one step--Sanitizer or not?

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rewster451

rewster451

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I've seen a lot of threads on this, and I submit this humbly, knowing that someone knows more about this than I.
According to Northernbrewer.com, one step "contains no chlorine, which can leave a film on glassware and corrode stainless steel. One step is an excellent oxygen based sanitizer. Sanitizes with two minutes of contact time, no rinsing required."
I've experience uneven carbonation, and off-flavors and all I've used for sanitizing is one-step. However, part of this could be from uneven mixing of the priming sugar, and the fact that we've only brewed three beers that we've actually opened and drank.

Thanks for all your help.

Edit: I lied. I used Chlorinated tr-sodium phosphate on our first beer. We soaked everything with it, and the results were pretty much the same as with the one-step.

Orrelse--I recognize the you say to use iodophor, and I plan to, but I'm just curious about these anomalies.
 
It must be something else. I use No-rinse every time and have never had that kind of problem. Heck, I sometimes even leave little drops of it in my bottles, etc. Still, no problems.
 
rewster451 said:
According to Northernbrewer.com, one step "contains no chlorine, which can leave a film on glassware and corrode stainless steel. One step is an excellent oxygen based sanitizer. Sanitizes with two minutes of contact time, no rinsing required."
Click to expand...
OneStep was originally marketed as a cleanser/sanitizer, and that blurb on NB comes from some of the early promotional materials. Due to legalities however, OneStep is no longer marketed as a sanitizer...it is labeled a no-rinse cleanser. Whether or not it sanitizes is a matter of violent discussion on some boards, but legally speaking it's not a sanitizer. It's pretty much up to you to decide whether you care about the legalities, but I will say you're not the first person here who has mentioned medicinal flavors in their beer after using OneStep.

Here's a FAQ on OneStep.
 
My first 3 batches were done in equipment that had been cleaned with One Step cleaner and sanitized with bleach, all three had a strong medicinal flavor, this off flavor has mellowed and the beer is very good now. My fourth batch of beer was brewed with equipment that was cleaned with One Step and sanitized with Iodophor, when I racked this batch to the secondary it had absolutely no medicinal flavor.

My worst batch was my IPA, it tasted like a mouthfull of band-aids, a month later and I am sitting here enjoying a glass of the stuff.

I think I've tracked my off flavor down to the bleach.

Is OneStep a sanitizer?

Quoted from Perfect Brewing;

What is the difference between a sanitizer and a cleanser?

In the U.S.A., "sanitizer" is a legal term defined by the Environmental Protection Agency. In order for a product to be called a sanitizer in promotional literature or on its packaging, that product must be approved by the EPA, assigned a registration number, and have an open file maintained with the EPA. Unless a company would like to invest an enormous amount of capitol in this process (or use another company's product through a process called "sub-registration"), they may not call their product a sanitizer.

If you purchase a bottle of bleach from the grocery store, unless it shows an EPA registration number on the front of the label, it is not a sanitizer. However, it will certainly be a good cleanser (although somewhat hazardous, not environmentally sound, and it will require rinsing).

Is One Step a sanitizer?

Read the above question and draw your own conclusions. One Step has been used with excellent results since 1992.
Click to expand...
 
rewster451 said:
Orrelse--I recognize the you say to use iodophor, and I plan to, but I'm just curious about these anomalies.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine recommended the use of iodophor as well (i've been using one-step up to this point) and says that also does not need rinsing, feeling that rinse water may add bacteria, microorganisms, etc back into the sanitized equipment...anybody want to weigh in on this?
 

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