So I hardly consider myself a champion at sanitation but I'd like to think I'm pretty careful and that I've tried to correct things after each batch. I have a SMaSH Blonde I bottled over a month ago that I was really proud of, my best brew to date. However the last 3-4 bottles I've had have been infected, I typically suffer through but last night I poured one out. The best way to describe it is that the beer appears over carbonated and has a bit of astringency and an intense bitterness. I had a similar issue in a few bottles of my first batch but since then I've tried to step things up with the bottle cleaning and sanitizing. It worries me though that it's in so many consecutive bottles. I soaked both my buckets in PBW since discovering this, I previously cleaned them with just dawn dish soap and hot water. I have another blonde going right now and I'm just hoping it doesn't suffer the same fate. I've read all about the risks with buckets and I'm looking to upgrade my fermenter but if I have to replace them now I'm ending up with another bucket or two. I'm really hoping I can get through maybe 4-5 more batches in what I have. Thinking back it's maybe possibly I missed sanitizing a few bottles but I don't think that's super likely. Basically I'm feeling like I'm kinda screwed and I'm hoping for any kind of peace of mind you guys can offer.
Also forgot to mention I did just buy a bottle sprayer that will be here before I bottle the current batch
Also forgot to mention I did just buy a bottle sprayer that will be here before I bottle the current batch