COUPLE OF IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

[PaulStat]

I was going to brew tonight but I've started waaaay too late, anyway I thought I'd prep myself for tomorrow instead. So here's my questions.

1. I made an yeast starter from some yeast I washed a month or so ago, it's fermenting away BUT it smells of sour milk! Should I ditch it and buy a satchet of S-04 tomorrow?
2. It appears I didn't clean out my burco very last time and left the bottom of it damp which means there's a bit of rust in the bottom of it, how do clean rust out of aluminium, would a layer of boiling water do the trick?!?

Thanks all!

[jonnyhop]

not sure about cleaning rust, but I would chuck anything that smelled like sour milk.

[PaulStat]

not sure about cleaning rust, but I would chuck anything that smelled like sour milk.

It's ok turned out the 'rust' was just dried crud, a quick 10 min boil with water did the trick.

About the yeast smell I did a google and came up with this http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/ferment ... ion-72758/ from the yanks. Hmmmm what do the Brits think?

[Graham]

not sure about cleaning rust, but I would chuck anything that smelled like sour milk.

It's ok turned out the 'rust' was just dried crud, a quick 10 min boil with water did the trick.

It would be a pretty good trick to get rust on aluminium.

[PaulStat]

not sure about cleaning rust, but I would chuck anything that smelled like sour milk.

It's ok turned out the 'rust' was just dried crud, a quick 10 min boil with water did the trick.

It would be a pretty good trick to get rust on aluminium.

Ah Graham just the man! What do you reckon about the smell of my starter?

[Hogarth]

In my experience, starters always smell and taste weird.

[Graham]

Ah Graham just the man! What do you reckon about the smell of my starter?

Dunno without smelling it, and then probably not, but if it really does stink of sour milk, and you are sure of that, then it is infected with lactic acid bacteria and I would chuck it.

[mysterio]

Does it just smell sharp, or like rancid milk ? Starters generally don't smell great but they shouldn't smell like off milk. Hard to know for sure without experience. Use SO4 if you're not sure.