cleaning fermenter after use

Hey there!

How do you go about cleaning the fermenter after bottling your beer? I've washed mine pretty thoroughly (thou didn't disinfect), but the yeast scent didn't go away. It smells as if the beer was still fermenting in it (thou seems clean and dry).

Thanks!

Maegnar said:

Hey there!

How do you go about cleaning the fermenter after bottling your beer? I've washed mine pretty thoroughly (thou didn't disinfect), but the yeast scent didn't go away. It smells as if the beer was still fermenting in it (thou seems clean and dry).

Thanks!

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I only have plastic fermenters. After bottling I fill the fermenter with warm water and add a non scented soaker (sodium percarbonate 32.9% available oxygen 4%)at the prescribed rate. Leave it overnight and rinse it out and it is ready for next brew and never had a problem.

Maegnar said:

Hey there!

It smells as if the beer was still fermenting in it (thou seems clean and dry).

Thanks!

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RDWHAHB. There should be no residual odor in glass but there may be some in plastic. After I pull mine out of storage there is a slight beer sweetness (no funky smells). They are clean and dry and no scratches.

I rinse with a little warm water first to remove the trub krausen line using my hands. Then a little unscented "free" dish soap (or maybe an Oxy type cleaner if I have it made up for some other purpose) and a dedicated soft foam type sponge. Rinse very well and dry thoroughly before storing. Before use, I swirl a little water in to remove any possible dust/debris that may have gotten in in storage (overkill) and then sanitize and rack.

The few times I use a carboy (2ndary), I rinse the loose stuff out and then fill to the top with a mild bleach solution 1/4-1/2 cup to 5-6 G carboy and let it soak 12-36 hours.... that tends to dissolve most residue and I use a cheap crappy carboy brush to loosen any residual and then rinse well. (also, a small washcloth in with the last 1/2 of bleach water shaken vigorously does a pretty good job... just make sure the carboy and your hands are dry and you have a safe grip). I tend to grip firmly by the neck and bottom holding the carboy sideways and shake by twisting/working my abs... no need to move your relatively weak arms that are holding a big chunk of glass)

Rinse as much loose stuff out as I can with warm water. Put in PBW at the prescribed rate. Fill with water that is hot as bless. Soak overnite. The next day, drain about half, shake to get anything left, out. Drain then rinse a few times with warm water. No sponge, no dish soap.

jetmac said:

Rinse as much loose stuff out as I can with warm water. Put in PBW at the prescribed rate. Fill with water that is hot as bless. Soak overnite. The next day, drain about half, shake to get anything left, out. Drain then rinse a few times with warm water. No sponge, no dish soap.

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This.

"All your home brew are belong to us!"

Seems like I've done everything right... Thanks for your answers

jetmac said:

Rinse as much loose stuff out as I can with warm water. Put in PBW at the prescribed rate. Fill with water that is hot as bless. Soak overnite. The next day, drain about half, shake to get anything left, out. Drain then rinse a few times with warm water. No sponge, no dish soap.

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I use a quarter cup of PBW for five gallons of hot water in a carboy. It works really well; I do not need to scrub at all.

This blog has a good post on cleaning and sanitizing. Plus its creator is the owner of my LHBS so i trust him. Its more about cleaning bottles, but i dont see why the same steps cant be used for the rest of your equipment, with some common sense.

Best practices for cleaning beer and wine bottles | Bull City Homebrew Blog