Beer making 21st century...cheese making 19th century

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pkeeler

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I'm posting this here because, when it comes to anything scientific like this, beer makers are way ahead of any other food maker out there. I'd post it on the cheese making board, but it more of a general sanitizing question.

Almost every cheese making recipe has this as the first step:

Sanitize all the tools by filling the pot with a few inches of water, and putting everything that fits in it, closing the lid and letting it steam for 30 seconds. You can also dip everything in a solution of 1 gal water with 1 tablespoon of chlorine in it. If using chlorine, rinse with water after.

Now, this is not an autoclave or prolonged dishwasher contact. This is 30 seconds above boiling water on a stove. That doesn't seem like it would really sanitize much to me. I've never seen it proposed in any brewing book that you could lay a spoon or something on top of the boiling wort and have it effectively sanitized. In the boiling wort for 5-20 minutes, yes, but not in the wisps of vapor rising.

The second is really old school. First, using bleach on SS is dumb, but okay. Second, at that concentration, I think you need 20 min. of contact, not a dip. Third, rinsing after negates the whole thing really.

So, it seems to me that cheese makers aren't accomplishing anything here but wasting energy and time; and corroding their SS.
 
this is what happens when your focus is not on the beer. i'd say you're right on all counts. i'm guessing that somewhere along the line someone stated their practices as the right way, and to this point everyone just accepted it. moral of the story: drink more beer, be more intelligent.

might be a good time to suggest our sanitation practices over there, and see what they all think. the ones who are actually listening might benefit.
 
Sounds like a lot more work for less effective sanitizing than just using Starsan...
 
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