Carbonation drops - how to reduce sanitation risk

[Papa]

I like to bottle a few beers from each batch and keg the rest. Using carbonation drops is intuitively the easiest method ... but would like to know how to minimise the infection risk. Do you give each drop a starsan spray? Fingers too? How do you know the carbonation drops are sanitary? I have previously stored a half used pack in the same storage bin as I temporarily (a few days) stored cracked grain (I can hear the lacto-groans already ...)

Be interested in thoughts / experienced.

Papa

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

My understanding is that dry sugar is extremely inhospitable to bacteria. I also believe it because you never see mold in a box of sugar cubes unless it gets wet. I have successfully used carb pills without any concern for sanitation. On my first 4 batches that was my method to carb, but I think it is better faster cheaper to boil sugar in a small amount of water, cool and then dump into a bottling bucket and mix in my beer. For just a few bottles I think I agree with you that carb drops are the way to go. Some people really like the smaller sugar cubes "dots" because they have a little more flexibility to get just how much they want.

 

[Revvy]

Don't worry about it.... If you're dropping them in, sanitize your hands. And leftovers seal in a ziplock or a vacuum bag. But anything beyond that is overthinking.

 

[Lefou]

Don't worry about it.... If you're dropping them in, sanitize your hands. And leftovers seal in a ziplock or a vacuum bag. But anything beyond that is overthinking.

I've been doing this.
I keep a nice spray bottle filled with StarSan solution nearby and I'll wet my hands. I considered spraying my glucose tabs and thought it was mildly paranoid. I've since gone to Domino sugar cubes. There's almost 200 per small box and a Ziplock is the best way to keep 'em organized.

 

[applescrap]

don't worry about it.... If you're dropping them in, sanitize your hands. And leftovers seal in a ziplock or a vacuum bag. But anything beyond that is overthinking.

+1

 

[Dcpcooks]

Your beer post fermentation is relatively inhospitable to most spoilage bacteria. It's a low ph, low oxygen and alcohol rich environment. Maintaining good cleanliness is all you'll really need to do at this point. You'll have greater risk from dirty bottles and racking arms than from the drops. So clean well and you'll be fine.

 

[popsicleian]

I use the Domino Dots exclusively for bottling, and the only infection issues I've ever had were related to lax bottle cleaning. I wash my hands before I get started, but otherwise I don't really sweat it.

 

[MHBT]

best way to combat this is keep it clean and drink up