Recognize when you sanitize!

When brewing beer, one of the easiest mistakes to make is to not sanitize enough.  Sanitizing is quite easy during the boil since the temperature of the boiling wort will kill pathogens and wild yeasts.  These tiny invaders are drawn to the sugary wort like teenage girls to a vampire love story ("They sparkle in the sunlight!" - gag).

Given the chance any number of bacteria or wild yeast would love to get at your brew.  Especially before the brewers yeast has had a chance to turn the wort alcoholic naturally inhibiting infections.  If however, your brew does get an infection there are a couple of outcomes you can expect.  Best case scenario:  a possible discoloration or a harmless white film on the surface of the fermenting beer.  Worst, and more probable scenario:  mold growth, off flavors, and sour beer.

Even if you are not a controlling person by nature, its important to control the conditions in which you brew to minimize the chances of infection.  This can be accomplished through diligent use of a no rinse sanitizer during the brewing process.  Everything that comes in contact with your brew MUST be sanitized, especially after the boil.

I learned quickly during my first batch of beer that life is better when you brew with a friend.  I'm lucky enough to live with my uncle who shares an interest in beer and brewing.  Uncle Roommate spent years working in kitchens so he has great kitchen intuition.  In order to keep things sanitary, we followed the directions of the container of sanitizer and filled a large Pyrex dish with the solution creating a cleansing bath for all the cooking utensils we would use.

Twelve hours or so after I sealed the fermenter, I checked on it.  No bubbling in the air lock yet so I checked the fit on the lid and noticed that the rubber grommet that the air lock fits into was not seated properly.  I messed with it, paying careful attention to keeping the fermenting beer from any contamination.  Once the grommet was properly in place and the lid was back on the fermenter the air lock began to bubble releasing CO2 from the fermentation process.

I know that the first couple batches of home brew can be difficult to get right.  I couldn't help but wonder if contaminates had gotten into my brew before the fermenter was properly sealed.  Only time would tell, and with the better part of two weeks left before bottling, I had plenty of time to worry about the health of my brew.