I just bottled my first batch today (Brewers Best IPA kit), and was wondering what some of you do to clean the plastic fermenting bucket. I soaked it in an Easy Clean no rinse solution that came with the kit I bought, and cleaned all my bottling equipment in it. I also used a soft rag to wipe it down. The only problem is that I can still smell the hops in it and and there is a very slight hint of green. I am hoping to use it again in about a week for my next batch but don't want to use a bucket that still smells like my prevous batch! Any suggestions?
How to properly clean fermenting bucket?
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DoubleAught
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Mine smells like hops as well, not sure what it would take to get the smell out. I don't believe it has affected any other batches though.
beergolf
Well-Known Member
Don't worry about it. Your bucket will smell but won't impart tastes into your next brew. I love the smell of my empty buckets.
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You're fine. All of my buckets have a smell to them with a slight off color. As for cleaning them, I use Oxy Clean free and if they're really bad (read cruddy), I simply fill them above the crud line and let them soak in a mixture of hot water and Oxy Free.
phidelt1499
Well-Known Member
What I do is dump some oxyclean into the bucket and fill it up to the very top with warm water. Then I let it sit for a day (sometimes more, depending on how busy I end up being...), then pour it out and rinse it well with a hose. Works for me.
I guess I can still smell a slight bit of hop aroma in the bucket, but I've fermented everything from a stout to a blonde ale to an IPA in it and have had no off flavors in any of the batches.
Buckets are cheap though, so it might be worth it to have a hoppy beer bucket, malty beer bucket, dark beer bucket... that sort of thing... just in case
I guess I can still smell a slight bit of hop aroma in the bucket, but I've fermented everything from a stout to a blonde ale to an IPA in it and have had no off flavors in any of the batches.
Buckets are cheap though, so it might be worth it to have a hoppy beer bucket, malty beer bucket, dark beer bucket... that sort of thing... just in case
Mine have had a hoppy/ale aroma since my first batch. I uusally let my bucket soak in star San while I'm boiling my next batch. It never seems to go away. I wouldn't worry about eliminating the odor, just make sure to practice good sanitation.
MycoMitosis
New Member
Hi everyone!
I am brand spankin' new to brewing, so please don't consider me an expert in any capacity, but I wanted to mention that I personally I love Oxyclean. I use it around the house, in my laundry, and I've used it to clean every piece of gear I've used to make my first three batches of extract brew. As phidelt1499 mentioned, I fill my used buckets, and now my glass carboys, with a solution of water and a scoop of Oxyclean, soak, and the krausen just falls away. A quick wipe with a soft sponge or cloth, or a carboy brush, rinse, and you're all set (at least, it seems to me that you're all set). I've found that the Oxyclean rinses very easily, and unless I'm really mistaken, I think it's an inexpensive alternative to some of the more expensive, special-purpose brewery cleansers. Just my $0.02 ;-)
Best of luck, and happy brewing!
-MM
I rinse as much of the yeast trub out of the fermenter as I can,then put it back on the brew stand. I add 3-4TBSP of PBW,& fill it to the top with tap water. Put the lid on it,& let it soak for a few days. All the crud soaks off,or can be wiped off easily with a soft cloth.
Then rinse it out,& run some water through the tap,as with the PBW solution before hand. Then.pull the tap & clean that out. The tap mounting hole as well. A good amount of the smell seems to come from their as well. I even soak the spigot seals in PBW. After some star-san,they have that clean smell again. A soak in PBW does a good job for me.
Then rinse it out,& run some water through the tap,as with the PBW solution before hand. Then.pull the tap & clean that out. The tap mounting hole as well. A good amount of the smell seems to come from their as well. I even soak the spigot seals in PBW. After some star-san,they have that clean smell again. A soak in PBW does a good job for me.
Germelli1
Well-Known Member
I hit the krausen ring and the bottom with the hose on the highest pressure setting, then soak in oxy clean to remove any leftover stuff! No scrubbing whatsoever. Then I will give it a mist with a starsan spray bottle for good measure in storage!
jekeane
Well-Known Member
A. What on earth is a beef bucket?
B. Would you want beef smelling beer?
C. Let it sit overnight with a diluted bleach solution. If it still smells of beef then eww...
funkadelicturkey
Well-Known Member
I just kegged a batch and cleaned the bucket. I used oxiclean as some have mentioned but I also removed the gasket/seal from the lid and scrubbed in there with a wash cloth. Does anyone else remove the gasket? if so, how often? I usually only remove the gasket if the lid is looking dirty. It can get icky under the gasket.
I noticed the lid prying tool I got from either Midwest or NB has a little point thingy on it for prying the lid seals out. I need to do that & use an old toothbrush on the sela area while soaking the seal in PBW. Doing so once in a while would be a good preventative measure.
Do you have a gasket in the rim of the lid? My lids don't, but if so, you should definitely take those out, clean, sanitize, and assemble wet. That's good practice! A wash cloth works great.
I usually add half a gallon or so of hot PBW solution (home made) and scrub the bucket with a soft brush, wash cloth, or sponge. No need to soak for a day, really, and wasting 6-7 gallons of diluted cleanser water.
To sanitize large surface areas like buckets and lids, you can spray Starsan on them, use a (small) wash cloth soaked in Starsan, or swish it around to get the 1-2 minute contact time.
The airlock grommet is another bug trap that needs to be cleaned and sanitized of course.
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
I also take my sink hose and spray off any krausen or gunk that is left behind, and then I add 1 big scoop of Oxyclean Free and fill the bucket almost full and let it sit overnight. There is always still a slight smell and slight discoloration (I also currently use Iosan and it leaves an orangey tint to my buckets and hoses..will be switching to StarSan very soon.) I used to scrub the buckets with a Scotch-Brite No Scratch sponge, but I was since informed that this could still scratch the plastic buckets, so I don't do that anymore.
This is great advise except for the part I highlighted red.
Starsan only works while wet, so as soon as it dries it is no longer doing you any good. Save the effort and $$ on Starsan and skip this step.
Rinse again right before use, then spray with Starsan.
I just let my bucket soak for several hours or overnight, gently scrub with a soft sponge and rinse it out a bunch of times. I always store it with the lid on or the bucket upside down so no dust or anything gets in there between batches. However, I always rinse it out the morning of brew day just in case. No problems about 15 batches in.
mrgrimm101
Well-Known Member
Yea I don't always store it upside down or with a lid on it..I put by buckets inside of eachother to save space. I DO rinse and clean and sanitize everything again on brew day. I realize it's not necessary to clean it again, but it makes me feel better about it know I just ran some PBW and a good rinse before sanitizing.
Yea, what is a beef bucket? Why would you use a bucket that once held meat (raw or cooked..it's still meat) especially since there is still a beef smell. My vote would be to save yourself a potential problem and just buy a new bucket. You can get 6.5 gallon standard HDPE bucket for under $10..my last one was $8 from my LHBS.
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