Germelli1
Well-Known Member
I did A LOT of research on the topic, and then some testing. I have always used chlorine bleach to soak bottles I get from an outside source...especially corona bottles that had lemon or lime slices sitting in the bottles. Then I follow with an oxy clean soak, rinse and soap-free dishwasher cycle. I found out from my research that chlorine in tap water evaporates overnight out of large quantities of water.
I also found that the chlorine in bleach evaporates out very quickly; reducing the sanitizing capacity on long term soaks. So this got the wheels spinning in my head, "could I use a bleach solution that evaporates quickly enough to leave no flavors in my beer while still sanitizing."
So I hit the web in hardcore research mode. I scoured some of the debates on this forum, as well as read some statements made by the inventor of starsan, Charlie Tally. I admit following a link from another member here to Charlie's podcast helped seal the deal.
From my research I found that using 2 drops of bleach in 1 pint of contaminated water renders it potable.
For sanitizing my equipment, 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in 5 gallons of water yields the perfect ratio of sanitizer to water. This solution has a required contact time of 30 seconds to kill many microbes, major ones listed below. The amount of bleach in the solution is not enough to detect taste and can be used without rinsing. Charlie Tally also recommends adding the same quality vinegar as bleach to the solution to ensure that the pH of the solution is low enough to be effective. HOWEVER ADD THE VINEGAR AFTER THE BLEACH HAS BEEN DILUTED, OR YOU RISK RELEASING TOXIC CHLORINE GAS
These are some of the microbes the bleach will kill. No AIDS in my beer!
My own testing has only extended far enough as sanitizing bottles. I sanitized half with the dishwasher (sterilized), and half with the bleach solution. There are absolutely 0 differences in taste. In fact rinsine with unboiled water would only reintroduce infectious materials to the sanatized surfaces.
I have two batches in fermenters that were sanitized with bleach solutions now and can report back with those when they are done.
Ok now that my research has bee prevented let me say this. I never planned to use bleach as a full time sanitizer. I have been waiting to add in some starsan with my next online order since I can only get cleansers around here. But I have found every bit of equipment, pounds and pounds of hops and hundreds of pounds of grains on craigslist, so I have not yet needed to order anything from online vendors.
So hopefully anyone stuck in a situation where they need to brew but have no sanitizer, or people in remote locations can find this info helpful.
Most useful sources:
http://www.clothing4all.com/bleach_disinfectant.html
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3
I also found that the chlorine in bleach evaporates out very quickly; reducing the sanitizing capacity on long term soaks. So this got the wheels spinning in my head, "could I use a bleach solution that evaporates quickly enough to leave no flavors in my beer while still sanitizing."
So I hit the web in hardcore research mode. I scoured some of the debates on this forum, as well as read some statements made by the inventor of starsan, Charlie Tally. I admit following a link from another member here to Charlie's podcast helped seal the deal.
From my research I found that using 2 drops of bleach in 1 pint of contaminated water renders it potable.
For sanitizing my equipment, 2 tablespoons of chlorine bleach in 5 gallons of water yields the perfect ratio of sanitizer to water. This solution has a required contact time of 30 seconds to kill many microbes, major ones listed below. The amount of bleach in the solution is not enough to detect taste and can be used without rinsing. Charlie Tally also recommends adding the same quality vinegar as bleach to the solution to ensure that the pH of the solution is low enough to be effective. HOWEVER ADD THE VINEGAR AFTER THE BLEACH HAS BEEN DILUTED, OR YOU RISK RELEASING TOXIC CHLORINE GAS
These are some of the microbes the bleach will kill. No AIDS in my beer!
Bacteria
Staphylococcus aureus (Staph), Salmonella choleraesuis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes (Strep), Escherichia coli 0157:H7 (E. coli), Shigella dysenteriae
Fungi
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Athlete's Foot), Candida albicans (yeast)
Viruses
Rhinovirus (Cold virus), Influenza A2 (Flu virus), Hepatitis A, Rotavirus
Respiratory Syncytial virus, HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus)*
Herpes simplex virus 2, Rubella virus, Adenovirus Type 2, Cytomegalovirus
My own testing has only extended far enough as sanitizing bottles. I sanitized half with the dishwasher (sterilized), and half with the bleach solution. There are absolutely 0 differences in taste. In fact rinsine with unboiled water would only reintroduce infectious materials to the sanatized surfaces.
I have two batches in fermenters that were sanitized with bleach solutions now and can report back with those when they are done.
Ok now that my research has bee prevented let me say this. I never planned to use bleach as a full time sanitizer. I have been waiting to add in some starsan with my next online order since I can only get cleansers around here. But I have found every bit of equipment, pounds and pounds of hops and hundreds of pounds of grains on craigslist, so I have not yet needed to order anything from online vendors.
So hopefully anyone stuck in a situation where they need to brew but have no sanitizer, or people in remote locations can find this info helpful.
Most useful sources:
http://www.clothing4all.com/bleach_disinfectant.html
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3