Sterilising equipment prior to brewing and yeast

[RubbleUK]

Hi, I'm shortly going to start my first brews and was wondering what people use for sterilising equipment? I'm probably going to be aiming for 2 or 3 brews per month so would be looking for something that'll be cost effective and last for several months.

Also, is it better to use the yeast that comes with kit (I'm looking to try Better Brew Export Lager/Czech Pilsner or Muntons Gold Continental Pilsner for my first 3 brews) or maybe buy a third party yeast instead. If the latter, what kind of shelf life should I expect from a third party yeast and how much should I use per kilo of sugar with a 40 pint kit?

Thanks

Chris

 

[alanywiseman.]

I used to use VWP or thin bleach to sterilise my equitment. Now I have found the joy that is Star San. I can not recomend it enough. It is non rinse and lasts a long time. I made up 10L and as long as the pH stays at about 3 it is all good. Just store the fluid in a spare FV or bottle for use later.

As for yeast, so far I have only used the yeast supplied with kits. As you are looking a brewing a Lager you could use a lager yeast but then you need to ferment it at 12-15C then lager it at about 5C for a month before bottling. As a result i use the yeast supplied for my better brew Pilsner as it is a ale yeast designed for that style so you can brew at higher temperatures.

Hope that helps and Good Luck with the brew :thumb:

 

[RubbleUK]

I used to use VWP or thin bleach to sterilise my equitment. Now I have found the joy that is Star San. I can not recomend it enough. It is non rinse and lasts a long time. I made up 10L and as long as the pH stays at about 3 it is all good. Just store the fluid in a spare FV or bottle for use later.

As for yeast, so far I have only used the yeast supplied with kits. As you are looking a brewing a Lager you could use a lager yeast but then you need to ferment it at 12-15C then lager it at about 5C for a month before bottling. As a result i use the yeast supplied for my better brew Pilsner as it is a ale yeast designed for that style so you can brew at higher temperatures.

Hope that helps and Good Luck with the brew :thumb:

Thanks for that. I'll be brewing in an unheated room in the middle of house that is typically stable at around 18'C and I'll be conditioning in my garage. As the conditioning temperature will be weather dependant, I guess I won't be able to use a lager yeast then?

I assume lots of people are using kits with a plastic bucket FV indoors plus 2L fizzy drinks bottles like me and don't have access to temperature controlled environments too so are these kits designed with that in mind?

Cheers

Chris

 

[RubbleUK]

Quick question on Star San, how much do you use per 40 pint brew with 12 x 2L plastic bottles? Just trying to figure out what size to buy....

Thanks

Chris

PS - Just found a thread on dilution of Star San. It looks like it works best with deionised water at 1.5ml per litre? Would it work OK in a house plant atomiser sprayed onto the inside of my fermenting bins and a small amount shaken inside my 2L plastic bottles? If so, it seems to be quite a cost effective sterilising solution as even the smallest sized bottle of concentrate would probably last ages!

 

[alanywiseman.]

18C would be too high for a lager yeast. I generally wrap my FV in a duvet to try and insulate and helping to keep the brew at a stable temperature. I made up 10L using 15ml of star san (dilution rate of 1.5ml per litre). I have used it to steralise a coule of FV, bottle 20L of beer, 20L of wine and have it stored in a FV to steralise it before i brew this weekend. As long as the pH is below 3.5 it is fine. I see my bottle of star san lasting at least a year at this rate.

The only issue with 2L bottles is you need to drink the lot in 1 go plus you need a large jug to decant the beer into.

Are you planning to batch prime or bottle prime?

 

[RubbleUK]

The only issue with 2L bottles is you need to drink the lot in 1 go plus you need a large jug to decant the beer into. Are you planning to batch prime or bottle prime?

Bottle prime as I understand that's best for lager to get it to a decent pressure and 2L in one go....? I'm not convinced that'll be a major problem...!!