Cleaning and sanitizing question.

[RPh_Guy]

L Acidophilus is just about the most abundant in our digestive tract.

This is not true.
https://aem.asm.org/content/74/16/4985

Greek yogurt is supposed to be made with Bulgaricus and plantarum. That's what makes it greek.

I'm not sure I want to debate this.
Everywhere I've seen says that straining it makes it "Greek". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strained_yogurt

If you have a different definition, that's fine.

The added ferment step is what has new concerns of contamination and oxidation.

Correct! That was the only message I'm trying to send. Contamination is possible during your fermentation.

Cheers

 

[Jokester]

But your chart only covers pre carbonation and most of it is pre alcohol. Completely irrelevant to my contamination possibility.

You are free to eat yogurt as you see fit. (neither of your 2 links say what you think they do BTW)

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[RPh_Guy]

But your chart only covers pre carbonation and most of it is pre alcohol. Completely irrelevant to my contamination possibility.

[...] (neither of your 2 links say what you think they do BTW)

If you understand that many different types of wild yeast and bacteria can contaminate your fermentation, and consequently sanitation is important, then we're good here.

 

[Jokester]

How do you scrape the bottom film out of these cam lock bottles … I know those bottle brushes, but the bottom needs these to have an L shape ? Now if I bend it, it wont work its way down the throat.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[RPh_Guy]

How do you scrape the bottom film out of these cam lock bottles … I know those bottle brushes, but the bottom needs these to have an L shape ? Now if I bend it, it wont work its way down the throat.

• Hot PBW soak.
• Brush. https://www.morebeer.com/products/beer-bottle-cleaning-brush.html
• Hot water rinse.
• Acid rinse.

If you can, it helps a lot to rinse bottles immediately after they're emptied.

 

[Jokester]

I think this was a bottle that got the bottom of my 20% espresso 80% maibock and I actually put a few grams of sugar in those and let em carbonate.
Let me look into different brushes, and acid rinse ? Like muriatic acid ? Y'know now you're talking my language. Put some of that and some water and boil it, pretty much will punch right through the glass and then I'll be really happy. LOL. I'm only 1/2 joking BTW.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Soulshine2]

I clean with dish soap and boiling water, completely boiling, like heat a pint and put dish soap in the bottle and pour in boiling water and shake - and that is poured form bottle to bottle and these bottles have been cleaned before to remove anything already by plain hot tap water, then with tap water and dish soap.
After the boiling dish soapy water, I follow with 4-6 rounds of boiling water to get the dish soap out.
Then I put one teaspoon of starsani and 1pint of boiling water and repeat. 4-6 more boiling water rinses till all the water doesn't feel soapy. AKA all starsani is diluted out.
Then I seal up all the bottles and sit the bottles after they cool to touch.

Is it OK to sit these bottles for days if not more before filling them and usually they get frozen pretty soon after fill. Or do we starsani and put the beer in them asap.

Thanks.
Srinath.

too much work. and risk leaving soap residue.
my bottle prep, usually the day (morning)before I plan on bottling - I put all my bottles on their sides in a large enough insulated cooler with 1 oz bleach, 1 tbsp Oxi-Clean and fill it with the hottest water out of the faucet until it comes up near the top, probably around 7 gallons . close the lid , let it sit all day. Usually by afternoon , the water is still hot but not so much I cant put my hand in it. Take each bottle out ,shake/ empty , turn upside down in a cardboard case with dividers. Bottling day each bottle gets a healthy squirt of star san (along with everything else in the process), shaken (so its foamy)and drained again. Bottle. Star san is only active while wet so if youve done that and let it dry , you need to do it again just prior to bottling. You can leave the foam in the bottle (foam is good), it wont hurt anything.

 

[RPh_Guy]

acid rinse ?

A rinse with a some diluted citric or phosphoric acid helps to remove inorganic residue.

 

[Jokester]

A rinse with a some diluted citric or phosphoric acid helps to remove inorganic residue.

Citric acid … come on what's the fun in that. OK fine phosphoric acid it be then.

too much work.

My constraint is space more than time of effort. Putting a gallon in the middle of my kitchen is asking for my wife to throw a fit, sadly she's already put up with so much.

Boiling water and 2hrs is far easier, and phosphoric or sigh, citric acid if I must works better too and just adds an hour or so.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Soulshine2]

Citric acid … come on what's the fun in that. OK fine phosphoric acid it be then.




My constraint is space more than time of effort. Putting a gallon in the middle of my kitchen is asking for my wife to throw a fit, sadly she's already put up with so much.

Boiling water and 2hrs is far easier, and phosphoric or sigh, citric acid if I must works better too and just adds an hour or so.

Cool.
Srinath.

i dont understand why some people (the subject is usually wives) throw a fit over anything . If you and your spouse dont support each others hobbies and interests why or how did you get married in the first place? My wife more than tolerates my brewing hobby, she gets almost as excited about it as I do.

Back to your subject. - dish soap doesnt touch anything in my brewing process nor any beer glasses. it leaves too much of a residue and will kill beer - either taste or the head .

Use a good cleaner and rinse well with hot water ,it doesnt have to be boiling water, hottest out of the tap is fine. I like the scent free oxi clean , or the PBW everyone seems to like. personally ive never used it. Star san is in its essential form ,phosphoric acid .its concentrated and for what you really use , it's cheap and wont harm your beer . I made up a gallon a year ago and after about 6 brews since then I still have most of it left.

 

[Soulshine2]

Oh starsani isn't similar to oxy clean ?
Anyway you said use it immediately before bottling ? OK next one on will do, but thanks for confirming freezing helps keep any bad microbes down.
I use starsani at ridiculous strength. 1 teaspoon+ in a pint not 1 spoon in a gallon, maybe it takes me to the 3rd rinse before it dilutes itself to that normal strength. I'll from now on use star sani and rinse just before filling, I need a volunteer (my wife) to fill out of the gallon glass jars, I am a hand short for the time being, she's volunteered for later today. How later ? no idea.

Cool.
Srinath.

READ the instructions on the Star San label. it only needs 1 oz per gallon. and DO NOT RINSE the Star San out...

 

[Soulshine2]

Star sani I prefer to not make a gallon of it, I am not using a lot of floor space in this case. Just counter space for 8 bottles. Besides, its burning hot, I am sort of paranoid I have to set the water boiling, 1 gal of it is just asking to burn my hands off. I already have the burnt fingers to prove my paranoia. LOL.
Cool.
Srinath.

im really not understanding your process. why is 1 gallon going to take up so much of your space? you make up a gallon of star san with 1 oz of the concentrate, pour some mixture in a spray bottle and spray it into each bottle ( i do 5 good stream squirts in each) shake it up so it foams , right before you fill it ,turn it upside down to drain or drain into the next bottle and repeat.. no burnt fingers and not much is wasted.
Not one person has asked this question so I guess I will. Why in the world are you freezing your jars?
Im very confused what youre doing and why did you come and ask for help if you arent going to take the advice ? Your batch is only 8 bottles??? why bother .
IF your name Jokester is any indication to the purpose of your post (plus Im seeing you joined in 2014 ,nearly 6 years,and yet have less than 250 posts), i'm not entertained .
If I'm completely wrong about that ,then I 100% apologize.

 

[Jokester]

My wife is amazing. I have been married for 27 years. And I have hobbies like someone with ADD. Motorcycles, cars (though I now am failing and backing off this - I did fill our closet in the 1BR apt we had with Triumph Spitfire parts 3 months after we got married), keto/IF/crazy diet, audio equipment and now fermenting stuff. So I got some runaway hobbies, 2 shipping containers full and its literally insane.
I'm jokester only because my wife wanted me to not post as me (Srinath) much, but I get bored with changing my pattern much so I sign as Srinath.
The posts and questions are serious. I may actually get into brewing from scratch, but for now the goal is to get to super low carb and I am dead serious about it.
So the steps have been, buy a beer that I find good at the clearance rack because some rather meeh beers like Pabst's APA last summer or my current crop of Pabst Black (6.5% abv) at 50c a can.
Ferment them with amg300. 6.5 abv and 20 carbs a can can turn to 6 carb a can and 10abv.
Freeze it and melt out about 1/3rd. Freeze concentration.
Result, 60ml is a drink and likely has 1 gm carb or less.
I am sending it out to whitelabs in the next day or 2 so I'll know if I am getting 30% or I'm in the teens or where I am.
I didn't post much till mid 2019 because I am not a home brewer yet. I joined because I started making kombucha in 2014. Turns out, I didn't have a problem that would be cured by kombucha.
I am open to taking advice, however I understand you guys are all brewers. I am not. I am at best a beer modifier and a beer concentrator. Some problems and observations cross over but many do not. Since I am facing it I need to take the parts I need. Sometimes I dont even
explain my problem well enough to get even close to the right answer.

BTW star sani - Let me try tasting it. I have some weirdly sensitive taste buds. I might not even taste an oxidized beer or even find it objectionable - not sure now. But I can taste the paper in tea made with a tea bag. Hence I do not drink tea made with a bag. However I don't taste paper in coffee and it is made with paper filter. So I guess I am weird. But if I taste starsani, I will be rinsing it out for sure. I'll not put dishwashing liquid in these in my next batch, thanks for that suggestion.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[Jokester]

BTW I love cleaning and sanitizing. So the ultra hot water works well for me. Its water so no chemicals, and it kills microbes with temperature rather than chemicals.
But if the options are - eat weird bacteria. vs drink some toxic cleaner residue, I will 100% all the time everywhere every time prefer to eat microbes or toss the stuff out. Not even close. Chemicals will harm me more than microbes. I know that by now. I'd rather stay sober than get drunk of some chemical laden concoction.

Star sani - well the jury is still out. I am tolerating - barely the taste of it. But after fermentation will it get in the beer to remind me of this taste ??? no idea. But as a light cleaner at the bottling stage, its out. Or needs to be diluted 1000 more times ...

OTOH, I think Lagunitas willetized can be fermented without dilution, seems to have lots of sugar and low coffee to kill the yeast. And I have just the right yeast cake to fire it off.

Cool.
Srinath.

 

[RPh_Guy]

drink some toxic cleaner residue,

Diluted Star San is non-toxic and it will absolutely not add flavor or affect the beer in any negative way.

Rinsing it defeats the purpose of sanitizing because tap water is not sterile.

Dilute it properly and there's nothing to worry about.

I'd rather stay sober than get drunk of some chemical laden concoction.

Beer is %100 chemicals, so I guess you'll be sober from now on?

 

[Jokester]

Lets see if I can taste the chemicals in addition to the beer OK, and if I find it objectionable. I don't necessarily have the taste buds of everyone else. I swear I can taste gelatin I used to clear my maibock. Was it objectionable - in that beer, no, would it be in something else - probably.
Cool.
Srinath.