One of the most important parts of the homebrewing process is cleaning and sanitizing your equipment. As many a homebrewer can attest, there is an increased risk of off-flavors and/or infection when the necessary precautions are not taken. Taking a little bit of time to ensure sanitation can mean the difference between a great batch of beer and a batch that has to be dumped.
The first thing you should do is clean your equipment before it comes into contact with any cold-side wort. The sanitizing you do later will be more effective on a clean surface than a dirty one. Avoid using common household cleaners (such as dish soap), as they can leave residues that will impart unwanted flavors into your beer, and can affect head retention. Many brewers use PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) as their cleaner of choice, although there are others (such as B-Brite).
There are also DIY cleaners that approximate the formula of PBW. Most of them use a sodium percarbonate-based cleaner (such as Oxiclean Free) combined with a smaller amount of sodium triphosphate substitute (like TSP/90). There are recipes on the HomeBrewTalk forums that work effectively and are economical compared to some of the store-bought cleaners.
The general cleaning process involves creating a cleaning solution by adding the cleaner to a larger amount of warm water, then soaking your equipment in the cleaner. If you have plastic equipment (bucket fermenters, for example), be careful not to scrub with anything that might be abrasive or hard enough to scratch the plastic, as these scratches can create excellent hiding spots for wild yeasts and bacteria. After cleaning, you can use plain water to rinse your equipment before sanitizing it.
Label Sanitizer Spray Bottles Clearly
When it comes to sanitizers, there are several varieties. The first one most brewers encounter is the powdered "no-rinse" variety, such as One Step. Technically, this type of cleanser is not a "sanitizer" (at least not in the United States) as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, though it is generally marketed and used as such. Many brewers start with One Step because it came with their homebrew starter kit, then move on to something else once the time comes to purchase more sanitizer. If you decide to stick with One Step, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions and leave it on for the recommended amount of time (usually a couple minutes). As the name implies, this cleanser does not require rinsing; simply pour it into your vessel for the recommended duration, then pour it out.
Another common variety of sanitizer is the chlorine-based sanitizer. The most common is bleach used in a low concentration (around 10%). If you use bleach, you will need to rinse after sanitizing, which may risk re-introducing contaminants through the tap water. When in doubt, use a different sanitizer. C-Brite is another chlorine-based sanitizer that is mixed with water, but does not require rinsing.
Iodine-based sanitizers (such as Iodophor or Io-Star) are another option. They generally require about 2 minutes of contact time and don't require any rinsing. Iodine-based sanitizers can also serve another purpose they can be used as a mash conversion test in all-grain or partial-mash brewing. Simply fill a small container with mash liquid, add a few drops of iodine, and wait a few seconds. The unconverted starches will turn black from the iodine. If the mash is complete, the liquid will turn slightly tan or reddish instead of black.
Always Store Sanitizers In A Safe Location
The last sanitizer option I am going to talk about is Star San. Star San is an acid-based sanitizer, and it is probably the most commonly used sanitizer among homebrewers. It is added to water and diluted at a rate of 1 ounce to 5 gallons of water. It only requires about a minute or so of contact time, making it a quicker option than most other sanitizers. Star San can also be stored and used repeatedly, as long as the pH stays below 3.
Over time, brewers have developed various tricks to make sanitizing easier and more cost-effective. One of the most common tricks is to add sanitizer to a spray-bottle, where it can be sprayed directly on equipment as opposed to immersing the equipment in the sanitizer. This is most commonly done with Star San, but it can be done with any sanitizer as long as the sanitizer can achieve the required contact time. This allows you to dispense the amount of sanitizer you need, instead of requiring the large volume needed to fill a bucket or kettle. Just use the sanitizer as you would normally (i.e., use the same dilution rate), but spray your equipment instead of dunking it in the sanitizer.
Oxiclean FREE For Cleaning Gear Before Sanitizing
The last sanitizing tip I am going to mention is one that I discovered recently, and it is an expansion on the spray-bottle technique. Instead of a spray-bottle, fill a hand-held pressure sprayer with sanitizer. This allows you to spray sanitizer continuously without having to repeatedly pull the spray-bottle trigger. This can be very convenient when you are spraying a large surface like the inside of a bucket fermenter. I use a half-gallon hand-held sprayer from the hardware store, but you could just as easily use a larger sprayer or even one of the sprayers typically used to spread herbicide or insecticide. It should go without saying that you need to use a brand-new sprayer for this; don't ever use a sprayer that has been used to spread insecticide or other chemicals. For a reference, my half-gallon sprayer requires just under 3 ml of Star San, and it will last through quite a few brew days. The end result is that very little sanitizer is wasted, and it's very convenient to use.
Half Gallon Hand-held Pressure Sprayer
To recap, cleaning and sanitation are perhaps the most important steps of the entire brew process. If you absolutely must skip a step, pick a different one, because lax sanitation can result in an entire batch of brew getting dumped. Luckily, there are a lot of options available to keep your equipment clean and sanitary, which is never a bad thing. Feel free to use any of the tips listed here, or come up with your own and share them with the homebrewing community.
The first thing you should do is clean your equipment before it comes into contact with any cold-side wort. The sanitizing you do later will be more effective on a clean surface than a dirty one. Avoid using common household cleaners (such as dish soap), as they can leave residues that will impart unwanted flavors into your beer, and can affect head retention. Many brewers use PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) as their cleaner of choice, although there are others (such as B-Brite).
There are also DIY cleaners that approximate the formula of PBW. Most of them use a sodium percarbonate-based cleaner (such as Oxiclean Free) combined with a smaller amount of sodium triphosphate substitute (like TSP/90). There are recipes on the HomeBrewTalk forums that work effectively and are economical compared to some of the store-bought cleaners.
The general cleaning process involves creating a cleaning solution by adding the cleaner to a larger amount of warm water, then soaking your equipment in the cleaner. If you have plastic equipment (bucket fermenters, for example), be careful not to scrub with anything that might be abrasive or hard enough to scratch the plastic, as these scratches can create excellent hiding spots for wild yeasts and bacteria. After cleaning, you can use plain water to rinse your equipment before sanitizing it.
Label Sanitizer Spray Bottles Clearly
When it comes to sanitizers, there are several varieties. The first one most brewers encounter is the powdered "no-rinse" variety, such as One Step. Technically, this type of cleanser is not a "sanitizer" (at least not in the United States) as defined by the Environmental Protection Agency, though it is generally marketed and used as such. Many brewers start with One Step because it came with their homebrew starter kit, then move on to something else once the time comes to purchase more sanitizer. If you decide to stick with One Step, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions and leave it on for the recommended amount of time (usually a couple minutes). As the name implies, this cleanser does not require rinsing; simply pour it into your vessel for the recommended duration, then pour it out.
Another common variety of sanitizer is the chlorine-based sanitizer. The most common is bleach used in a low concentration (around 10%). If you use bleach, you will need to rinse after sanitizing, which may risk re-introducing contaminants through the tap water. When in doubt, use a different sanitizer. C-Brite is another chlorine-based sanitizer that is mixed with water, but does not require rinsing.
Iodine-based sanitizers (such as Iodophor or Io-Star) are another option. They generally require about 2 minutes of contact time and don't require any rinsing. Iodine-based sanitizers can also serve another purpose they can be used as a mash conversion test in all-grain or partial-mash brewing. Simply fill a small container with mash liquid, add a few drops of iodine, and wait a few seconds. The unconverted starches will turn black from the iodine. If the mash is complete, the liquid will turn slightly tan or reddish instead of black.
Always Store Sanitizers In A Safe Location
The last sanitizer option I am going to talk about is Star San. Star San is an acid-based sanitizer, and it is probably the most commonly used sanitizer among homebrewers. It is added to water and diluted at a rate of 1 ounce to 5 gallons of water. It only requires about a minute or so of contact time, making it a quicker option than most other sanitizers. Star San can also be stored and used repeatedly, as long as the pH stays below 3.
Over time, brewers have developed various tricks to make sanitizing easier and more cost-effective. One of the most common tricks is to add sanitizer to a spray-bottle, where it can be sprayed directly on equipment as opposed to immersing the equipment in the sanitizer. This is most commonly done with Star San, but it can be done with any sanitizer as long as the sanitizer can achieve the required contact time. This allows you to dispense the amount of sanitizer you need, instead of requiring the large volume needed to fill a bucket or kettle. Just use the sanitizer as you would normally (i.e., use the same dilution rate), but spray your equipment instead of dunking it in the sanitizer.
Oxiclean FREE For Cleaning Gear Before Sanitizing
The last sanitizing tip I am going to mention is one that I discovered recently, and it is an expansion on the spray-bottle technique. Instead of a spray-bottle, fill a hand-held pressure sprayer with sanitizer. This allows you to spray sanitizer continuously without having to repeatedly pull the spray-bottle trigger. This can be very convenient when you are spraying a large surface like the inside of a bucket fermenter. I use a half-gallon hand-held sprayer from the hardware store, but you could just as easily use a larger sprayer or even one of the sprayers typically used to spread herbicide or insecticide. It should go without saying that you need to use a brand-new sprayer for this; don't ever use a sprayer that has been used to spread insecticide or other chemicals. For a reference, my half-gallon sprayer requires just under 3 ml of Star San, and it will last through quite a few brew days. The end result is that very little sanitizer is wasted, and it's very convenient to use.
Half Gallon Hand-held Pressure Sprayer
To recap, cleaning and sanitation are perhaps the most important steps of the entire brew process. If you absolutely must skip a step, pick a different one, because lax sanitation can result in an entire batch of brew getting dumped. Luckily, there are a lot of options available to keep your equipment clean and sanitary, which is never a bad thing. Feel free to use any of the tips listed here, or come up with your own and share them with the homebrewing community.
