Okay, so I took a critical look at my sanitation. A "what not to do" story.

And I must say, I am impressed...
I started at 5 pm. Started the strike water and mashed at 152 for about one hour, everything looks good.

7:30 pm (ish), Batch sparged with 180 degree water. (time for dinner)

Got the wort on the burner at about 9:30. So far everything is going smooth.

While the wert was working towards boil, I washed the ale pale, air lock, and the rest of the junk needed for a proper brew.

Boil began at 9:45. After I skillfully dodged the boilover at hot break, hops were added. Again, no boilover. Did I mention that I only have 2" of freeboard with my brewpot? It takes most of the attention my peabrain can muster.

After the boil settles down, I head in and mix up the sanitizer in the bucket. I wedged the lid in Alton Brown style this time, but it seems like a good way to scratch the walls of the fermenter. After I get everything I think I need in the sanitizer, I head back out to the pot.

I boil for 40 minutes with no problems. Hops go in at the right times, I stir occasionally for no real reason then drop my chiller in with 20 minutes left (I did clean the chiller prior to insertion.)

With 5 minutes left of boil, I add the finishing hops. This batch is an Irish Red, and smells incredible.

I hit 1 hour, crank up the water for the immersion chiller, then turn off the burner. After about 5 minutes I feel the side of the pot. It's cooling down quickly so I grab my thermometer off of the counter and head out to check the temperature. It is already down to 100 degrees, BUT the thermometer came off of the counter. Prior to the counter, it was checking the temp in the sparge water, but only momentarily. Prior to that...you guessed it, the mash tun. Probably not as sanitary as I would have preferred.

Then, when the temp hits 70 degrees (I began sanitizing the thermometer on the rest of the temp checks) I bring the bucket inside.

I dump the sanitizer out of the bucket, place the airlock and other junk on the lid and wash and sanitize my hands (yep, in that order.)

I then dump all the wort into the bucket splashing as much as I can to give the yeast plenty of 02 so they can do thier work. When I grab the grommet for the airlock hole, I notice black sludge on everything I touched. Apparently I put a good coat of soot on the bottom of the pot and smeared it on everything I just touched. I figure the sludge probably isn't carrying too much in the way of bacteria or wild yeasts since it was burnt for a couple hours and the sanitizer is down the drain so I wash my hands and use my wifes scented hand sanitizer on the counter to prevent any further contamination. I assemble the airlock...

Oops, forgot the yeast. I grab a knife to open the smack pack because there was still sanitizer on the packet and it was too slippery to get a good grip to tear at the notch. Oops again, the knife came from the butcher block, not the sanitized bucket. Too late now. In goes the yeast.

I know I have potentially infected this batch several times over so I decide to "rock" the bucket for 10 minutes to make sure there is an abundance of oxygen in the wort so hopefully the yeast can take over before the infections get too bad.

As of now, at ten after midnight, the batch is sitting quietly in the kitchen, sealed, and with the airlock full of cheap vodka, and with any luck at all, it will be drinkable in about a month. I was planning on saving some of the wort to use as a starter for future batches, but I think I am better off waiting until next time after I have worked out some of my issues. The funny thing is, I thought I had the sanitation part down pat. Even to the point of being anal about it. It wasn't until I really looked at what I was doing when I was doing it that I realized how sloppy I was. Oh well, Its late and I am tired. I will check for typos and junk like that tomorrow.

Ive done 40+ batches and have never sanitized my yeast packet and have never had a problem so I have to think you're good.

+1 To taking the time to look at process

Put some star san in squirt bottle. then hands, yeast packets etc are a quick spray away.

+1 on the spray bottle. spray everything down and leave it wet. put barriers where thing might come in contact with sensitive stuff.

all in all, i think you might be panicking a tad. still, it doesn't hurt to kick yourself in the ass here and there to remind yourself what you're doing.

And in the end, you made good beer. It will be fine.

I learned about using a spray bottle on these boards and it has made things much easier. Especially because I have a million of those "oops, I still need to" moments.

I agree that the soot isn't an issue. Nothing's living on that unless it's also floating around in the air.

What sanitizer are you using?

I don't really see anything that I think would be a major risk. Its not like you pulled something out of a sink full of dirty dishes and reinserted it into the beer or anything like that. Sure there are some little things, soot on the outside of the airlock, while not optimal probably isn't that big of a deal since there is probably nothing alive in it, plus its not going to come into contact with the beer.

You'll be good to go.

everything looks fine to me. Just dont slack off with later batches. If you brew a lot be sure to alternate sanitizers once in a while.

oh, I am not really panicking or anything, I just realized how many things I could improve. I wasn't too concerned over the knife, but the thermometer has me a little worried. I know that mash isn't the most sanitary part of the process and that is the last thing it touched prior to going into the post boil wort.
I used bleach and vinegar per the interview with james spencer (I believe is his name.) because I am officially out of one step, and my order of star san hasn't come in yet.
oh well, I will find out soon enough.

If you are using bleach or vinegar to sanitize, I think it would behoove you to rinse out the fermenter and other equipment post-sanitation so you don't get chlorophenols or other off flavors.

I wrote down everything I did on my first batch and everything that I either did wrong or could have done better.

My list of mistakes was longer than my list of ingredients on that first batch.

Mistakes list got smaller on the second batch but still forgot to take O.G.

So on the 3rd batch, I read my list of mistakes twice and managed not to repeat a single one. Very proud of my process on batch 3.

Another mistake noted on both my first 2 batches? SLOW DOWN!!!!

Spray bottle of starsan is my favorite brewery tool. AS far as teh yeast packets, I dip them in sanitizer for a minute or so and then, *gasp* open them with my teeth!! The freaking packet is dripping wet with sanitizer. A Wet contact sanitizer.

weirdboy said:

If you are using bleach or vinegar to sanitize, I think it would behoove you to rinse out the fermenter and other equipment post-sanitation so you don't get chlorophenols or other off flavors.

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I used 1oz bleach, and 1oz vinegar in 5 gallons water. According to the star-san guy, it is a no rinse concentration that sanitizes in seconds. I did not rinse per his instructions, but I did smell it, and it didn't smell like chlorine or anything. Either way, Star san should be delivered this week.

When I make my steam clone late this week or on the weekend, I will be on the star san bandwagon, spray bottle and all.

One of my best purchases was one of those bins they use at restaurants to bus tables (a new one, obviously). I mix up 2 gallons of sanitizer in my primary and wipe it completely down. Then I pour it into the bin. All of my equipment (except auto-siphon) fit completely in the bin.

Instead of putting stuff on the counter, I put it in the sanitizer bin when I'm done with it.

Mixing the solution is the very first thing I do, and pouring the solution out is the very last thing I do. That way, sanitizing is always at the forefront of my mind. Plus, I've never had an "oh crap" moment where I need to sanitize something and don't have any solution handy.