Brand new to this - question about sanitizing

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smatrick

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Hi all,

I just got my first real home brew kit along with some ingredients so I believe I have everything I need to get started. I picked up some Star-San as my sanitizer. I've done some research online and everything says to make sure to air dry. My question is - how long does letting everything air dry typically take? And once everything is dry, how long will it remain sanitized or do you need to start brewing immediately? I'd really like to get started today since I have the rest of the week off due to the holiday so if it takes 12+ hours to dry then I will do just the sanitizing today but then I wouldn't be able to get back to it until Friday or even Sunday... but if it takes like 2 hours then I can knock it all out today and tonight. :)

Thanks for the help and looking forward to learning a lot here!

-smatrick
 
Starsan is a wet contact sanitizer,so don't let it dry. That knocks efficiency down by 50% they say. Don't fear the foam. It won't hurt your beer at all,& you won't taste what little is left on the surface.
I,like many here,use a vinator atop a bottle tree with starsan to sanitize bottles right before filling. I sanitize the cleaned fermenter right before the chilled wort & top off water go in.
 
After the boil is over ANYTHING that comes into contact with the wort is very wet with star san including my hands. I will let any utensils sit in it until I need them and re-wet them if necessary before use.

EDIT: Some people use a spray bottle filled with the star san - water mix i like to use a small hand towel that is soaked in it.
 
Ohh, I didn't realize Star-San didn't need to be dried. That's great. Now I have another question - do I need to sanitize the kettle/brewpot? Also, I just realized that my home brew kit didn't come with a kettle/brewpot... which is probably the most essential part, jeeez. I don't already have a big enough kettle in my kitchen, so can I just go out and buy any random kettle? Or does it need to be "special" for homebrewing? Does it matter what size?
 
You don't need to sanitize the brew kettle. When you boil it will kill anything on it. It's after the boil that you need to be careful to sanitize anything that will come into contact with the wort. A lot of people on here buy the turkey fryers which have a pot/burner, or you can buy them separate. You don't have to get a pot specifically for brewing. If you want to do full boils for 5 gallon batches, I would start looking at a 32 quart pot as a minimum. It all depends on how you are planning to brew now or in the near future.
 
I should add that to make your life a lot easier, I would look at the brew kettles that include a ball valve. This makes it much easier when you are transferring your wort to the fermenter.
 
You're just starting out your hobby, and there are lots of different ways to do things. Different options include:

- Using a 3 gallon pot on your stove pot to do your boils and then adding the wort to cool sterile water in the fermenter
- Using a reasonably priced turkey fryer kit that will be 7-8 gallons
- Going all out and getting something like a Blichmann

If I were going to advocate one of the options, I'd suggest going with the turkey fryer for now. That way you've got a kettle and an outdoor burner to heat it on. Additionally, most turkey fryers have valves on them, making it much easier to deal with, as another poster mentioned.

One thing to keep in mind is that most turkey fryers are aluminum. That's okay, there's nothing wrong with making beer in an aluminum pot, but you'll want to boil a full pot of water for 30 minutes or so, and then dumping it out, before using the pot for beer. This will condition the aluminum before using it for brewing.

You can always buy an expensive kettle later on down the road!
 
Wish I was brewing today. Enjoy it! Started this hobby three years ago now I'm addicted.

If you think your sticking with the hobby by a good kettle so you won't have to upgrade later. All though best option for brewing today is probably the turkey fryer route. And you should always be able to get use out of it.
 
To make things easier I would just go with a stainless steel pot instead of aluminum. Also dont clean your beer equipment with soap
 
Thanks for the helpful info Mike. Now you've got me thinking which route to take. I'm currently debating between these two choices -

1. Turkey Fryer route (stainless steel) - Amazon.com: Bayou Classic 1118 32-Quart Stainless Steel Turkey Fryer: Patio, Lawn & Garden with this propane burner - Amazon.com: Bayou Classic SP10 High-Pressure Outdoor Gas Cooker, Propane: Patio, Lawn & Garden


2. Home brewing kettle with valve - Amazon.com: 8 Gal Beer Brewing Kettle w/ Valve & Thermometer


I'm leaning towards the turkey fryer route since it's cheaper and I can get it delivered to me on Friday, but I may consider the kettle if the valve makes that much of a difference... but I wouldn't get it until sometime next week. Also, if I did get the kettle, would I also need the propane burner or is an electric stove sufficient?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Large pots won't boil sufficiently on a stove top. 3 gallons is about it.

if you want to do partial boils and add water, 3 gallons will do, and stove top will do.
If you want to do full boils, get the largest pot you can possibly afford - I do 5 gallon batches, in a 10-gallon pot. You start with about 6.5 gallons to account for evaporation during an hour-long boil. For these pots, you need an electric system (see the electric brewing threads) or a propane burner system (turkey fryer).


oh, and WELCOME to HBT!
 
You can boil on a stovetop and add water and its not a problem at all (i do it all the time) but if I had a choice I would use a propane burner. Keep in mind with an outdoor propane burner your brewing days can be limited by the weather (unless you have a tent)
 
smatrick said:
Thanks for the helpful info Mike. Now you've got me thinking which route to take. I'm currently debating between these two choices -

1. Turkey Fryer route (stainless steel) - Video Link: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-1118-32-Quart-Stainless/dp/B0009K8SJ6 with this propane burner - Video Link: http://www.amazon.com/Bayou-Classic-SP10-High-Pressure-Outdoor/dp/B000291GBQ

2. Home brewing kettle with valve - Video Link: http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Brewing-Kettle-Valve-Thermometer/dp/B003EW8HWY/ref=pd_sim_sbs_ol_7

I'm leaning towards the turkey fryer route since it's cheaper and I can get it delivered to me on Friday, but I may consider the kettle if the valve makes that much of a difference... but I wouldn't get it until sometime next week. Also, if I did get the kettle, would I also need the propane burner or is an electric stove sufficient?
Click to expand...

The valve makes a big difference... Spend more now so you don't have to spend even more later.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
One of the nice things about brewing is that there are almost an unlimited number of ways to do things, so you can choose your own path. Unfortunately, that makes it confusing for a beginner.

My first brew kettle was a 22 qt stainless pot that I bought at Walmart. That was 3 years ago when I was doing partial boil extract batches. I'm now doing full boil all grain 5 gallon batches. I now have a 10 gallon brew kettle, but I still use that 22 qt pot every brew day to heat my strike water and my sparge water. If I had to do it over again, I'd still go the same route. Buy a 22 qt (or thereabouts) now; you can always add a bigger brew kettle later if you find yourself addicted to this hobby like most of us here. You can also add a ball valve to any pot fairly easily.
 
I don't have this model, but used to have one very similar to it from Bass Pro Shop many years ago. The safety arms that help to keep the pot in place should be removable, allowing you to use the burner for other pots. In fact, I don't have the pot that came with the one I bought, but I still have the burner, and it still works fine. This one is a 58K BTU burner, which should be good for someone starting out in the hobby, although it will take a bit longer to get to boil than a more expensive model.

My goal in this recommendation is to help a new brewer to get going with an easy and inexpensive solution. As you learn more, you can always add things to your equipment one piece at a time. Going all out in the beginning isn't always the right thing to do, figure out how you want to brew, and go from there.

Happy Turkey Day!
 
Hang Glider said:
Large pots won't boil sufficiently on a stove top. 3 gallons is about it....
Click to expand...

Respectfully, that isn't necessarily the case. I have been using a 33qt tamale pot for a lot of years. When I don't have access to a propane burner, I have no issues brewing on a stove top... either electric or gas. The question is less concerning the volume of the kettle than it's geometry. A tall, narrow kettle that will sit on only one eye of the stove is unlikely to get a strong boil, that is true. However, if you have a wide kettle that will sit over two stove eyes, it will be fine.

Currently, with aforementioned 33qt pot, I am able to set it on our electric stove top with the leading edge of the pot even with the outer edge of the forward large eye, the back of the kettle covers about 2/3 of the small eye at the back of the stove top. With both controls on high, I get a beautiful boil. From a 6.5 gallon initial volume my wort boils down to 5.3 gallons with a 60 minute boil.
 
I ended up getting the turkey fryer so I could get it the day after Thanksgiving, but of course it turns out I didn't even get a chance to make the beer over Thanksgiving weekend since I had to go out of town at the last second. Now I have a few more questions -

1. My beer making kit came with a 6.5 gallon food grade bucket and a plastic carboy. From what I've read on here and other sites, a lot of people don't even bother using the secondary fermenter. Since I've never done this before, should I plan on just using the bucket and not worry about the carboy?

2. As far as sanitizing everything in a bucket with water and Star San, can I use this same bucket for that purpose? Or does this bucket need to be readily available to transfer the wort into which would necessitate a completely separate bucket for sanitation purposes?

3. The beer I am trying to make is Drake's IPA, which I ordered from MoreBeer.com. It came with 9 pounds of extract, do I use all of that if I am trying to make 5 gallons of beer? Anything else I should know about this particular beer?

As you can probably tell, I'm kind of getting overwhelmed and making myself confused since I can't really seem to find any really good step-by-step instructions that are easy to understand for complete noobs like myself. :) So any help any of you can offer me will be much appreciated!
 
1) Just use the bucket for primary. Wider opening makes getting things in & out easier. Not to mention easier to clean.
2) If you want to make a whole bucket of starsan solution,just get the $5 orange homer cheapo bucket. That's what I use it for. Also for moving water to the brewery room from the kitchen for cleaning fermenters.
3) Yes,use all the extract in the kit. It's part of the recipe.
& RDWHAHB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
can you only purchase these sanitizers from brew stores or the internet? anything like wal mart or target have this stuff?
 
Not that I've ever seen,no. LHBS or internet. I ordered a 1lb jar of PBW & 6 9g packets of Burton Water Salts from Midwest on 12/1. got it yesterday at about 5pm-ish. I chose the Fed-Ex home delivery,their 2nd cheapest shipping method! Fast & arrives in perfect condition. The 1lb jar of PBW was $8...
 
My experience with the kits is use everything in them at first. Follow the directions the first couple times, pay attention to sanitation and you'll have a good brew. After you do a couple you'll start seeing ways to make the process more efficient for your setup and start figuring out places for improvements (read: more stuff). This will also give you a good understanding of the process and where little changes can make big results. I'm on my 6th batch and it's a repeat of a wheat kit I did earlier. I'll be using a home made chiller and liquid yeast for the first time.

If you haven't already, I would suggest getting two books "Joy Of Homebrewing" by Papazian and "How To Brew" by Palmer. The first is a little lighter read but both do a fantastic job introducing you to the hobby and put everything into easy to understand terms. Palmer is a bit more scientific and detailed.

Have fun!
 
usfmikeb said:
I don't have this model, but used to have one very similar to it from Bass Pro Shop many years ago. The safety arms that help to keep the pot in place should be removable, allowing you to use the burner for other pots. In fact, I don't have the pot that came with the one I bought, but I still have the burner, and it still works fine. This one is a 58K BTU burner, which should be good for someone starting out in the hobby, although it will take a bit longer to get to boil than a more expensive model.

My goal in this recommendation is to help a new brewer to get going with an easy and inexpensive solution. As you learn more, you can always add things to your equipment one piece at a time. Going all out in the beginning isn't always the right thing to do, figure out how you want to brew, and go from there.

Happy Turkey Day!
Click to expand...

I ended up deciding on the sq14 and a stainless 44q kettle :banana:
 
That's not just a "homebrew store", it is one of the biggest and best in the country!
 

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