+1 to the overfilling problem. After saying what I do to clean the gas side, I had to break down my backup system (on deck fridge) over the weekend because carbonation pushed beer back up the gas lines (I would never have known, but for using clear lines on the backup system, rather than the standard red lines. I hadn’t overfilled before, but pushed it on a batch that exceeded the 10 gallon mark by a bit. From now on, I will only fill to below the gas dip tube level and catch the excess in a soda bottle and carbonate it separately.
What a weekend - the lager chest crapped out Saturday night with a 12 gallon batch of O’Fest in it, too! SWMBO okayed the emergency replacement freezer, thankfully (on the basis of energy efficiency and the fact that the old one was rusting badly anyway…)
If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Brewing keeps me sane - it’s the other stuff that makes me nuts!
[quote=“airlocksniffer”][quote=“fightdman”]
No, that’s not normal at all. If it’s a straight tube you could run a new .30 caliber bronze bore brush through them. It may just be crud and not corrosion. If it is corrosion, you could buy a replacement but that’s starting to get pricey.[/quote]
$20-25 for a new dip tube doesn’t seem like much considering all the funky batches.[/quote]
I think I can get them for around $15, which isn’t terrible, but it’s still a bummer, if that’s the case. I don’t know how they could corrode and if that’s even the problem…I’ve soaked them, ran a dip tube brush through them…the suckers should be clean…
I kinda just want to invest in some brand new kegs…
And ynot…that’s a bummer. Sorry to hear about it.
[quote=“S.Scoggin”]I wouldn’t think it was any of the metal parts - especially if you thoroughly clean them. Did you check your gas lines?
edit: i’ve also heard of diacetyl problems from over pitching[/quote]
I have not checked my gas lines yet. Planning to do that soon when I change out my tap lines. For now, I’m not kegging anything just yet until I get new lines put in and soak my quick disconnects and check other variables, such as the gas lines. And after I run that experiment of bottling half a batch and kegging the other half.
I didn’t think over pitching would result in diacetyl formation after fermentation though. I’m pitching a pack of rehydrated US-05 into 3-4 gallons of medium gravity wort (typically).
[quote=“Beersk”]I don’t know how they could corrode and if that’s even the problem…I’ve soaked them, ran a dip tube brush through them…the suckers should be clean…[/quote]They’re stainless and won’t corrode under normal use. Perhaps someone left bleach in the keg for a while though, which could damage the diptube. Shine a flashlight through and if you see anything other than shiny metal, soak again and scrub, repeat the inspection.
I doubt I’d be able to get a photo of the inside. I may just end up using these for fermentation, without the dip tubes, and get a new dip tube to insert for when I’m ready to transfer to the serving keg. We’ll see. Gonna run my experiment first.
After your first post, I spent this weekend cleaning my kegs, QDs, and lines. Didn’t see anything unusual, but long overdue.
If your diptube is corroded, I would suggest a new one.
So, I fermented a beer in one of the kegs I soaked for a day. I fermented for a week or so without the diptube in and the post on with a liquid disconnect without the poppet and a tube going into a jar of sanitizer. I wanted to check the gravity and get a sample so I assembled it with the sanitized dip tube, pulled a sample and it tasted pretty good. After letting it go another week, it has that flavor…what the eff! So I guess I can narrow this down to the dip tube…
So, what did I do? Jumped it to one of my nice new kegs. Don’t know why, maybe I just imagined the flavor…probably not though.
Did I just spread this infection to my nice new keg? Ugh…getting really sick of this crap.
[quote=“Beersk”]So, I fermented a beer in one of the kegs I soaked for a day. I fermented for a week or so without the diptube in and the post on with a liquid disconnect without the poppet and a tube going into a jar of sanitizer. I wanted to check the gravity and get a sample so I assembled it with the sanitized dip tube, pulled a sample and it tasted pretty good. After letting it go another week, it has that flavor…what the eff! So I guess I can narrow this down to the dip tube…
So, what did I do? Jumped it to one of my nice new kegs. Don’t know why, maybe I just imagined the flavor…probably not though.
Did I just spread this infection to my nice new keg? Ugh…getting really sick of this crap.[/quote]
Can only imagine how frustrated you must be…
If it’s infection wouldn’t all the cleaning and sanitizing have cleared it up? Have you considered it might be something with your water that’s showing up as the beer matures? Not sure that makes sense but…seems like you’ve covered the sanitization issues pretty well.
Perhaps it’s not a keg but something upstream? Like a dirty ball valve on your boil kettle, or a dirty/infected piece of hose you use to transfer from your kettle to fermenter?
It was a false alarm, what I perceived yesterday. I think my palate may have been messed up from drinking the night before…don’t judge me!
So, I may have conquered this…we’ll see. I’m going to keep a close eye on all aspects of my process and see if the beers remain stable.
Today, I’m brewing an extra pale ale I brewed back in November that was awesome for the first week in the keg, then turned buttery. My kegs have all gotten a good soak in pbw, scrubbed with brushes, rinsed, and sanitized. Also changed out my beer lines, soaked disconnects and faucets. Thorough cleaning…I hope this takes care of it.
[quote=“mrv”]I read your post earlier, 10 mins ago I poured a glass of a single hopped bitter (Columbus). About half a keg left of a great beer. Now I’m getting a solvent taste, almost mouth-numbing.
You’ve got me thinking that my cleaning hasn’t been enough. Initial fermentation was at 65* actual temp with Wy1028. I hope it’s from the keg, since I
have a black ale (CDA ) on the yeast cake right now.[/quote]
Brewed a rye IPA yesterday, then kegged the black ale. FG 1.004, same solvent taste. When I kegged the Columbus bitter there were no off flavors.
I do have clean kegs now, thanks to Beersk.
Do you know what it was that caused that to develop? I’m hoping I got this issue figured out, but it’s not solved just yet. I may still ruin more beer figuring this out, sadly.
No, I don’t know the cause. I would guess the yeast, both were fermented on the same cake.
I kegged a farmhouse last week after cleaning all equipment, and have a porter on a portion of the yeast.
Hopefully it’s isolated to the Columbus bitter yeast cake.
Well, the thing about this is the beer would taste off initially, instead of forming after kegging, I would think. That’s the mystery…the beers usually taste very good for the first little bit in the keg, then turn. Mainly noticeable in hoppy beers where the hop flavor is the dominant flavor. It’s a lot easier to tell when something is wrong when the hops don’t taste the way they should anymore. Something like a porter, oatmeal stout, or amber ale won’t be as noticeable since that butterscotchy flavor can sometimes lend a positive note to those beers. I don’t brew a whole lot of lighter styles. I may have narrowed this issue down to just one keg too. But it seems odd that all my hoppy beers would somehow be kegged in this one keg, but I suppose that’s possible. I only have 3 used kegs (just bought a new one in the last week), so it doesn’t seem improbable.
But I also agree with S.Scoggin…seems not likely to permanently contaminate a metal keg. But hopefully the deep cleaning I’ve done recently solved the issue.
Thanks for listening, guys. I know this might be getting old, but I really appreciate the help and advice you all are contributing.
Well, the flavor seems to have returned. An IPA that I split between bottles and kegs seems to have developed the butterscotch flavor in the keg. Not sure about the bottles yet. Even after cleaning, it’s persistant. So strange. Perhaps it’s my racking cane? I’ve only ever rinsed it, maybe it needs a soaking? Why wouldn’t the butterscotch flavor show up in a hefe or a stout? Just so mysterious. It’s really disheartening and making me not want to brew so much. I like a good IPA or pale ale, I don’t want them all to turn butterscotchy.
) on the yeast cake right now.[/quote]