How to sterilise a siphon which has been in infected beer?

[jceg316]

I have a new siphon which I used to transfer a beer which went bad. In my experience even after cleaning and sterilising a siphon with Starsan it can transfer the infection to an otherwise good batch. I transferred the bad beer, I put the siphon straight into oxy clean and rinsed it after the transfer.

Is there a more nuclear option than starsan which is more likely to kill all bas germs living in my siphon? The hose part is silicone so I can oven cook that, but the plastic part will melt.

 

[HarryFlatters]

Bleach?

 

[strange-steve]

Bleach -> metabisulphite solution -> starsan

I've found this 3 step method will kill pretty much anything.

 

[Keruso]

I have a new siphon which I used to transfer a beer which went bad. In my experience even after cleaning and sterilising a siphon with Starsan it can transfer the infection to an otherwise good batch. I transferred the bad beer, I put the siphon straight into oxy clean and rinsed it after the transfer.

Is there a more nuclear option than starsan which is more likely to kill all bas germs living in my siphon? The hose part is silicone so I can oven cook that, but the plastic part will melt.

Starsan isn't a steriliser so as Steve say's use bleach or VWP a chlorine based brewery cleaner / steriliser first, rinse, then use PBW or Starsan or similar.

 

[An Ankoù]

Bleach -> metabisulphite solution -> starsan

The bleach kills everything. The metabisulphite kills the bleach. I'd rinse with holy water while intoning the rite of exorcism, but each to his own.

 

[jceg316]

thanks for getting back to me on this.

In terms of bleach, is there a specific bleach to use or can I get the cheapest unscented bleach from Tesco? Does it need to be a certain concentrate when I mix it with water?

metabisulphite solution

What ratio is your solution?

 

[foxbat]

Bin. Silicone is too porous to risk it.

 

[BeerCat]

You can pick up 4m of tube for £3 on eBay, can find the link if you want.

 

[jceg316]

the silicone bit is fine, I can sterilise it in my oven. It's the plastic siphon I'm worried about.

 

[Drunkula]

In terms of bleach, is there a specific bleach to use or can I get the cheapest unscented bleach from Tesco? Does it need to be a certain concentrate when I mix it with water?

Cheapest you can get. Dilute about ten to one. You can then after it's diluted add a splash of vinegar and it'll increase the killing power hundreds of times. Make sure you wait until it's diluted to add it.

It's it's just a length of hose and you can fold it and get it into a pressure cooker you can do that and it'll only take a few minutes.

If it's visibly cruddy you can put a needle on some cotton, drag it through with a needle and magnet and then drag through a string. Get a little bit of cloth or rip off the corner of some kitchen towel and tie it into the string and use that to floss the tube. That's good to do after an oxiclean soak.

 

[strange-steve]

In terms of bleach, is there a specific bleach to use or can I get the cheapest unscented bleach from Tesco? Does it need to be a certain concentrate when I mix it with water?


What ratio is your solution?

I use the cheap thin bleach from asda. For disinfection you want about a 1500 ppm solution which for the thin bleach (0.8%) is about 190ml/L.

For the metabisulphite solution, as mentioned above, it's primarily to ensure removal of the chlorine (although it also works as a sanitiser). By my reckoning about 1.9g (about 4 Campden tablets) would be enough to react with the hypochlorite in 1L of bleach solution in the above concentration, but of course you'd be rinsing the bleach before adding the solution so even 1 tablet dissolved in 1L of water is more than sufficient.

 

[GerritT]

Okay, the methods mentioned were mostly for the tube.

Keep this syphon for moving bad brew, cleanse it with bleach/water etc, mark it with ductape, uglify it, but use it only for sink-grade brews.

Buy a new one for good brews. And only for those ones, and never let the two syphons meet.

 

[MyQul]

A new syphon is a couple of quid. I'd not risk it and bin it.

 

[An Ankoù]

Steady on chaps.
Does that go for the old fermenter and the vessel he transferred the bad beer to as well? That's more than a couple of quid.
Bleach will do it.

 

[Cwrw666]

Bleach and stick it in a pan of boiling water for a few minutes.

 

[MyQul]

Steady on chaps.
Does that go for the old fermenter and the vessel he transferred the bad beer to as well? That's more than a couple of quid.
Bleach will do it.

No, I'd (and have done in the past) bleach those

 

[Clint]

Give it to me and I'll give it an ethanol /methanol/MEK/DMF/IPA/THF bath for 12 hours in work....that'll kill it!
Chuck it if you're worried or bleach it totally submerged in a long shallow tray..

 

[strange-steve]

ethanol /methanol/MEK/DMF/IPA/THF bath

You finally found a good use for Greene King IPA?

 

[Clint]

Yes...it's on the list with the skull and crossbones...but nothing to do with pirates

 

[jceg316]

An update:

I went out and got some thick bleach and diluted as the packet suggested in 20L of water. Sterilised both glass demijohns by filling halfway, leaving on their side, then rotating after an hour or so. Put my siphon in for an hour, anything that could go in the oven safely went in for 20 mins. Everything got rinsed thoroughly afterwards.

I now have 2brews which went through the same equipment which could potentially be carrying that pesky bug, it's all clear so far! I bottled a vienna lager yesterday, no signs of infection and tasting great. I have a stout in the other glass demi, so far fermenting well. I put the siphon in to take a sample and it seemed to have "survived" as well. Just waiting for my pressure barrel to free up so I can transfer it.

Thanks for the advice.