Beer Forum

I have been using OneStep as my sanitizer since I started brewing about 11 months ago. After listening to lots of podcasts I thought "maybe it's time I switched to Starsan, they talk about it all the time" and I switched. I have (until now) always cleaned with hot water only and used the OneStep as a no-rinse sanitizer. I now realize the foolishness of my process. I have brewed three batches since I switched to using the StarSan as a sanitizer and they have all come out with a really pronounced sour flavor and smell. The first batch after I switched was so awful I poured it out . The second was pretty bad too and the last one I made has this sour flavor too but it's much better than the other 2.
Since I have kegged this 3rd batch I have purchased PBW and have started using it for cleaning and intend to use the StarSan for sanitizing. I had thought at first that my problems were coming from fermentation temp swings, but this last one was controlled pretty well and still has that sourness, but not so badly. The off flavors have been the same flavor from batch to batch just varying degrees of it.

I have come to the conclusion that my problems are from shoddy cleaning practices and hopefully will go away on my next batch

Does this seem like a reasonable conclusion??

Sourness is usually a lacto infection. I had one years ago. I replaced all plastic tubing and cleaned and sanitized everything thoroughly and carefully. Have had no issues since then. As a rule, I now replace all my plastic tubing at least once a year.

Also if you use buckets, make sure you're not scouring them. Bugs like to hide in tiny scratches and may not get hit by the sanitizer.

What causes this? Is it just poor sanitation? I HAVE TO make sure this doesn't happen again. It's really discouraging and making me hesitant to brew. It wouldn't be so bad I guess if it hadn't been 3 batches in a row. Do I need to burn my auto siphon? I need to get a brush that fits the auto siphon well. Any other non obvious places for something like this to typically hide? It happened twice to me in Memphis and once in Atlanta, I thought maybe it was the house that was contaminating it or the water supply but I don't think that's it anymore.

In general, you will want to clean your plastics chemically (PBW) rather than physically (scrubbing), as even a small amount of abrasion will leave scratches behind that unwelcome bugs can hide in. In a microscopic level, those scratches are more like trenches that are big enough for bacteria and other stuff to pack into. Once they are packed into these trenches, you cleaner and sanitizer may not be able to flush them out or kill them and they end up hanging out with your beer. That is where they can take off and start making kids. So thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing is important, but make sure that the way you are cleaning isn't setting you up for problems down the road. Flushing my siphon and cane with hot PBW and following up with star san has been enough to keep me safe so far.

Have you broken down and cleaned your keg components? Especially if you've had ones that were off, you are gonna want to get that clean before putting a fresh beer in there.

It sounds like the problem is likely a cleaning/sanitizing issue, the PBW should help with getting stuff clean so that the star san can do its job.

Everyone else is giving great advice.

Don't forget that you can't sanitize something that isn't absolutely spotless clean. So don't think just because you put sanitizer on it, it's sanitized. Focus the most on your cleaning!

Ii will make sure to really deep clean my kegs and connections. This problem is showing up in the fermenter 5 or 6 days after pitching. The beers start off smelling great and then after about a week I start getting a sour smell out of the airlock.

I probably need to get some beer line cleaner also. I have only run about 6 kegs through them since I purchased my kegerator, but I haven't done much of anything except run sanitizer through the line.

Was your StarSan cloudy or clear?