I brewed my first batch at this house about two years ago. There was a slight sour smell but it seems to go away after a month or two. I assumed it was stressed yeast and/or something with the water. My wife struggles with pizza/bread dough since moving as well...
Anyway I got my stuff out and brewed a simple IPA and got that same sour smell, but this time stronger. A friend in the development also brews and doesn't seem to have any problems with the water. So now I have to blame the obvious a plastic Speidel fermenter that spend the last 4 summers in my hot and humid garage. It was cleaned and sanitized before moving and left closed so I never suspected it as the problem. I also didn't suspect an infection the first time since I never heard of a soured beer getting better...
I brewed a new batch in my old glass carboy and I decided to go ahead and try to restore the Speidel. I dumped the bad batch, cleaned with strong Oxyclean and bleached and sealed the fermenter. I shake/spin every few hours to ensure the bleach reaches all area.
My plan is to dump the bleach tomorrow, then another Oxyclean and then Star San. Has anyone every de-funked a plastic fermenter? What steps did you take? I am specifically wondering about the best way to make sure the bleach is removed.
Thanks for any comments or advice..
Edited by MakeMeHoppy, 18 October 2020 - 05:12 PM.