Sanitation of ingredients

JamesM said:

hops have antiseptic properties, so you generally don't have to worry about them, though I've had problems with home grown. I'm going to stick with pellets for dry hopping in the future. Vodka would work for coco nibs, or you could bake them in the oven for a little while... Id say 15 min at 300 should probably work

Click to expand...

pericles said:

Hops: never sanitize.

Fresh fruit: There are a couple of schools of thought on this. Some people claim that adding fruit after active fermentation has ended won't introduce infections, because the alcohol in your fermented beer will sanitize the fruit for you. I personally don't believe that there's enough alcohol in solution.

One technique is to blanch the fruit - that's what I do. Another is to soak it in vodka, or even a no-rinse sanitizer like star-san.

Fruit Puree: The fruit puree that comes in a can is usually pasteurized, so there's no need to sanitize it. To be safe, I boil the can after punching a small hole in the top. (If you don't punch that hole, the air in the can will expand and turn it into a pipe bomb.)

Frozen Fruit: Again, the fruit is supposed to be pasteurized, but I blanch it to be safe.

Honey: Honey is antiseptic. It can, occasionally, contain botulism toxin, but I've never heard of anyone getting sick from a honey beer. I just dump it in. Others boil it.

Sugar: I usually make a simple syrup by boiling equal parts sugar and water. Many people don't sanitize it at all.

Spices: I usually soak spices in vodka for a few days, and then dump the whole mess into the fermenter. You can also boil them lightly.

Any fun adjuncts I missed?

Click to expand...