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Author Topic: Another oopsie  (Read 7512 times)

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #15 on: March 10, 2011, 04:10:29 pm »
You couldn't have just poured it back in the container?  Isn't your saucepan reasonably sanitized?

Uhhhhh no.

Uhhhhh why not?  You think it was sterile to begin with as a yeast cake?  Doubt it.  Now if I had time to grow up a astarter from what was left, I'd opt for that.  But pouring in a clean saucepan and then right back in rhe container it came out of, would to me represent a low likelihood of contamination.  The stuff that was actually touching the saucepan would probably not even pour back quickly.
Lennie
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Offline euge

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #16 on: March 10, 2011, 04:43:23 pm »
When it hit the pan and I realized what had happened the slurry immediately ratcheted into "contaminated" status in my mind. Probably would be ok in the short run but what is done is done. I'm ok with it.
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Offline maxieboy

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #17 on: March 10, 2011, 04:52:55 pm »
You couldn't have just poured it back in the container?  Isn't your saucepan reasonably sanitized?

Uhhhhh no.

Uhhhhh why not?  You think it was sterile to begin with as a yeast cake?  Doubt it.  Now if I had time to grow up a astarter from what was left, I'd opt for that.  But pouring in a clean saucepan and then right back in rhe container it came out of, would to me represent a low likelihood of contamination.  The stuff that was actually touching the saucepan would probably not even pour back quickly.


Do the same thing euge did, brew with it and report back. No? Dont want to risk a batch? Bingo.
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Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #18 on: March 10, 2011, 06:04:02 pm »
Do the same thing euge did, brew with it and report back. No? Dont want to risk a batch? Bingo.

You live in such a sheltered world 'boy.  I could tell you about some of my "lax" habits but you wouldn't appreciate it.

Euge, I appreciate your honest and nonjudgemental response.  The "in my mind" part is of utmost importance.  If you aren't comfortable with something it isn't worth it.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline maxieboy

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #19 on: March 10, 2011, 06:55:54 pm »
Naw, I'm always interested in what other brewers are doing. I would definitely appreciate hearing about your lax habits and the results. We all have different comfort levels. Most homebrewers IMO, being a frugal and practical lot, aren't gonna take a chance on losing the monetary and time investment to iffy sanitation practices. YMMV...
A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes." Gene Hill

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Offline euge

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #20 on: March 10, 2011, 11:34:10 pm »
Fermentation is already occurring. Less than a 12 hour lag. Not bad.
The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool. -Richard P. Feynman

Laws are spider-webs, which catch the little flies, but cannot hold the big ones. -Anacharsis

Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #21 on: March 11, 2011, 06:23:02 am »
My bad habits include: using municipal tap water without boiling to top up a boiled wort, rinsing bottles with hot tap water prior to bottling (no other sanitizer), rinsing a dishwasher-washed spoon with hot tap water and using it to fish out some yeast cake for a starter, using the same buckets/siphons to brew sour beers and regular beers.  

I'm of the opinion that when you clean a surface completely, theres no food for a bacterium/yeast to use to stay alive.  Therefore I thoroughly clean bottles/buckets/carboys right after use, and then rinse them before the next use to remove any dry particles that floated in.

Thats along the lines of my comfort level.  I'm not advocating it for anyone else, but I do periodically tell people just so they its not a slam dunk that you'll get an infection if you don't use conventional wisdom in sanitation.  You're simply going from a relatively low probability event, to an even lower one.

The one other observation I'd make is that the key to avoiding a serious infection is to have vigorous yeast and plenty of them.  Theres always competition with wild bugs if you aren't working in a sterile environment, so having an army of yeast to outcompete the occasional wild critter is key.  It always happens, and is why the yeast manufacturers recommend getting fresh yeast after four or five generations.  I think I even read that in White's Yeast book.
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline oscarvan

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #22 on: March 11, 2011, 06:29:20 am »
It always happens, and is why the yeast manufacturers recommend getting fresh yeast after four or five generations.  I think I even read that in White's Yeast book.

Although I suspect that their need to sell fresh yeast to stay in business may have something to do with that.

I'm not quite as lax as you are. Have a bucket of Iodophor standing around on brew day and everything gets rinsed. Maybe not the full two minutes. For little stuff I have a spray bottle of StarSan. But, I definitely don't get carried away. SFSG.
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Offline maxieboy

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #23 on: March 11, 2011, 09:43:55 am »
Ok, cool. Obviously there is a good sized space to operate in concerning sanitation and good outcomes. I would advise beginning homebrewers to err on the side of meticulous sanitation, then reevaluate as they learn how to RDWHAHB. If we all did this great hobby the same way, it wouldn't be as fun! Brew it up...  8)
A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes." Gene Hill

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Offline tomsawyer

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #24 on: March 11, 2011, 12:38:01 pm »
Ok, cool. Obviously there is a good sized space to operate in concerning sanitation and good outcomes. I would advise beginning homebrewers to err on the side of meticulous sanitation, then reevaluate as they learn how to RDWHAHB. If we all did this great hobby the same way, it wouldn't be as fun! Brew it up...  8)

+1
Lennie
Hannibal, MO

Offline alikocho

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #25 on: March 11, 2011, 02:40:45 pm »
It always happens, and is why the yeast manufacturers recommend getting fresh yeast after four or five generations.  I think I even read that in White's Yeast book.

Although I suspect that their need to sell fresh yeast to stay in business may have something to do with that.


I always thought that this was to do with yeast mutating in an environment rather than infection.
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Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #26 on: March 11, 2011, 03:37:42 pm »
I always thought that this was to do with yeast mutating in an environment rather than infection.
It's a bit of both, but for the pros lager yeasts are recommended to be repitched fewer times than ale yeasts due to genetic drift.
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Offline punatic

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #27 on: March 11, 2011, 04:28:40 pm »
It's a bit of both, but for the pros lager yeasts are recommended to be repitched fewer times than ale yeasts due to genetic drift.

I have been drinking more largers for a while now - perhaps that would explain why I've been feeling a bit adrift lately...
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Offline oscarvan

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #28 on: March 13, 2011, 12:28:16 pm »
I always thought that this was to do with yeast mutating in an environment rather than infection.
It's a bit of both, but for the pros lager yeasts are recommended to be repitched fewer times than ale yeasts due to genetic drift.

And I thought THAT was because of the adjuncts they use which makes the yeasties lazy and just go after the easy sugars.....If you use the "real" grains they have no choice..... or so I was told.
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Offline tubercle

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Re: Another oopsie
« Reply #29 on: March 13, 2011, 02:31:09 pm »
I always thought that this was to do with yeast mutating in an environment rather than infection.
It's a bit of both, but for the pros lager yeasts are recommended to be repitched fewer times than ale yeasts due to genetic drift.

And I thought THAT was because of the adjuncts they use which makes the yeasties lazy and just go after the easy sugars.....If you use the "real" grains they have no choice..... or so I was told.

 That might infer some form of yeast intelligence we're not aware of. I believe they simply produce enzymes that start splitting whatever carbohydrate chains are available and make use of whatever is produced that good for them. This may be the same thing you just said in a different form.

 This is science as Tubercle understands it, which is at the very basic level.
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