_Ale »

Firstly, as an aside I would recommend lagering at closer to 4-5C if you are only going to be lagering for 4 weeks. This accelerates the conditioning process and will be much more noticeable.

Hmmm, with that long in the fermenter I doubt there is any excess sugar unfermented.

Maybe an infected bottle, you could try another perhaps? Infected batch is a possibility I guess but it doesn't sound like it.
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ryan
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Post by ryan »

I don`t bother pulling taps apart for cleaning- at $1.56 from Bunnings if it looks a bit stained or suss I just throw it to buggery and put in a new one.
Chris
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Post by Chris »

I do the same. I've pulled apart one tap before deciding it was too much effort to bother again.
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