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Author Topic: I just freaked out a little...  (Read 5133 times)

Offline jamminbrew

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I just freaked out a little...
« on: December 01, 2011, 10:34:47 pm »
So I was checking the beers I have fermenting right now, (two glass carboys, one oatmeal stout, one amber ale) and noticed that my chest freezer smelled a bit funny. (I have a 7 cu ft freezer)  Tilted one carboy to get a better look at the fermometer on the side, and saw a lot of grey/green fuzzy crud all over the straps of my brew hauler.  Then I noticed that there was a fair amount of this stuff all over the inside of my freezer.  Needless to say, I had a mild heart attack.

Removed both carboys, thoroughly cleaned and sanitized them with starsan, and scrubbed the whole freezer down with a mild bleach solution, then soaked  with some starsan also.  Gonna burn the brew hauler, and buy a new one. Was totally worried that both beers were ruined, but then remembered that I filled the airlocks with starsan. Both beers look fine.  Took a deep breath, drank a home brew, and relaxed a little bit.  Gonna keep a close eye on the beers. The amber is ready for bottling, and the stout has another week or so left before its ready.

Lesson for me: Sanitize fermentation chamber before and after each use...
In caelo cerivisiae nil, hic igitur bibimus.

Offline euge

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2011, 10:57:08 pm »
High humidity in the fermentation chamber is a recipe for mildew and mold. Beer should be ok.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #2 on: December 02, 2011, 12:28:59 am »
Yeah, look into some damp-rid though to keep the mold/mildew at bay.
Tom Schmidlin

Offline malzig

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #3 on: December 02, 2011, 05:32:17 am »
Gonna burn the brew hauler, and buy a new one.
I'd just wash it.  Some Oxyclean should help kill the mold.

Offline majorvices

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #4 on: December 02, 2011, 05:36:24 am »
I have fermented some awesome beers in some pretty skanky chest freezers.

Offline Mark G

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2011, 06:37:04 am »
Yeah, that freezer is a pretty healthy environment for mold, but it's not going to get in your beer unless you're doing an open fermentation. Like others said, Damp-rid keeps the moisture level down to prevent it, and oxyclean is great for scrubbing down any moldy areas. This reminds me it's time to clean the inside of my freezer once the next couple beers come out of there.
Mark Gres

Offline bluesman

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2011, 07:53:47 am »
I have fermented some awesome beers in some pretty skanky chest freezers.

+1

As long as the beer is in a fermenter with an airlock it will be fine. Although, I would suggest cleaning the chest on some frequency.
Ron Price

Offline bo

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2011, 08:05:14 am »
Use some bleach to kill everything when you clean it. Whatever you do, don't put another fermenter in there that might have wort that's warmer than the freezer, until you've had a chance to clean it. It will create a vacuum and suck who knows what into the fermenter.

Offline weazletoe

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2011, 09:42:56 am »
I have fermented some awesome beers in some pretty skanky chest freezers.

On the flip side, I've fermented some pretty skanky beers in some pretty awesome chest freezers. ;D
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Offline ynotbrusum

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #9 on: December 03, 2011, 12:33:16 pm »
I keep a microfiber mop (long handle style with the built in wringing by twist mechanism).  I routinely give it a good wiping with Star San and use an EvaDry rechargeable crystal style passive dehumidifier.

Seems to work pretty well - but as to the brewhauler belt, I would just wash it and dry it out, rather than pitching it.

Cheers.
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Offline jamminbrew

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #10 on: December 03, 2011, 12:46:06 pm »
I got the brew hauler soaking in some starsan, will wash it out good later. I never intended to get rid of it, but that was my emotional state at the time...  I was slightly disconcerted... ;)
In caelo cerivisiae nil, hic igitur bibimus.

Offline Jimmy K

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #11 on: December 03, 2011, 12:52:09 pm »
Although visible mold may make you feel queazy, remember there are bad things floating in the air and dust all around us and the whole purpose of closed fermentation is to create an environment that is microbiologically separated from that. Good thing too since all our fermenters live in a half bathroom.
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Offline tomsawyer

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #12 on: December 03, 2011, 02:25:51 pm »
I have fermented some awesome beers in some pretty skanky chest freezers.

On the flip side, I've fermented some pretty skanky beers in some pretty awesome chest freezers. ;D
I've seen some pretty awesome chests on some pretty skanky babes.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline malzig

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #13 on: December 04, 2011, 11:27:12 am »
I got the brew hauler soaking in some starsan, will wash it out good later. I never intended to get rid of it, but that was my emotional state at the time...  I was slightly disconcerted... ;)
StarSan isn't a very effective cleaner. Soap and water, Oxiclean, PBW, TSP, or anything like that will do a better job of cleaning than StarSan, so they would probably do a better job of reducing the bioburden.

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: I just freaked out a little...
« Reply #14 on: December 04, 2011, 05:58:11 pm »
I just googled DampRid and see there are a number of sizes, what would be appropriate for a small chest freezer (7cuft)?
Lennie
Hannibal, MO