I came here looking for honest answers to an honest question. I am new to home brewing and have an interest in not having to buy one more unnecessary product because "they" say I should. If some of you guys can't deal with that then please don't suggest that I am off my rocker, believe in chem trials and are trolling. Way to share info! Of all the posts only about 3 actually address what I was asking about. To those people I say thank you! The rest of you can jump on the chem trail...
Sorry for my snarky comment, I just couldn't resist, as this topic comes up frequently around here. I will do my best to attempt to answer your question honestly. As you know, beer has been made for thousands of years. During most of that time sanitation was not a consideration, because before 1856, when Pasteur came up with germ theory, the concept of sanitation didn't exist. Brewers learned through trial and error what worked and what didn't and that cleaner equipment yielded better beer, even if they didn't understand why.
With the industrial revolution, and a wider understanding of chemistry and microbiology, it became clear that good cleaning and sanitation practices were an absolute necessity in order to obtain the best product possible. What we brewers have access to know is the culmination of many, many years of experimentation and scientific discovery. There are many methods of sanitizing, most of which are impractical for the homebrewer (i.e. steam or dry heat, UV light, etc). Other chemical sanitizers, such as bleach for example, are good at sanitizing, but they must be rinsed, and with bleach, it's reactive with stainless steel. Iodine based sanitizers were used for many years, and still are. They work well, but they have their own issues, like staining everything they come in contact with.
The earliest Brewers had no idea how the sugar laden mashes they made ended up as beer. They were openly fermented and relied on wild yeast to accomplish the fermentation. Some batches would be good, and some would be sour and nasty. I suspect that home brewing today without good cleaning and sanitizing procedures would yield similar results. Some good batches and some nasty ones. Totally hit or miss.
I've been brewing beer since 2005. Aside from my very first batch (Alton Brown's Amber Wave), in which I used some kind of detergent to clean and bleach to sanitize, I've been using PBW and Star-San. I'm happy to report that in the hundreds of batches I've made I've not had a single infected batch. I didn't come up with my procedures on my own. They came from reading about the experiences of other brewers, and listening to the advice of more experienced brewers than I. As the years have gone by, more and more homebrewers were singing the praises of Star-San, so it really is a great product and it makes the very important act of sanitizing your equipment quick and easy with absolutely zero down side. So remember, don't fear the foam, lol! I hope this information is helpful.
I've never been an "it's good enough" kind of a guy. There are many ways to make beer, even good beer, but there are only a few ways to make really, really good beer, and even fewer to make great beer. It's up to you to decide what's best for you, and what results you're willing to accept. Happy brewing my friend.
