Brewing/racking/bottling with a cold?

[Kirkwooder]

Okay, I have a terrible head cold, and a couple beers that need racking and dry hopping. One is a IIPA that should finish out around 10%abv, the other, an IPA that will likely finish around 6%. I know that the alcohol should be plenty high enough to kill any stray cold germs that may get into my beers, but I really don't want to be sharing more than a kick a$$ home brew with friends in a month or so, And I certainly don't want this cold again myself.

If the truth is to be known, I don't have the energy to deal with the effort that will be needed to do the job properly and clean up afterwords. A few days won't make a real difference in the beers, but it certainly will in my busy weekend schedule.

What are everyone's thoughts on brewing while ill?

 

[GPP33]

I'm no biologist but you have a virus, not a bacteria. I don't believe a virus can infect a beer. And once you kick it you won't catch it again anyway.

My Saison was recently in the same boat, it waited for me to get better. Just didn't have the energy to deal with it.

 

[drksky]

As long as you sanitize your hands, which you should anyway, and don't sneeze into the beer, you'll be fine.

You'd be more apt to transfer germs to the bottles and/or keg than into the beer itself.

 

[PADave]

I bottled my most recent brew with the flu. Once you have a strain of a sickness once, you wont get it again.

 

[Kirkwooder]

I'm wasn't worried about infecting the beer as much as friends and family that I may be sharing this brew with.

Is there anyone who knows what % of alcohol is needed to kill of the common cold virus, or how long it would take to kill it?

 

[Steveruch]

My last brew (vienna) spent an extra week in primary because of a cold. It's one of the best beers I've ever brewed.

 

[myelo]

Is there anyone who knows what % of alcohol is needed to kill of the common cold virus, or how long it would take to kill it?

About 60% ... you'll need an IQPA for that (imperial quadruple IPA).

The good news is cold and flu viruses don't survive more than a few hours outside the body (depending on the surface, temperature, humidity etc). So I think the risk of getting infected with a virus from a beer is really low.

The biggest risk is probably having a few too many resulting in risky personal behavior with exposure to some other viruses.

 

[alexnova]

Okay, I have a terrible head cold, and a couple beers that need racking and dry hopping. One is a IIPA that should finish out around 10%abv, the other, an IPA that will likely finish around 6%. I know that the alcohol should be plenty high enough to kill any stray cold germs that may get into my beers, but I really don't want to be sharing more than a kick a$$ home brew with friends in a month or so, And I certainly don't want this cold again myself.

If the truth is to be known, I don't have the energy to deal with the effort that will be needed to do the job properly and clean up afterwords. A few days won't make a real difference in the beers, but it certainly will in my busy weekend schedule.

What are everyone's thoughts on brewing while ill?

That's the best reason. The chance of screwing something up while bottling is an order of magnitude greater than spreading your cold via your beer.