Bleach flavor

[RobInOre]

If there is so much bleach residue in a carboy after cleaning that it taints the flavor wouldn't it also be enough to interfere with fermentation?

I have two batches with a horrible bleach-like flavor. I clean my carboys by soaking overnight with bleach. It's possible that I didn't rinse with hot water thoroughly enough to remove the bleach before adding wort. I have well water so there's no chlorine there.
Both batches fermented down to an acceptable FG. Both carbed OK, no gushers, no flat bottles. I'm sure the temperature never rose above 70f. That should be well within the range for the BRY-97 that I used for these two brews.
I have brewed one batch between these two batches and one since that are fine.
As a precaution I have replaced some tubing and gained a fresh obsession with sanitation. I suspect a possible infection even though it tasted nothing like band-aids. The bleach question remains though.

 

[RM-MN]

If there is so much bleach residue in a carboy after cleaning that it taints the flavor wouldn't it also be enough to interfere with fermentation?

I have two batches with a horrible bleach-like flavor. I clean my carboys by soaking overnight with bleach. It's possible that I didn't rinse with hot water thoroughly enough to remove the bleach before adding wort. I have well water so there's no chlorine there.
Both batches fermented down to an acceptable FG. Both carbed OK, no gushers, no flat bottles. I'm sure the temperature never rose above 70f. That should be well within the range for the BRY-97 that I used for these two brews.
I have brewed one batch between these two batches and one since that are fine.
As a precaution I have replaced some tubing and gained a fresh obsession with sanitation. I suspect a possible infection even though it tasted nothing like band-aids. The bleach question remains though.

Why don't you make a couple changes to you sanitation regime and see it the problem goes away. Instead of the bleach soak, use something like PBW or Oxiclean Free to get the equipment clean and then a quick dose of Starsan just before adding wort.

 

[Cyclman]

Bleach has a very low flavor threshold, so an amount that may not affect fermentation could certainly remain in the beer.

I recommend keeping a bucket of StarSan, re-use it for several months, checking to be sure the pH is below 3. Cheap and very effective, no flavor impact.

I am sure some will argue, but to me the cost benefit is highly worthwhile.

 

[ArcaneXor]

HE SAID THE B-WORD!

Don't ever use bleach on your brewing equipment, unless you really need to nuke something particularly nasty, in which case you should probably just replace the equipment. Use cleaners and sanitizers intended for homebrewing - you'll have much better results, and the per-batch cost increase is negligible.

 

[BigFloyd]

Stop using bleach. Period. A very tiny amount will come through in the flavor and it's hard as heck to completely rinse it away.

An overnight soak in PBW or Oxy, wipe with soft cloth, rinse well and then sanitize right before use with StarSan is all you need.

 

[RobInOre]

Well I guess it's settled. Thanks guys.
PBW, Oxy and StarSan are all in my arsenal already. I'll just change up my routine a bit and get back to business.

Thanks!