bleach in homebrewing

[vicmick]

g/day all have just joined so hello to everybody .i have just read a book that says you can use household bleach to sterilise brewing equipment wont this leave a taste in the fermenter.i use brewshield but its dear so if theres something cheaper i would like to know.vicmick:

 

[sudsmonkey]

They say not to use bleach on stainless steel, as it's corrosive. For glass or plastic, it's great, just rinse well.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've used bleach a lot in the past. Just be sure to rinse the item for a minute or so under hot running water.

If you don't your beer will end up tasting like vinegar and will be undrinkable.

 

[ajf]

They say not to use bleach on stainless steel, as it's corrosive. For glass or plastic, it's great, just rinse well.

I completely agree

I've used bleach a lot in the past. Just be sure to rinse the item for a minute or so under hot running water.

I'd agree with this if you live in America, where the water heater is fed directly from the water supply to the house. If your water heater is fed from an open storage tank (like mine was in England), then it will not be sanitized, and could cause problems with bacterial infection.

If you don't your beer will end up tasting like vinegar and will be undrinkable.

I respectfully disagree with this. Vinegar is caused by a bacterial infection (which the bleach should kill), but not rinsing excess bleach will certainly cause off flavors.

There are other sanitizers that do not require rinsing. They cost more than bleach, but are still not excessive.

My favorite is Iodophor. It sanitizes very quickly, and doesn't require rinsing.

-a.

 

[El Pistolero]

i have just read a book that says you can use household bleach to sterilise brewing equipment

You can't use bleach to sterilise anything, but you can use it to clean, and even sanitize your brewing equipment (except for stainless steel, as previously noted). To use bleach as a cleanser, mix two oz. bleach to 5 gallons of water and let set overnight. As others have noted make sure to rinse, rinse, and rinse some more.

To use bleach as a no rinse sanitizer, mix 1 teaspoon of bleach in 5 gallons of cold water, and immerse the items in this solution for 1/2 to 1 hour.

The above from Papazian, for what it's worth.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

You're not a real homebrewer if you use bleach.












I keed!

 

[budbo]

I respectfully disagree with this. Vinegar is caused by a bacterial infection (which the bleach should kill), but not rinsing excess bleach will certainly cause off flavors

I no longer use Bleach, failure to properly rinse resulted in 35 of 52 bottles having almost no carbonation and a "soapy" taste (undrinkable).. the bottles that were rinsed well yielded a very tasty Bitter Ale.

If you use Bleach rinse rinse rinse then rinse a few more times.

There is nothing Cheaper than Bleach, but at about 12 cents US (thats $50 Canadian) a gallon Star San is a good way to go considering it can last up to 4 weeks. Idophor is good but after a few hours it loses potency.

 

[God Emporer BillyBrew]

My problem with Iodophor is that you can actually use too much. I'm not much of a measurer, so I like one step. I probably make it more work than it needs to be, I do an Iodophor soak and follow it up with a rinse in one step. I just do that to make sure I don't have any Iodine left on my stuff. Sounds like I could just rinse with hot water from the faucet, though. I always thought you had to boil rinse water...

What is this star san you speak of? I don't think I've noticed it in my LHBS. Can you use too much of it?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

What is this star san you speak of? I don't think I've noticed it in my LHBS. Can you use too much of it?

Star-san is another no-rinse (that I use). It comes in a handy bottle with a measuring chamber so it's pretty much impossible to FU. 1oz/5g water == no-rinse heaven. It also lasts around a month and can be re-used, so 5g will generally last for one entire brewing cycle.

 

[Glibbidy]

My problem with Iodophor is that you can actually use too much. I'm not much of a measurer, so I like one step. I probably make it more work than it needs to be, I do an Iodophor soak and follow it up with a rinse in one step. I just do that to make sure I don't have any Iodine left on my stuff. Sounds like I could just rinse with hot water from the faucet, though. I always thought you had to boil rinse water...

True you can use too much Iodophor, but if it is measured you can really stretch it because you don't need alot of it. The amount of residual iodine won't impart the flavor of your beer. I think you may be more at risk by rinsing the bleach solution off of your equipment with hot water.

Besides, Iodophor really only requires a 30 second soak.

 

[Dude]

You're not a real homebrewer if you use bleach.

I was SO waiting for someone to say that.

For the star -san questions--you guys really need to listen to the sanitation show from thebrewingnetwork.com for some fascinating info about that product. You name it, it does it. It cleans (kind of) sanitizes, and helps your plants grow. I'm not kidding. Listen to the show and be amazed.

I'm using the stuff from here on out.

 

[budbo]

Just don't leave your plastic stuff soaking in Star-san.. trust me on this good thing plastic tubing is cheap.

 

[Dude]

Cause they get cloudy?

And slippery as well.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Idophor is good but after a few hours it loses potency.

Dunno about that. I recently switched to Iodophor from bleach(got sick of rinsing) and have found that it will last literally for months in a covered plastic bucket. I mix up about 3 gallons and reuse it no infections yet........

 

[Catfish]

Cause they get cloudy?

And slippery as well.

Dude, you baiting him?

forgot to mention that the san-star lasts indefinately, not the 4ish weeks that most people think.
AND you can drink the stuff!!... need be.

by the way, I hope none of you start listening to the show, so I can keep sighting it in an informative yet friendly manner.

 

[jeffg]

Dunno about that. I recently switched to Iodophor from bleach(got sick of rinsing) and have found that it will last literally for months in a covered plastic bucket. I mix up about 3 gallons and reuse it no infections yet........

Did it permenantly stain your bucket? It did mine, which is why I used to use bleach in plastic...

 

[snaproll]

I used Bleach the first couple of times I brewed, (After reading Charlies book),
Ruined two batches and decided there and then that the bleach should stay in the laudry area of the basement and NOT around anything to do with brewing. I use Iodophor for sanitizing and Oxy Clean for cleaning( it is cheap too, but like other things you have to RINSE WELL) I haven't had an infection or off flavored beer since. That is my two cents worth
PS I'm so happy, it's brew day

 

[budbo]

Dunno about that. I recently switched to Iodophor from bleach(got sick of rinsing) and have found that it will last literally for months in a covered plastic bucket. I mix up about 3 gallons and reuse it no infections yet........

Comment was Based on a study of Idophor I found

However, the activity of iodophor solution decreases with time and in the presence of protein. As shown in this study, when iodophor solution was exposed to protein its antimicrobial activity was neutralized.

Guess it depends on how you store it

 

[Darth Konvel]

I used bleach for my first batch (primary, secondary, and bottles) and got very tired of rinsing. The patch came out excellent, but have absolutely no regrets switch to star-san after that point. The amount of time and hassle it saves is well worth it.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Did it permenantly stain your bucket? It did mine, which is why I used to use bleach in plastic...

Yes but if that's all I use the bucket for it's no biggie.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

Comment was Based on a study of Idophor I found



Guess it depends on how you store it

Hmm maybe I've been getting lucky and should rethink thjs.......

 

[boo boo]

You're not a real homebrewer if you use bleach.












I keed!

After reading all the posts above, I decide to give my 2¢ worth. First, nothing wrong with using bleech as a cleaner as long as you rinse well with HOT water. The heat will get rid of the chlorine smell and taste.

Second, star-san is about the best sanitizer I have found and can be used indefinately as long as the PH of the solution is below 3.
Third, Idophor sucks... the staining ability of Idophor that is.

 

[El Pistolero]

Dunno about that. I recently switched to Iodophor from bleach(got sick of rinsing) and have found that it will last literally for months in a covered plastic bucket.

Got to disagree with you on this one dude...unless by months you really mean hours.

 

[budbo]

Cause they get cloudy?

And slippery as well.

Naw that's easy to rinse off..

I think some type of cleaning stuff got spilled in reacting with the star-san.. Reminds me of the stupidity I displayed when without thinking I used an oxygen based cleaner, ran short, so put another cleaner in the mix (which created a cool looking reaction) When the reaction stopped it looked to be cleaning fine.. took me about 2 hours to ask myself "WTF am I doing soaking an aluminum pot in an Oxygen based cleaner?" By that time I had nicely oxidized my pot.

 

[jldesign]

I use bleach at 2 cups per 5 gallons in my plastic primaries and secondaries. soak for 1 hour prior to batch and after. rinse well with HOT water and seal up for cool wort or air dry if storing. I figure at that ratio NOTHING can get into the plastic and live. same buckets for 20+ batches not a single problem. they are a little stained and have a hint of brew but no issues. I use one-step and san-star for everything else.

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

Hmmm...I use 2 Tbsp per 5g when I sanitize with bleach...seems to work.

 

[Ize]

.... and just when I was going to go with Iodophor... It looks like it's be star san instead... I'm all about EASY...

Ize

 

[El Pistolero]

Hmmm...I use 2 Tbsp per 5g when I sanitize with bleach...seems to work.

And Papazian says 2 teaspoons per 5 gallons for sanitizing. I wonder sometimes if the whole problem with bleach is that everyone just uses way to much of it.

 

[Kevin K]

So what's the final word? Is star-san easier, or is iodaphor easier?

 

[Baron von BeeGee]

And Papazian says 2 teaspoons per 5 gallons for sanitizing. I wonder sometimes if the whole problem with bleach is that everyone just uses way to much of it.

Man, I've been spending 3x too much on bleach! Of course, I use Star-san 90% of the time, so I guess I'm not saving all that much, anyways. I do agree that people use way too much bleach for sanitation.