Why sanitise?

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Tiredboy

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I'm sure there is a simple answer but if you want to brew a beer and aren't fussy about style, do you need to worry too much about sanitising?

After reading all the information about the most important thing in brewing is sanitisation, I then worndered, if I was brewign a belgian and my sanitisation wasn't as great as hoped, wouldn't it just become a lambic? I suspect the answer is no, but why not?
 
I'm sure there is a simple answer but if you want to brew a beer and aren't fussy about style, do you need to worry too much about sanitising?

After reading all the information about the most important thing in brewing is sanitisation, I then worndered, if I was brewign a belgian and my sanitisation wasn't as great as hoped, wouldn't it just become a lambic? I suspect the answer is no, but why not?

Well, there are LOTS of bacteria and wild yeast on surfaces. Some of them may indeed give you a lacto beer from lactobacillus contamination but usually the wild yeast and bacteria that are hanging around aren't ones that make your beer a good sour. They are usually just spoilage organisms. You can probably make a good malt vinegar with acetero bacter but that's probably the best case scenario.
 
Yeast isn't the only thing that can grow in your beer, check out the infected beer thread.

Nasty mold, bacteria, etc.
 
I'm sure there is a simple answer but if you want to brew a beer and aren't fussy about style, do you need to worry too much about sanitising?

Like you, I'm curious. Here's what I recommend...brew a little bit extra, like an extra half gallon or so, and put it in any old jar, unstantized, open fermentaiton, etc, and pay no attention to sanitation. See what happens. If it's good, cool...but if not, you won't have to dump 5 gallons.
 
I'm not intending on not sanatising just slightly concerned that I may not have been as thorough yesterday and trying to convince myself everything will be ok!!
 
I'm not intending on not sanatising just slightly concerned that I may not have been as thorough yesterday and trying to convince myself everything will be ok!!

Haha, I see...in that case...relax!
 
As an intellectual exercise, let's compare the length of time people have been making beer (~5000 years) to the length of time they've been aware of microorganisms and their connection with fermentation and infection (~150 years).

I think it's safe to assume that essential no intentional sanitation was occuring for most of the history of beer production. Odds are good that you're fine.
 
As an intellectual exercise, let's compare the length of time people have been making beer (~5000 years) to the length of time they've been aware of microorganisms and their connection with fermentation and infection (~150 years).

I think it's safe to assume that essential no intentional sanitation was occuring for most of the history of beer production. Odds are good that you're fine.

True, but they also had to do things like drink it quickly before it spoiled.
There were some countries and times where brewing in Summer was prohibited due to the inevitable spoilage.
They just managed it and dealt with it.
 
I'm not intending on not sanatising just slightly concerned that I may not have been as thorough yesterday and trying to convince myself everything will be ok!!

In that case, let me try to put you at ease...

On my own first solo brew (I had brewed several times with a friend up until that point), everything went swimmingly - the only problem I had was a very slight boil over, but it was easily controlled (and cleaned up, since I had a spray bottle of water at the ready).

I had racked about a third of the chilled wort to the fermenter before I remembered I had thoroughly cleaned, but never sanitized, my fermenter.

I didn't experience my first infection until almost a full year later, and we're pretty certain that was due to an infected oak barrel my club attempted to bulk age about 60 gallons of a stout in. :(

Chances are you'll be OK! :mug:
 
As an intellectual exercise, let's compare the length of time people have been making beer (~5000 years) to the length of time they've been aware of microorganisms and their connection with fermentation and infection (~150 years).

I think it's safe to assume that essential no intentional sanitation was occuring for most of the history of beer production. Odds are good that you're fine.

True but you cant possibly compare modern day beer to the beer from 2000 years ago. It's a totally, completely different thing. Mostly due to the fact that we now understand microbiology and actually do things like sanitize our equipment.
 
zeg said:
As an intellectual exercise, let's compare the length of time people have been making beer (~5000 years) to the length of time they've been aware of microorganisms and their connection with fermentation and infection (~150 years).

I think it's safe to assume that essential no intentional sanitation was occuring for most of the history of beer production. Odds are good that you're fine.

Yeah, and they drank nasty infected beer.
 
I've also read historical accounts where a batch of beer was "off" & discarded to start again. So it was hit-or-miss centuries ago. Let alone some 9,000 years ago. I read an account a couple of weeks ago where archeologists found vessels of fermented products that were 300,000 years old. Wild stuff was laways hit or miss.
 
There is not way to konw if your beer will be ok or not. Following basic instructions, I'd say you are very likely to have no problem.

But if on 1 thing was done incorrectly, there *could* be a great chance of infection.

And you can't compare a belgian bacteria strain to some of the other bacterias that make, for instance, vinegar...

Keep the flies out, don't spit in it, and pitch a lot of yeast. That's the best basic adivce I can give.
 
You guys are missing the point of my post. Yes, you should sanitize as well as you can. Infections do happen, and if your intention is to make reliably good beer, of course you should follow best modern practices.

However, if failure to sanitize guaranteed a foul, undrinkable result, beer would simply not be popular. Much of the time, given reasonable conditions, beer just happens.

If you're making beer using modern methods as virtually everyone here seems to be doing, you've got a leg up compared to most of brewing history. You're using yeast strains that are far more efficient at eating wort than the wild strains, you're probably working in a cleaner environment to start with, at relatively regulated temperatures that let your selected yeast work at their best. Even if you screw up, you're *probably* going to get a good result.

This is the basis for the RDWHAHB mantra. Do the best you can, then trust in the beer.
 
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