Sanitising - How anal about it are you?

[BrewRubha]

Sterile? How are you achieving that?

Starsan. Add a few litres of dilute mix and swirl it about to coat all surfaces. Works in a couple of minutes.

 

[BrewRubha]

I think that the anal attention to sanitisation comes from the commercial breweries where an infection can ruin their business. For us it is a wasted brew day and a waste of space in the ferm chamber. Just another learning experience. Maybe Brulosophy should do an experiment on small batch sterilisation and see if meticulous is better than nothing...might save a few quid on Starsan.

 

[Gerryjo]

Starsan. Add a few litres of dilute mix and swirl it about to coat all surfaces. Works in a couple of minutes.

Starsan is only a sanitiser and not a steriliser.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

and make sure FV is sterile.

Sterile? How are you achieving that?

Starsan. Add a few litres of dilute mix and swirl it about to coat all surfaces. Works in a couple of minutes.

I have a feeling (i may be wrong) that it was your use of the word Sterile instead of Sanitised that caused Sadfields to question you.

.

 

[Gerryjo]

I have a feeling (i may be wrong) that it was your use of the word Sterile instead of Sanitised that caused Sadfields to question you.

.

Diplomacy.....:hat:

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Diplomacy.....:hat:

O.K edited for accuracy -

I have a feeling (i may be wrong) that it was your use of the word Sterile instead of Sanitised that caused the TROLL post.

.

 

[Sadfield]

Sanitising - How anal about it are you?

Very (when it comes to semantics).

 

[Gerryjo]

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

I would say I'm pretty careful about sanitation on the cold side. Hot side I'm happy for the bits and bobs to be visibly clean. I figure a 60 min boil will take care of all the potential nasty bits. Not sure how fastidious you have to be on the cold side or if it is just "the done thing" in all brewing stuff I've read. I once went on a brewery tour of York Brewery, I think they have closed down since (not because of my visit or anything), but I remember thinking it didn't look the cleanest (the open fermentation just didn't sit right, but I've read is pretty normal) so maybe not as super important as made out. Still not confident enough to slosh wort about cold side without Starsan to hand though....

 

[Ian9365]

Oxi + Starsan, spray the Starsan all over the place and definitely go through loads of it. Make up a bottle for the wife and she sprays it round the fridge. Recirculate boiling Oxi after each brew

 

[dan125]

I think it's possible to have a low level infection that can affect beer quality/flavour without it being obviously 'off'.
Earlier in the year I had 2 or 3 brews of different styles that although had no obvious sign of infection just werent right (and got slated in competition) - I gave everything cold side a deep clean followed by an iodine based sanitiser, which I believe is more effective against wild yeast than starsan, and everything seems OK again.

 

[Sadfield]

I think it's possible to have a low level infection that can affect beer quality/flavour without it being obviously 'off'.

100% this.

I gave everything cold side a deep clean followedby an iodine based sanitiser, which I believe is more effective against wild yeast than starsan, and everything seems OK again.

I've read the opposite, that Starsan is more effective than iodine based, but that is inconsequential as the most important bit of information is the "deep clean" bit. Brettanomyces and bacteria can form a protective biofilm, which needs to be removed by cleaning for either forms of sanitiser to be completely effective.

 

[dan125]

I've read the opposite, that Starsan is more effective than iodine based

This is from the More Beer website:
BTF Iodophor, an iodine based sanitizer, is a powerful, broad spectrum antimicrobial product that kills a wide range of bugs that are waiting to infect your fermentation. Unlike acid based sanitizers, BTF Iodophor reliably kills yeast, mold, fungus, bacteria, viruses and blood borne pathogens.

But I agree the deep clean was probably most beneficial, even though I thought my cleaning regime was pretty good to start with.

 

[Sadfield]

This is from the More Beer website:
BTF Iodophor, an iodine based sanitizer, is a powerful, broad spectrum antimicrobial product that kills a wide range of bugs that are waiting to infect your fermentation. Unlike acid based sanitizers, BTF Iodophor reliably kills yeast, mold, fungus, bacteria, viruses and blood borne pathogens.

But I agree the deep clean was probably most beneficial, even though I thought my cleaning regime was pretty good to start with.

Yes, I read that about Iodophor, however the practicalities of Starsan were said to give it the edge. Particularly, it's foaming action and lower contact time. Iodophor is only no-rinse at a certain dilution.

Both good products though.