9
votes
Is submerging bottles in boiling water a good method of sanitization?
It should work fine for sanitation, as long as the bottles have been cleaned in advance. If you were planning on using some star-san later though, why bother with the boiling water (or even the ...
- 36.2k
9
votes
How clean does your equipment really need to be?
TL; DR; You need to clean!
You do this for safety, repeatability, and to avoid wasting your effort. I have cleaned poorly before and wasted brews of both wine and beer, since I took a more rigorous ...
- 7,018
5
votes
Accepted
Can I clean and reuse a grain bag?
Absolutely!
I rinse after use then throw them in with my laundry whites.
Couple tips.
These don't have to be sterile or even sanitized. A good rinse is really the only functional need they have.
...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Accepted
How paranoid about cleaning & sanitization?
The other advice looks good so far. Having a generally clean work space and equipment is very important, and the fully sanitizing equipment only really matters for things that will come in contact ...
- 933
5
votes
How to clean little bottler
I would advise popping it out and cleaning it every time, cleanliness is next to godliness or at least next to not having contaminated beer.
- 7,018
5
votes
Accepted
How to clean krausen off of ceilings?
All humor aside it should clean easily with mild soap and water. I've found that dish soap 1:20 ratio in a spray bottle does well on latex paint for all kinds of mishaps. Don't use soaps with bleach. ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Does bentonite kill yeast in wine?
No, it doesn't. Bentonite is a clarifying agent, similar to Gelatin. It helps settle the yeast and other haze causing elements, but it does not kill the yeast. Sulfites don't actually kill yeast ...
- 3,012
5
votes
Accepted
Can I reuse a bottle that had a sour lactobacillus beer in it?
Bacteria like to hang out in soft surfaces like rubber and plastic, which for us usually includes things like buckets, hoses, and o-rings. Also any metal fittings for your valves, etc.
Glass bottles ...
- 3,417
4
votes
Accepted
How to clean little bottler
Yes, if it can be taken apart and reassembled without damaging it. I would disassemble clean and store. Then sanitize and reassemble the valve and sanitize the bucket as a whole before use.
A clean ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Sodium Percarbonate safety
Sodium percarbonate forms hydrogen peroxide which eventually breaks down into oxygen and water.
1a. I think you'd have to leave a lot in. Apparently hydrogen peroxide is used as an antiseptic ...
3
votes
How paranoid about cleaning & sanitization?
The concept of sanitation itself implies that you have a significant tolerance for undesired microbes, as opposed to sterility where you have to be more careful. If you think that some of your ...
- 106
3
votes
Accepted
Safe/practical to leave brew equipment in no-rinse sanitation tub throughout the whole brew?
In short, No.
Easy clean is not a sanitizer. After cleaning with easy clean, a no rinse sanitizer needs to be used like starsan.
I often soak beer equipment for hours in oxyclean, very similar to ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Methods for cleaning and drying tubing
I take a sponge and cut a 1.5 inch long and width is approximately the ID of my hose. I stuff this into my hose (wet it first) then stick it in my faucet and let the water pressure push the sponge ...
- 61
3
votes
Recycling/Reusing Bottles?
If you thoroughly rinse and dry your bottles after use and store them in a dust free place, all you need to do before reusing is sanitize them. The sanitation methods above are good, and you can also ...
3
votes
How paranoid about cleaning & sanitization?
When I first started, I figured I needed to sanitize the living hell out of everything all throughout the brew process. As I've done more and more recipes without incident, I've realized that one need ...
- 383
3
votes
Accepted
Safe but effective cleaning solvent for copper
PBW was originally designed to clean a copper "waterfall" chiller device at Coors. It is more safe than caustics and other harsher chemicals both for the copper and you. Also I believe starsan ...
- 76
3
votes
What are best practices for cleaning and passivating stainless steel pot/fermenter?
Last thing first. There is no need to worry about passivating the stainless steel. Once cleaned it will re-passivate when in contact with air and the residual moisture from cleaning. Its almost ...
- 36.2k
3
votes
How clean does your equipment really need to be?
Unfortunately, yes, it is needed.
When I was starting, in my first year, I lost a lot of batches, I could say 2 from 3 batches were lost due to bad cleaning, I never figured exactly what I was not ...
- 131
3
votes
Fermenter bucket still a bit rank after several cleanings
I get a similar issue with the bucket I use for bottling (I use a glass carboy for fermenting). I am still using the bucket with the usual cleaning straight after use and sanitizing prior to use with ...
- 87
2
votes
How difficult are the plate-based wort chiilers to clean? Do they require filtration before the wort goes through them?
I've seen pros store sanitizer in the plate chiller, just pump it in and cap it. Then when you push wort through, you simply wait for it to push the sanitizer out, as far as gross debris, PBW and some ...
2
votes
Accepted
Brewing in former lotion pot
I think the cleaning you gave it will be good. But if not, then at most your first beer might have a flat head from fatty deposits that will be removed by the acidic wort on your first brew.
So ...
- 27k
2
votes
Accepted
Cleaning Many PET Bottles
Warm water from the tap will not deform the bottles. If you are worried about it you can temper the water with cooler tap water. Use hot water to dissolve some oxyclean or PBW. Temper it with the ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
Accepted
How to sanitize aluminium?
Chlorine or Caustic/Alkaline will corrode the oxide layer on aluminium; don't use them.
You could use a sanitizer that is based on Phosphoric acid or similar and another option would be an iodine ...
- 7,018
2
votes
Is submerging bottles in boiling water a good method of sanitization?
Just a note of caution.
Bottles are not tempered glass. Dropping cool bottles in boiling water may break them or make micro fractures that will fail under carbonation pressure. Always do temperature ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
Is submerging bottles in boiling water a good method of sanitization?
Simply washing with dish soap to remove residual beer and dirt from outside (lipstick) is fine. I then rinse with sani solution before storing. When I am ready to use a bottle, I rinse again with ...
- 152
2
votes
Accepted
How to clean a cotton grain bag for reuse
For the sake of convenience I would replace them with nylon bags either from your LHBS or nylon paint strainer bags from your hardware store.
The nylon bags clean very easily and have a very fine ...
- 18.5k
2
votes
Accepted
How to clean bottles used for homebrewing few times?
An overnight soak in PBW or oxyclean always works well for freeing up beerstone and other deposits for me. The soak should start with the warmest tap water you can get. PBW is more expensive but I ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
What is the difference between Clean, Sanitized and Sterilized?
"clean" "sanitize" "sterilize" are all terms used by the FDA. the comments explaining the relative log level of effectiveness are spot on: sanitize: log 5 ~ 99.999 effectiveness is all that is ...
- 21
2
votes
Bubbles within glass
When I cleaned demi-johns and glass bottles by soaking in a solution of PBW and hypochlorite bleach I noticed a build up of some insoluble compound on the surface of the glass that looked similar to ...
- 5,631
2
votes
Fat residues on bottles or glasses, causing bad head retension: how to dissolve and remove it?
What not use a commercial brewing steriliser/cleaner like VWP? Soak in a solution made with very hot water overnight. One might find that all that is needed thereafter is a rinse with fresh water and ...
- 5,631
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