Yuk! Ooops.

[PaulCa]

So I made my last beer a few weeks ago and on Sunday night I discovered I had forgotten to dump the spent grain and hops which was still sitting in the brew kettle on the shelf.

When I opened it, the smell was fairly ripe, but they otherwise looked okay and I thought the process of emptying the strainer bags would be easy. That was until I moved them to lift them out.

OMG! It was rank! White, green, black furry fungus all over them, just not on the surface and as soon as it moved the smell was of pure vomit. Not just that it nearly made me vomit but that it smelt exactly like vomit.

I'm fairly sure the white/blue/green stuff is penacilium and not a concern but the black stuff is probably a bio-hazard and thus bags and all went in the bin and the bin immediately outside and is thankfully picked up today. The saucepan can be washed with boiling water and sanitizer as it's stainless.

Note to self, remember to dump the spent grain next time!

 

[morepunk]

Urgh, sounds awful! :sick:

Should definitely get into the habit of cleaning everything as you go along. No chance of nasty surprises then!

 

[evanvine]

Just a small point. Penicillin is Sky Blue!

 

[PaulCa]

Does anyone know of a good "How to identify..." bacteria/fungus colonies in the home and how dangerous they are?

I only know that blue/green/white fluff is usually penicillium and fairly benign, also that white/orange/yellow stuff is apergisilus and it has some health concerns but certain species are used by the Chinese to make Soy sauce etc., black mold on walls, ie. "damp" has some serious implications for your respiratory system.

I'm curious about these things and how dangerous they are.

 

[PaulCa]

Just a small point. Penicillin is Sky Blue!

I have seen many photos of it showing it being anything from blue to green to white. I've also seen it on bread (and coffee and fruit and anything else I left under the sofa) being a number of different colours....

 

[evanvine]

Apparently it comes in green as well as blue!
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... enicillium

 

[calumscott]

I've also done this with a grain bag... just threw it, in a bucket, out the bag to be taken and composted. Forgot about it...

It was already half composted by the time it made it to the veg patch! :thumb:

Stinks though, doesn't it!?!?! Bag just went in the washing machine on the principle that anything that originates from it is going to get boiled for an hour and a half...

...no problems so far! :thumb:

 

[PaulCa]

Yea I put the bags in the washing machine on a 90* wash with no soap powder, but the bags were still covered in black fungus when they came out, so I binned them.

And yes the composting. I have dumped grain into my kitchen bin that sat for a week as I wasn't around and when I came to use the bin again it was warm and the lid wet with condensation caused by the "composting" of the grains.

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Apparently it comes in green as well as blue!
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... enicillium

When I was a kid it was pink, came in a bottle and tasted of strawberries.

 

[calumscott]

Apparently it comes in green as well as blue!
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... enicillium

When I was a kid it was pink, came in a bottle and tasted of strawberries.

Now it's yellow and <douglas_adams>tastes almost exactly, but not quite, unlike</douglas_adams> bananas. :sick:

 

[Hawks]

Apparently it comes in green as well as blue!
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/top ... enicillium

came in a bottle and tasted of strawberries.

Well the bottle said it was strawberries... :sick: