Common brewing practices you’ve never done

[trueblue]

brewed a kit
brewed a hop monster IPA
Listened to Americans giving advice about brewing British beers.

 

[strange-steve]

Listened to Americans giving advice about brewing British beers

What about Brits giving advice about brewing American beers?

 

[trueblue]

What about Brits giving advice about brewing American beers?

If I was to brew an American beer I would probably take the advice of an American over a Brit. I do follow some American brewing sites and as an example they tell you to keep calcium below 80ppm for an ESB. No thanks

 

[strange-steve]

as an example they tell you to keep calcium below 80ppm for an ESB. No thanks

I agree, just being flippant

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Never used starsan. I don't like the idea of putting something that kills stiff in my beer.

 

[MickDundee]

Never used starsan. I don't like the idea of putting something that kills stiff in my beer.

What do you use to sanitise? I can’t think of anything that doesn’t kill stuff - bleach and boiling water are my other 2 methods (I also use star san) and they both kill stuff.

 

[Ajhutch]

What do you use to sanitise? I can’t think of anything that doesn’t kill stuff - bleach and boiling water are my other 2 methods (I also use star san) and they both kill stuff.

“Killing stuff” is of course the whole point of sanitising!

 

[strange-steve]

Never used starsan. I don't like the idea of putting something that kills stiff in my beer.

You'd be better off not fermenting the wort then, ethanol is pretty effective at killing stuff.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

What do you use to sanitise? I can’t think of anything that doesn’t kill stuff - bleach and boiling water are my other 2 methods (I also use star san) and they both kill stuff.

Sodium Percarbonate, followed by a rinse. Starsan is no-rinse, so it stays in whatever you are sanitising. To be honest, I said it tounge in cheek, though it is true that I never use it.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

You'd be better off not fermenting the wort then, ethanol is pretty effective at killing stuff.

Ethanol is the desired product of fermentation.

 

[Ajhutch]

Sodium percarbonate (eg PBW) is a cleanser not a sanitiser. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Starsan breaks down into a neutral or even slightly fermentation enhancing set of compounds.

 

[AnimatedGIF]

Sodium percarbonate (eg PBW) is a cleanser not a sanitiser. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Starsan breaks down into a neutral or even slightly fermentation enhancing set of compounds.

It's sold as "cleaner and steriliser", and I've never had any issues using it as such.

 

[Clint]

It's non chlorine bleach I think...
On the subject of never...
I do nearly everything or have tried it...except for mashing out...although I once added a few litres of sparge to the tun to see if it made a difference...it didn't so didn't do it again...
I rarely share my beer because how can someone sit there swilling supermarket slop then suddenly proclaim a great love and interest in my stocks of hand crafted loveliness...apart that it's free...pah...

 

[Sadfield]

Sodium percarbonate (eg PBW) is a cleanser not a sanitiser. I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Starsan breaks down into a neutral or even slightly fermentation enhancing set of compounds.

Actually, it is if used in correct dosage and contact time. It produces hydrogen peroxide, which is commonly used to control microbial growth. Sodium percarbonate is also no rinse as it decomposes to sodium carbonate (used as a food additive and in water softening) and hydrogen peroxide, which further breaks down to water and oxygen. IIRC you need to be using c10g/L for 30 minutes, though. Where as starsan is far more effective and stable.

Anyhow....

I've never fined.
I've never used a pressure barrel.
I've never brewed a Gregg Hughes recipe.

 

[Ajhutch]

I thought there was something with PBW that it had to be rinsed and even had to be rinsed with water the same temperature? Surfactants might have been the word?

 

[Sadfield]

I thought there was something with PBW that it had to be rinsed and even had to be rinsed with water the same temperature? Surfactants might have been the wrong.

Yeah, PWB probably contains surfactants and some type of silicate to act as a peroxide stabiliser. However, the discussion was regarding sodium percarbonate, as stated by animatedgif, which on it's own is no rinse.

 

[Ajhutch]

Ah ok I understand. I thought the sodium percarbonate itself was a surfactant, didn’t realise that is actually an additive. That makes sense now. And I never knew that sodium percarbonate could also sanitise, though 10g per litre is an awful lot of it

 

[HiOctaine]

well being new to all of this having only done one Extract brew, ive not done alot of things brewing, but i will need to google some of the things on these lists to find out what they are...

Happy brewing and i look forward to more brews, Whirlpooling, Mashing out, and racking what every they are.

 

[Cwrw666]

I have started doing this recently. Not religiously, just trying to lift the bulk of ot with a jug, but 2 beers of late have came out pretty clear so whilst I would say it's a bit early for a victory lap, I might be being in another brew or 2s time thats it's worth doing.

I find it's worth doing with beers with low hopping rates as otherwise the hot break crud just blocks up the mesh filter on my tap. I just use a table spoon to skim it off just before the wort starts boiling. Standard practice in jam making so I thought I'd give it a go.

 

[CD]

Checked pH.
Put beer in anything that hadn't been rinsed.