dirty, dirty, dirty...... yiikes....

[Slipgate]

I'll be honest with you, I frequently only clean my stuff with hot water and a new sponge. If the b-brite is handy, I might use it, but in reality, maybe 20% of the time do I ever use more than just hot water. I have starsan too but maybe used an oz since I bought the bottle years ago. Never even opened the iodophor.

Oh, and I have never ever had even a single hint of cleanliness issues in my beer. So while most brewers think that no rinse cleaners, starsan, iodophor, etc are all that stands between us and total destruction from nasty germs, my experience has told me otherwise. And I am sure I will get all the "you are lucky" and "it is just a matter of time" and "blah blah blah" type responses. But you cannot really argue with my results. How you guys that use that stuff and still get infections do it is totally beyond my comprehension.

Hot water my friends, hot water; nothing more. And I mean what comes out of the tap - 120ish? Whatever, never checked, never cared.

I have been brewing for well over 10 years with never an issue.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

 

[cheezydemon3]

The ancients surely had no more than hot water and maybe some handmade soap, so it is possible.

No rinse is cheap and just as easy, so why not use it though?

 

[Slipgate]

The ancients surely had no more than hot water and maybe some handmade soap, so it is possible.

No rinse is cheap and just as easy, so why not use it though?

Mostly laziness. Same reason I don't give 2 sh1ts about hydro readings. It doesn't matter so who cares?

 

[atom]

you use hot water? man...i only use luke warm water, plus i never wash my hands and sometimes i spit in my beer.

 

[MyNameIsPaul]

Hydro readings matter to me. I prefer to know my efficiency and SG, so I can fine tune my brewing process to get the most for money. Plus, it's nice to let my friends know the strength of the beer they're drinking, especially if they aren't used to craft brews. Plus, it's all part of the mad scientist fun of brewing for me, so the 2 minutes it takes to take a reading, taste the wort, and dump/clean is all part of the process.

 

[rawkstar320]

I use a little bleach, but I'm with you - I just want to brew drinkable beer and have fun. Worrying is not fun....

I just recently started using a refractometer just to make sure that I was hitting a reasonable og. I have a perfectionist brewing friend that have me an earful when I said I early took gravity readings....not to mention bleach.

 

[cheezydemon3]

No hydro here. I just want beer.

 

[inhousebrew]

Here's the thing about homebrew that makes it great; you're brewing for yourself! If you like it it doesn't matter what you do!

Obviously I have no way of knowing what your beer really tastes like so I have no way of knowing if it meets my relatively low standards (I'm sure it does most of the time) or other more picky members standards (it may...but it may not) or some expert beer judges standards (I'm honestly going to doubt it sometimes). Like I said, if it's good for you it's good for you so brew up. I just don't see the difficulty about dunking some stuff in a premixed five gallon bucket of Star San that has been sitting there for a month.

 

[Homercidal]

We all take risks to some degree or another. Why just the other day I had unprotected sex. And I didn't even wash my hand first.

 

[Pratzie]

I prefer the hydro readings just so i can tell people how effed up the stuff is gonna get them. Otherwise as long as it tastes good, eff it, right?

 

[rawkstar320]

We all take risks to some degree or another. Why just the other day I had unprotected sex. And I didn't even wash my hand first.

Sounds fairly normal for someone at Ferris! Do you still go there? I just graduated.

 

[Homercidal]

LOL! That's true. I graduated back in '98. I still go to the hockey games. My daughter just started going to Western though. I guess Ferris was just to close to home.

 

[rawkstar320]

Oh cool, I'm just south of Kalamazoo now. Been considering joining the club there but it's still a bit of a drive

 

[Homercidal]

Kzoo is a nice town. We got season football tickets since Kim plays in the marching band. I'm hoping she can play in the pep band so I can go to hockey games too. And maybe fit a few visits to Bells in there while we are down.

I don't have a homebrew club yet, but I hear the one in Kzoo is pretty good. Can't remember the name off the top of my head. KLOB? I see them and drink their beer at Siciliano's Markets annual Homebrewers party in GR each May. If you haven't gone to one, I'd write it on the calendar now.

 

[sweetcell]

I'll be honest with you, I frequently only clean my stuff with hot water and a new sponge. If the b-brite is handy, I might use it, but in reality, maybe 20% of the time do I ever use more than just hot water. I have starsan too but maybe used an oz since I bought the bottle years ago. Never even opened the iodophor.

Oh, and I have never ever had even a single hint of cleanliness issues in my beer.

out of curiosity - how long and/or full is your beard?

I use a little bleach, but I'm with you - I just want to brew drinkable beer and have fun. Worrying is not fun...

exactly, and using star san is what allows me to not worry

 

[bovineblitz]

That's nice.

I'll continue to take the incredibly simple step of rinsing my cold side equipment with starsan and reduce my risk of infection by several orders of magnitude.

 

[Brewskii]

Oh; and he's never needed to pitch his beer either ...

 

[rawkstar320]

out of curiosity - how long and/or full is your beard?

exactly, and using star san is what allows me to not worry

Star San is on my shopping list, my point was og.

 

[JordanThomas]

Oh, and I have never ever had even a single hint of cleanliness issues in my beer. So while most brewers think that no rinse cleaners, starsan, iodophor, etc are all that stands between us and total destruction from nasty germs, my experience has told me otherwise. And I am sure I will get all the "you are lucky" and "it is just a matter of time" and "blah blah blah" type responses. But you cannot really argue with my results. How you guys that use that stuff and still get infections do it is totally beyond my comprehension.

This is the same logic that smokers use. "My grandpa smoked his whole life, lived until he was 80, and never had cancer! Therefore, cigarettes don't cause cancer!"

Just because one person gets lucky doesn't mean they are smart. I'm not calling you stupid, but I'm saying your logic is severely flawed.

 

[Whattawort]

The only time I really let myself get stressed out is when I'm trying to follow my notes to get consistent or better results on a beer I've already done. Little by little I'm getting closer to my unicorn (Alaskan Amber). If I'm brewing because my pipeline is low, or I just want to try something new, I won't even take a hydro or check the temp of my mash. I'll know if I'm close enough (generally speaking). That said, I will never brew without using StarSan on everything that touches the beer. That's one variable I want constant.

 

[Braufessor]

But you cannot really argue with my results.

No offense, I have no idea how good your beer is - it may be awesome and way better than mine. But to say "you cannot argue with my results" . . .. . when no one knows what any of your "results" are . . . .well, that is not a real good argument.

I have had some horrible, horrible homebrewed beer that the brewers said "was awesome." Not saying yours is bad. I just don't know.

Have you entered any competitions? If you consistently get scores back in the mid 30's, I would say you consistently make very good beer. Maybe not great, or the best - but some nice drinking beer. This would be the best way to "know" if the beer you brew is good or not - unbiased feedback from knowledgeable people who don't know you.

 

[Whattawort]

This is the same logic that smokers use. "My grandpa smoked his whole life, lived until he was 80, and never had cancer! Therefore, cigarettes don't cause cancer!"

Just because one person gets lucky doesn't mean they are smart. I'm not calling you stupid, but I'm saying your logic is severely flawed.

I smoke while leaning over the kettle. A little carbon never hurt anything. Can you say Rauchbier?

 

[EllisTX]

I collect rain water that runs off the roof of my house and just mix it with extract. I don't even add hops. I just mix the extract and rain water then pitch an old vial of yeast that I store in the attic of my house. All of my friends(my dogs and cats) say that it's the best beer on earth!

Seriously dude. Quit trolling.

 

[JordanThomas]

I smoke while leaning over the kettle. A little carbon never hurt anything. Can you say Rauchbier?

Haha that's funny.

I guess I just have a problem with posts like this because people who don't know any better might read it and actually think it's a good idea. What good does the OP do by posting this? Does it add anything to the community? I know this for sure: His beer is not sanitary. Without sanitizer, you cannot be sanitary. It might be clean, but it is NOT sanitary.

/endrant

 

[Cambone]

Haha that's funny.

I guess I just have a problem with posts like this because people who don't know any better might read it and actually think it's a good idea. What good does the OP do by posting this? Does it add anything to the community? I know this for sure: His beer is not sanitary. Without sanitizer, you cannot be sanitary. It might be clean, but it is NOT sanitary.

/endrant

No beer is sanitary, it's teaming with microbes!!!

 

[JordanThomas]

No beer is sanitary, it's teaming with microbes!!!

OK... his beer was not brewed with sanitary equipment.

 

[Whattawort]

OK... his beer was not brewed with sanitary equipment.

I had one that was sanitary. I ran out of StarSan and used bleach to clean my beer thief (aka turkey baster) and forgot that I needed to rinse it. That beer was clean as a whistle....and dead too. :cross:

 

[JordanThomas]

I had one that was sanitary. I ran out of StarSan and used bleach to clean my beer thief (aka turkey baster) and forgot that I needed to rinse it. That beer was clean as a whistle....and dead too. :cross:

Poor beer. Innocent and all.

 

[Whattawort]

Poor beer. Innocent and all.

Eh. It was an extract pale ale. Shame it didn't make it to its prime, but it freed up my fermenter for a better beer. At least I'm pretty sure it was better. We'll never really know.

 

[b-boy]

When I keg I clarify my beer by running it through my unwashed socks. It gets rid of the trub, and adds a nice funky 'Beligan' flavor to the beer.

The Athlete's foot fungus cohabitates nicely with the yeast. They are kinda related after all.

You should try it.