FifteenTen
Well-Known Member
On March 7th I brewed my first 5g extract kit, I have about 96oz left. I brewed it using the cheapest bucket kit at simi-LHBS. I took the equipment home an washed it with Planet dishwashing liquid and began my boil. Post hot break I began my sanitation with the sanitizer that came with the kit. Finished the boil, cooled the wort, pitched the yeast and set it to ferment. Three weeks later I cleaned, sanitized and bottled. The American wheat smelled and tasted awesome and it hadnt even conditioned yet. I was down right giddy. On bottling day I brewed my second batch. (Im hearing you guys on this pipeline thing.* ) Today, I bottled the second batch. I cleaned and sanitized the bottles and equipment and bottled. Again, the beer, a London porter this time, looked, smelled and tasted great. The wife, avid beer hater/bottling assistant, said she liked the way it tastes. (Still holding my breath on that one.) In the process of cleaning up after bottling I grabbed the sanitizer off the counter to put away. Having only read the label once on my first brew day I decided to read it again. Stuck to the side of a zip lock bag of white power is a label, printed from a desktop label maker, that reads Easy Clean No-Rinse Cleaner 1lb $4.99. If Im lucky, its brewers wash, otherwise my kit came with 1lb of Oxyclean. The thought hit me like a five gallon petri dish: I HAVE NEVER SANITIZED!
Its been about 32 hours since I bottled the second batch. Ive seen the Show Me Your Infection pics and threads, but my beer looked, smelled and tasted great both times. I have three quarts of the wheat left. In three weeks Ill put a few of the porters in the fridge. Ill bet theyre even better than the wheat. Next week when I buy my next extract kit Ill also get sanitizer and sanitize just a diligently as I did with the wash I thought was sanitizer. I will not however, ruin all the fun by worrying and fretting about an infection. It seems that infections are in fact very rare. Heres my new mantra: Relax. Dont worry. Have a home brew.
*An alternate benefit of a pipeline is that the wife cannot keep up with your beer intake. You rarely bring beer into the house. When you do, you can honestly say: I saw it, read about it, have a clone recipe for it and bam, you have spoken the truth and she is appeased.
Its been about 32 hours since I bottled the second batch. Ive seen the Show Me Your Infection pics and threads, but my beer looked, smelled and tasted great both times. I have three quarts of the wheat left. In three weeks Ill put a few of the porters in the fridge. Ill bet theyre even better than the wheat. Next week when I buy my next extract kit Ill also get sanitizer and sanitize just a diligently as I did with the wash I thought was sanitizer. I will not however, ruin all the fun by worrying and fretting about an infection. It seems that infections are in fact very rare. Heres my new mantra: Relax. Dont worry. Have a home brew.
*An alternate benefit of a pipeline is that the wife cannot keep up with your beer intake. You rarely bring beer into the house. When you do, you can honestly say: I saw it, read about it, have a clone recipe for it and bam, you have spoken the truth and she is appeased.
