And we worry about infection

[Sadfield]

The perspective is, we sanitise to keep the ancient/historic flavours out of beer. Not to make it safe to drink, it'll do that on its own.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Here's what I sanitise and what I don't

Burco boiler NO
Mash Tun NO
FV's YES
Spoon/paddle YES
Plastic tubing/hose YES
Wort chiller YES in the hot wort
Straining sieve YES
Thermometer YES
Hydrometer & jar YES
Bottles and kegs YES
Crown caps NO
Scissors NO
Yeast packet NO
Hands YES

 

[Sadfield]

Here's what I sanitise and what I don't

Burco boiler NO
Mash Tun NO
FV's YES
Spoon/paddle YES
Plastic tubing/hose YES
Wort chiller YES in the hot wort
Straining sieve YES
Thermometer YES
Hydrometer & jar YES
Bottles and kegs YES
Crown caps NO
Scissors NO
Yeast packet NO
Hands YES

This what I don't get. How much extra effort/time does it take to sanitise bottle caps, yeast packets and scissors on top of doing fv, kegs and bottles. Especially if using a no rinse sanitiser that gets swilled out into a storage container or down the drain. 10 seconds work, even if it is to eliminate a minimal risk that isn't anything to worry about.

What makes your hydrometer more of a risk than bottle tops?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

This what I don't get. How much extra effort/time does it take to sanitise bottle caps, yeast packets and scissors on top of doing fv, kegs and bottles. Especially if using a no rinse sanitiser that gets swilled out into a storage container or down the drain. 10 seconds work, even if it is to eliminate a minimal risk that isn't anything to worry about.

What makes your hydrometer more of a risk than bottle tops?

1. Never had an infection
2. Don't use no rinse sanitiser.
3. Caps don't touch the beer + alcohol will kill any bugs.
4. A hydrometer goes into unfermented wort.
Etc

 

[Sadfield]

3. Caps don't touch the beer + alcohol will kill any bugs.

Only the non-beer spoiling organism (the clue is in the name), are usually detrimental to health. I've an intentionally inoculated keg of beer that's proof that brettanomyces, lactobacillus, pediococcus and acetobacter tolerate alcohol and acidity.

Why sanitise kegs and bottles if you believe alcohol kills bugs? That doesn't make sense.

 

[Philip Witney]

Indeed. I just wash out with Fairy and swill round with a teaspoonful of bleach in five litres of cold water. Never had a problem apart from when the dog stuck his nose in the FV.

 

[MyQul]

Indeed. I just wash out with Fairy and swill round with a teaspoonful of bleach in five litres of cold water. Never had a problem apart from when the dog stuck his nose in the FV.

Make sure you rinse all the fairly liquid off your kit properly as it'll destroy the head on your beer (if thats something that concerns you)

 

[MyQul]

MY penny worth.....
Beer and wine has been produced throughout the world since before the Romans.
I wonder what sanitiser they used?
Enough said?
N¡ck

I'm pretty sure fire had been invented by the roman times. Heat sanitises just as effective as chemical sanitiser. I sanitise a lot of my kit using boiling water. I also use the oven to sanise my bottles. I only really use starsan to sanitise fiddly things or situations where's is far more convieneint of cost effective

 

[80/-]

Sensible precautions taken here. Nothing I think is ott, but then if you do it, you probably don’t think it’s OTT

I’ve probably had one batch that was slightly spoiled - a German wheat beer that was a bit of a gusher in every bottle and tasted just slightly sour.

Wasn’t bad enough for me to chuck it, but it wasn’t the flavour profile I’d been looking for.

 

[Pjam]

I've had an infection. Only 1 in 93 brews but I knew the moment i open the shed door. No need to even take the lid off. No idea how it happened though.

 

[PaulCa]

I sanitise everything used post boil or rather post cooling.

I have had two infections maybe out of about 50 brews, only one resulted in it being poured down the drain as it tasted like vinegar.

The actual window for infection is quite small and it depends greatly on how you are brewing. For all grain the time is between cooling below 55*C and the yeast coming out of multiplication phase and into fermenting. So usually 24-72 hours. Once the yeast are established they saturate the wort, most bacteria won't live in the high CO2 or high alcohol environment and the rest are much more rare. This is also why some infections are only on the surface and you can just siphon from below.

 

[Pjam]

One thing I dont worry about is bottles. I rinse well after drinking and that's it ..... no starsan and never had a bad one!

 

[thesteve]

The more I look at brewing forums it surprises me how many home brewers do so in their sheds and garages yet we all seem to get really techy when it comes to sanitisation of everything. I would much rather brew in my kitchen where it is (generally!) clear of dirt, dust etc. Is anyone of the same view? Quite funny when you see FVs next to lawnmowers and engine oil yet I suspect/hope none of us would really cook their dinner in the same place. Especially curious when we are all desperately worried about cleanliness at the moment. I guess part of it is due to the abundance of equipment involved.

 

[MickDundee]

The more I look at brewing forums it surprises me how many home brewers do so in their sheds and garages yet we all seem to get really techy when it comes to sanitisation of everything. I would much rather brew in my kitchen where it is (generally!) clear of dirt, dust etc. Is anyone of the same view? Quite funny when you see FVs next to lawnmowers and engine oil yet I suspect/hope none of us would really cook their dinner in the same place. Especially curious when we are all desperately worried about cleanliness at the moment. I guess part of it is due to the abundance of equipment involved.

I use the utility room for brewing, but I’ve been finding it much easier to bottle in the garage - no need to bring everything into the house, and I can just line all the bottles up in front of my fermenting fridge and fill each from my bottling wand. It doesn’t disrupt any of the trub and ends up much quicker.

 

[Sadfield]

I sanitise everything used post boil or rather post cooling.

I have had two infections maybe out of about 50 brews, only one resulted in it being poured down the drain as it tasted like vinegar.

The actual window for infection is quite small and it depends greatly on how you are brewing. For all grain the time is between cooling below 55*C and the yeast coming out of multiplication phase and into fermenting. So usually 24-72 hours. Once the yeast are established they saturate the wort, most bacteria won't live in the high CO2 or high alcohol environment and the rest are much more rare. This is also why some infections are only on the surface and you can just siphon from below.

Except for all the beer spoiling bacteria such as lactobacillus, pediococcus and acetobacter, that all love fermented beer. There's a reason some breweries microscopically filter or pasteurise their beers, to ensure shelf life and flavour consistency. An infection (contamination is a better term) is any unwanted micro-organism, so isn't restricted to bacteria. It can include bacteria, brettanomyces, saccharomyces or any other fungi. Unless you sterilise everything, the window is always open. How wide will dictate the outcome.

 

[Loonytoone]

I do all my brewing in the garage, mostly with the door open as well.
We live in the country next door to a farm but so far, we've been okay.
Although, I do worry sometimes if I leave the wort to cool naturally overnight in the kettle.

 

[OliverT]

What are people's thoughts on new, packaged bottles?
Bought a box of 50, would love not to have to sterlilize them.

 

[terrym]

What are people's thoughts on new, packaged bottles?
Bought a box of 50, would love not to have to sterlilize them.

Its your risk and no-one else's.

 

[Old Geezer]

Wash then sterilize every time.

 

[Nidger]

I used to put a wet tea towel over the lid of my FV when brewing lager