Hey all, it has been quite a while since I posted or even read anything here, mostly because it has been quite a while since I brewed anything! About 10 months to be precise, but it is time to get back on that horse.
This is the longest I have ever gone between brew sessions, and I just know that cleaning out my CFC is going to be a nightmare. I have a homemade copper-inside-garden hose type and I forget how long the copper is but I do remember that it is longer than most. My routine in the past has been to do a nice strong oxyclean soak/circ during the mash, rinse with water, then do a starsan soak/circ during the boil, then it is ready for wort. After the chill, I rinse thoroughly with water, then pump air through to blow what water I can out of it. This is how it sits till the next brew, which works well for less than a month in between brewdays.
I'm going to need a better method. I know I can improve on how I clean after brewing so that it doesn't grow nastiness while it is stored. It is stored outdoors currently. As for getting it ready to brew in a week...does anyone know of a better chemical to break up the grossness other than oxyclean? What about something solid to push through to agitate? A short length of pipe cleaner maybe? I once saw someone recommend an earplug and said it worked for them, but I'm just not comfortable with getting it stuck in there.
This is the longest I have ever gone between brew sessions, and I just know that cleaning out my CFC is going to be a nightmare. I have a homemade copper-inside-garden hose type and I forget how long the copper is but I do remember that it is longer than most. My routine in the past has been to do a nice strong oxyclean soak/circ during the mash, rinse with water, then do a starsan soak/circ during the boil, then it is ready for wort. After the chill, I rinse thoroughly with water, then pump air through to blow what water I can out of it. This is how it sits till the next brew, which works well for less than a month in between brewdays.
I'm going to need a better method. I know I can improve on how I clean after brewing so that it doesn't grow nastiness while it is stored. It is stored outdoors currently. As for getting it ready to brew in a week...does anyone know of a better chemical to break up the grossness other than oxyclean? What about something solid to push through to agitate? A short length of pipe cleaner maybe? I once saw someone recommend an earplug and said it worked for them, but I'm just not comfortable with getting it stuck in there.