Cleaning fermenter after infection

[BackToBasics]

I've just bottled a small batch of oatmeal stout which I'm fairly sure is infected (white film on top of beer with some flakey white bits floating in it). I tasted it and it's okay at the moment so I decided there was no harm in bottling and seeing how it turns out.

However, I suspect the infection is from previously using the fermenter for a cider that I forgot about for around 4 months. When I realised, the cider smelled of vinegar so it was tossed and the fermenter cleaned, soaked with sodium percarbonate and then soaked with starsan.

If my suspicions of the origin of my stout infection is right, then my cleaning method wasn't sufficient.

Is there anything else I can do to clean it? I'm hoping I done have to toss the fermenter.

Forgot to mention it's a plastic fermenter with a tap.

 

[UKSkydiver]

I had and infection at the end of last year.

Standard plastic FV bucket and I managed to clean it sufficiently and have brewed using it since.

I definitely used Oxy / sodium perc type cleaner. I also definitely soaked for min. 20 mins in a Milton / thin bleach solution. Rinse well and then I also used sodium metabisulphite in water to remove the chlorine-thingies. Then Chem San.

I'm no chemist, so others may come up with more compelling advice and evidence.

 

[The Baron]

I would throw it and buy a new one for the cost of a basic plastic bucket.
One word of warning only use proprietary cleaning products and be careful of mixing them as some cleaning chemicals can react with constituents of others and not in a good way

 

[gyurmaember]

I would throw it and buy a new one for the cost of a basic plastic bucket.
One word of warning only use proprietary cleaning products and be careful of mixing them as some cleaning chemicals can react with constituents of others and not in a good way

Agree, the only difference is I'd repurpose it, for milling, or in the garden.

 

[BackToBasics]

I would throw it and buy a new one for the cost of a basic plastic bucket.
One word of warning only use proprietary cleaning products and be careful of mixing them as some cleaning chemicals can react with constituents of others and not in a good way

It's not a bucket. It's one of these

10l fermenter genius
But point taken.

 

[Pennine]

A deep clean and bleach will kill anything.

 

[JockyBrewer]

Bleach or iodophor are your best weapons here. Heat/steam is better, but not so much for plastic.

Just FYI, soaking in starsan has limited effect. Starsan is a surface sanitiser, which works best when sprayed on and left to dry.

 

[foxy]

It's not a bucket. It's one of these

10l fermenter genius
But point taken.

Don't chuck it, it is HDPE so filling it up with 80C hot water will kill any bacteria you are likely to get infected with.
I have PET fermenters and just fill with cold water add one desert spoon of sodium perborate to a cup of boiling water and tip that in. No scrubbing or wiping needed, gets all the gunk off the sides so I would be doing that in the future, save you heating the water up.

Overnight soak

 

[MashBag]

Sounds like an acetobacter infection. This needs a deep clean and for that tank I think it is worth it. Caustic cleaners (tfr) will work well. Steam as mentioned before. But the unsual go to cleaners are not. Strip the tap and the lid these are the hiding places.

 

[The Baron]

Sounds like an acetobacter infection. This needs a deep clean and for that tank I think it is worth it. Caustic cleaners (tfr) will work well. Steam as mentioned before. But the unsual go to cleaners are not. Strip the tap and the lid these are the hiding places.

Are you meaning Traffic Film Remover?

 

[MashBag]

Sorry Yes. But make sure it is caustic. Apply with a spray bottle. 30 second soak. Scrub. Rinse. Done. Wear gloves

 

[An Ankoù]

A deep clean and bleach will kill anything.

Easy job. Clean thoroughly with bleach as @Pennine said. then unscrew the tap and soak that for an hour in a pint glass with some of the bleach solution. No need to attempt to dismantle the tap, but open and close the valve a couple of times to ensure good contact with the bleach. Drain, rinse, reassemble and them rinse everything again with sodium metabisulphite or campden tablet solution. This is also a sanitiser, but it's purpose here is to remove every trace of bleach, which would otherwise taint your beer.
I do this as a matter of course between every brew- except that I treat the tap in situ, giving it a bit of a scrub with an old toothbrush.
As acetobacter has been mentioned above, you can be sure that the bleach regime will kill it dead. It's not a super-duper infection it's just that metabisulphite on it's own won't kill this type of bacterium.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I brewed a saison recently. I don't want the diastaticus yeast to infect the next brew, so I'm giving this a go. More out of curiosity than anything else.

Invert fermenter over the top of a pan of boiling water on the hob. It's pretty damn hot now. Unfortunately the laser thermometer doesn't work on shiny surfaces, so I couldn't verify it got up to 100. Hopefully that should kill anything lurking in any hard to clean bits

 

[MashBag]

Brilliant idea. Steaming is the solution preferred by larger breweries.

Vodka works too

 

[Agentgonzo]

Vodka works too

That's probably the most expensive solution. Possibly even more expensive than buying a new (plastic) fermenter

 

[MashBag]

Just a splash in the bottom and close it up. I didn't mean fill it

Have you ever seen a bottle of gin go off

 

[An Ankoù]

Have you ever seen a bottle of gin go off

Well, no. It doesn't last long enough.

 

[Clint]

A good product I've used extensively for very mucky equipment is the Youngs Brewery cleaning powder. It smells like swimming pools so is chlorine based and really needs a good rinse afterwards. I rinse,oxi then chemsan just to shift the smell. As said cheap bleach is good but if you're unsure the powder stuff stops guessing.

 

[Deadhead]

VWP has been my friend for many a manky plastic bucket.

 

[MashBag]

Caustic TFR. The only thing you ever need.

That's no strictly true. Bar keepers friend is awesome too.