b-brite, been not-so-brite

Hey all--

I got back into brewing again a few years ago and went back to using B-Brite for sanitizing my bottles and brew gear, or so I thought that's what I was doing! It wasn't until recently that I read the label (after reading a thread on this site) and realized that all it did was clean. I used to keep a cooler full of the stuff for a month on my porch, get the bottles and gear out, rinse off and go to it. I was lucky I never had a ruined batch. Now I am using IO Star....:cross:

Just goes to show how hard it is to ruin a batch, I guess. And also, how good your luck is.

I think that beer-brite cleans and sanitizes. I've been sanitizing with it for most of my brews and I've never had a problem (knock on wood).

For cleaning glass fermenters, boil pots, etc. I use regular dishwashing detergent. A few tablespoons in 6 gallon fermenter or a 15 gallon boil pot on an overnight soak works beautifully.


Only use bleach on glass fermenters, plastic canes, wine thief, etc. One tablespoon per gallon with at least a 10 minute contact time followed by thorough rinse.

Use One Step on the cornies and faucets, since I understand bleach may corrode stainless steel.

I have found that using a dishwasher (no soap, water only) works great for sanitizing your bottles. Just make sure to use the heat dry. If you use the bottles right after they are done washing, even better. I too have used B-Brite for everything else without any problems. I have not used a "sanitizer." Maybe I am lucky as well, but if you use B-Brite and let everything soak for a few minutes, it should work just fine.

I have used B-brite for a year now for sanitizing and have had no problems.

According to the Northern Brewer web site, B-Brite can be used as a sanitizer, but requires 30-minute contact time. So if you were soaking your stuff longer than that (and had the right concentration) you were fine.

Oxyclean to wash and StarSan to sanitize! 1-2 Knockout punch! If you havn't, try a 1/4 scoop in your NASTY carboy and let it sit for 12 hrs... You too will be amazed.

i have been using a product called c brite to sanitize all of my equipment before brewing and bottling, it did not have a contact time on the package. does anyone know how long it needs to contact before it will work. i want to make sure that i am doing it correctly.

Bob D said:

i have been using a product called c brite to sanitize all of my equipment before brewing and bottling, it did not have a contact time on the package. does anyone know how long it needs to contact before it will work. i want to make sure that i am doing it correctly.

Click to expand...

I Googled "c brite contact time" and got a couple of HBS websites saying 1 minute.