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- Jun 28, 2019
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A bit hesitant to post this but I've never claimed to be any kind of expert so...
I've had a really bad run with the brewing. A couple of years problem free really and when I geared up with new fermenters in June I ran into problems that just baffled me. I posted here about my first dumper and thought that I had just been a bit dumb/naive for not stripping the kettle fittings down but, as it turned out, there was a bit more to it than that.
The short version is that I dumped the next three brews as well. I brew decent sized batches on a 100lt kit so it's quite a bit of ingredients and cost, and quite a bit of time as well.
I've ended up with commercial brewers' chemicals for cleaning, caustic and perbac, and a brand new appreciation for the importance of getting all the steps of a good cleaning and hygiene regime right. I now use a hot 2% caustic solution and a paranoid amount of 0.5% perbac solution as a terminal sterilant.
I don't know honestly what the problem was but I suspect the plate chiller but fully accept it could have been the fermenter as well/instead. It does feel good to have beer in the kegs again after what feels like an age and to be brewing again tomorrow with a bit of confidence.
Had covid too. Really shitty couple of months
I've had a really bad run with the brewing. A couple of years problem free really and when I geared up with new fermenters in June I ran into problems that just baffled me. I posted here about my first dumper and thought that I had just been a bit dumb/naive for not stripping the kettle fittings down but, as it turned out, there was a bit more to it than that.
The short version is that I dumped the next three brews as well. I brew decent sized batches on a 100lt kit so it's quite a bit of ingredients and cost, and quite a bit of time as well.
I've ended up with commercial brewers' chemicals for cleaning, caustic and perbac, and a brand new appreciation for the importance of getting all the steps of a good cleaning and hygiene regime right. I now use a hot 2% caustic solution and a paranoid amount of 0.5% perbac solution as a terminal sterilant.
I don't know honestly what the problem was but I suspect the plate chiller but fully accept it could have been the fermenter as well/instead. It does feel good to have beer in the kegs again after what feels like an age and to be brewing again tomorrow with a bit of confidence.
Had covid too. Really shitty couple of months