Infected Bottles?

[Halfacrem]

I did a quick check of my conditioning bottles this morning and I have an issue with one of my bottles. I think it's infected. It has a fine spidery growth in the neck, almost like a pellicle from a wild beer. It also has a head forming on the beer :nono:

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I opened up the swing top and there was no rushing and not a lot of pressure (only been in the bottle for 4 days). It smells 'fizzy' - not off or infected, but sort of sherberty. I've checked other bottles of the same brew and they are fine. I'm thinking I should just chuck it. Any thoughts?

I've also checked another of my brews (Yorkshire Bitter) This looks absolutely stunning in the bottle, completely cleared down, however I noticed a couple of small white spots on the inside of the glass.

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I rinse my bottles as soon as I've poured. Then I oven them just before I bottle, then use a bottle rinser to rinse with star san immediately before bottling, however I'm taking this as a lesson to tighten up my bottle cleaning procedures!!

 

[wheazy_joe]

That sounds like a pretty solid regime you have there already, certainly more thorough than my own (which consists of rinse straight after use, store then double dunk with Star San before bottling).

 

[MyQul]

Wonder how much more you can do as your procedures are pretty rigorous. Similar to mine in fact. How do you store the bottles after ovening? Are the bottles open or covered? I put little clingfilm caps on mine before storing them away till bottling day

 

[Leon103]

Could the top bottle not be sealed correctly? Sometimes when I disturb a bottle a bit of head forms.

 

[Halfacrem]

Wonder how much more you can do as your procedures are pretty rigorous. Similar to mine in fact. How do you store the bottles after ovening? Are the bottles open or covered? I put little clingfilm caps on mine before storing them away till bottling day

That's where a problem might occur. Bottles are stored in the garage, in boxes. I leave the tops off, so there is potential for something to get in, but I'd thought anything off would be killed in the oven anyway.

The only thing I can think of is that I didn't rinse all the yeast out of a bottle and something grew on it while stored. Again I would have thought the ovening would have killed any bad stuff. Clearly there is one issue with this bottle.

 

[MyQul]

That's where a problem might occur. Bottles are stored in the garage, in boxes. I leave the tops off, so there is potential for something to get in, but I'd thought anything off would be killed in the oven anyway.

The only thing I can think of is that I didn't rinse all the yeast out of a bottle and something grew on it while stored. Again I would have thought the ovening would have killed any bad stuff. Clearly there is one issue with this bottle.

Yes, the ovening should have killed everything off. Do you remove the rubber washer on the swing tops? As stuff could potentially hide under there, especially as the 'infection' seems to be in the neck of the bottle

 

[Halfacrem]

Could the top bottle not be sealed correctly? Sometimes when I disturb a bottle a bit of head forms.

Yes, that is a possibility, but the swing top felt pretty secure.

It's noticeable that the beer is fermenting in the bottle, so I think I'm going to be cautious and chuck it and hope that it's just a one off bottle!

 

[Halfacrem]

Yes, the ovening should have killed everything off. Do you remove the rubber washer on the swing tops? As stuff could potentially hide under there, especially as the 'infection' seems to be in the neck of the bottle

Good point. I do boil up the tops for 20 minutes before using, then dunk in Star San before bottling. I suppose though that any bugs living under the seal could potentially survive the boil and get through the hole in the middle.

 

[MyQul]

Good point. I do boil up the tops for 20 minutes before using, then dunk in Star San before bottling. I suppose though that any bugs living under the seal could potentially survive the boil and get through the hole in the middle.

If theres any 'dirt' under there bugs can survive. Microbes can form a biofilm that if you dont clean your kit properly they can hide under and regrow

 

[Halfacrem]

If theres any 'dirt' under there bugs can survive. Microbes can form a biofilm that if you dont clean your kit properly they can hide under and regrow

Righto! That might be the culprit then. I'll add removing all seals to my bottling regime! Should have thought of that before, but everyday's a learning day :)

 

[MyQul]

Righto! That might be the culprit then. I'll add removing all seals to my bottling regime! Should have thought of that before, but everyday's a learning day :)

It's the only thing I can think of as the infection isn't in the whole brew is it? and ovening should kill everything even the bacteria spores that boiling wont

 

[wheazy_joe]

I don't remove the rubber seals from my swing tops when sanitising, but will be from now on.

 

[MyQul]

I don't remove the rubber seals from my swing tops when sanitising, but will be from now on.

Me neither because it's a PITA

 

[Halfacrem]

I popped this one as I didn't want to risk a potential bomb.

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First of all the beer! For 4 days in the bottle, carbonation was reasonable and the taste was pretty good, in fact very drinkable, if a little cloudy, and certainly not infected.

I checked the the rubber seal and there were a couple of small bits of dirt under it, up against the ceramic. Enough to cause an issue, don't know, but highly probable that might be the culprit.

Lesson learned!