ale1

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Hello!
So I've made one batch of beer so far and have wild yeast cider going in the carboy right now. I sanitized every thing with the sanitizer that came in the kit the first time but was pestering my wife for time/car to get some more(so I could sanitize my carboy for the cider) when she asked why I didn't just make up a bleech solution? So I tried it and, while my cider is wild yeast any way, it definitely is fermenting. So is the a reason bleech water is not more commonly used? If one of the pirks to home brewing is less expensive, better tasting beer, why not save on sanitizer and use up some of that bleech we all have in our house any way?

aomagman78

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BLeach is a sanitizer, and you can find a podcast on how best to use it. I believe that sanitizer is low on the list of brewing costs. And bleach/vinegar can be a little bit of a hassle, as well as totally stinking up your hands. I have used, and made a good beer with it but Star San is cheap enough that i'd rather not bother with with. Others will chime in. Straight bleach actually isn't a great sanitizer. You can make it much better by lowering the pH of the solution (after thoroughly mixing the bleach into your water). But best to listen to the podcast from the star san guy before doing that.

March 29, 2007 - Sanitizing with Bleach and Star San
Here is the link: http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?page=basic-brewing-radio-2007

CanadianQuaffer

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I bought some StarSan recently and I love it. GREAT stuff and worth every penny.

OneHoppyGuy

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If bleach were good, the professional breweries would use it... 'nuff said

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NeighborsBrewingCo

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+1 bleach is not worth the trouble.

NeighborsBrewingCo

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Also it reacts with any stainless pots/ utensils

Misplaced_Canuck

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Uhhh that's because they have a ton of stainless. Not because it isn't "good".

I've been using bleach for 20 years, never pitted anything, never had an infection, and much less the band-aid flavor.

I prefer bleach because it's plentiful, easy to find, and works great for me. I couldn't stand running out of PBW/Starsan/etc and having to do a 1 hour roundtrip to the brewshop who is never opened when I need them.

MC

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gclunde

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I use bleach for sanitizing almost everything, but do keep some no-rinse sanitizer handy for small jobs when brewing (soaking for 20-mins in isn't feasible).

As stated above, I figure bleach is simple to use, inexpesive, and does a great job of sanitizing.

That being said, there are some items you don't want to soak for days at a time, but for the most part, you can put whatever you want in it and forget about it till you're ready to rinse in hot tap water and get down to business.

Lou1998

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I started out using bleach, but I hate how it smells, how it makes the carboys slippery and how I had to rinse it. Once I started kegging, I switched to star san. Each time I brew, I mix a fresh 5 gallons to sanitize my fermenter and then siphon it into a keg and use that batch to sanitize my secondary. Since the keg is already sanitized, it really cuts down on how much I need to clean when racking.