History of Sanitizing and Cleaning?

[MissionBrewer]

I'm just learning about this--I'm new to home brewing. Something has been on my mind for a while and I can't figure this out: if cleaning and sanitizing is so important to brewing, how is it that people have been successfully brewing beer for thousands of years? They didn't have the means to sanitize anything centuries ago--at least, not by modern standards--and yet this is crucial to beer brewing. Was beer really so different then?

And, a somewhat related question: what happens if my equipment is not perfectly sanitized and the batch is contaminated? Will the beer smell bad? Taste bad? Make me sick? How will I know it's been ruined?

 

[unionrdr]

You can see it growing on the surface of the beer for one. It may smell bad,&/or taste bad. Like sour ass or something. But I wonder about back before yeast or bacteria were known to exist if they did indeed clean their equipment somhow? Maybe just rinsed them out to get out the trub,etc?

 

[smakudwn]

And, a somewhat related question: what happens if my equipment is not perfectly sanitized and the batch is contaminated? Will the beer smell bad? Taste bad? Make me sick? How will I know it's been ruined?

Yes, it CAN taste or smell bad if you don't clean and sanitize. Infections can mess your your carbonation level also. You can make beer with out sanitizing, but it might not taste any good. I doubt the beer they made 100's of years ago tasted as good as beer does now or was as consistent as we can make today.

 

[Reno_eNVy]

People weren't even aware that yeast or bacteria even existed until Louis Pasteur studied beer (yup, beer... not milk) and developed Germ Theory... that's when sanitization started.... kinda. I say kinda because it wasn't really until the turn of the 20th century that doctors even washed their hands before attending to a patient. When Pasteur suggested doctors wash their hands they thought he was crazy.


It should also be noted that most beers in the old days were either drank young or ended up having some sour notes due to bacteria or wild yeasts. Beer today is a far cry from most beers pre-1800

 

[Teromous]

Check out How Beer Saved the World, a movie that goes in depth on the history of cleanliness and sanitation as part of brewing in history. It's also on Netflix.

 

[unionrdr]

As I stated in my previous post. They knew nothing of microbial activity back then. It's the reason for open fermentation,they knew something in the air caused it to ferment. Some batches weren't so good,others excellent. Def hit & miss brewing. It's cool to realize that louise was studying beer 1st,not milk. I just watched a video on youtube this morning where he's credited with making milk safe. These folks need to go back & give his works a second look.

 

[bovineblitz]

A lot of beers were infected but drank before the ill effects took place. Even currently, traditionally made beers like Ethiopian T'ella will sour if given enough time. They're usually cooled and drank before fermentation even finishes.

 

[MissionBrewer]

Yeah, I saw a documentary--how beer saved the world--about Pasteur and the beer (NOT milk and the doctors and all that very interesting I know that beer is different in many ways from long ago--my understanding is that it was, among other things, less alcoholic back in the day when it was the only safe thing to drink.

Interestingly, I went to a pub in Philadelphia, a touristy thing but protected under the parks department or something as a national historical site. The servers wore period clothes and they served beer made from recipes of the founding fathers. I had George Washington's brew--asked the server how different the modern version was from the original. He said all the ingredients were the same, and they h ad done everything as close as they could to the original except for one detail: Washington's beer was too alcoholic to be considered "beer" by any modern standard and they had decreased the alcohol content. Not to hijack the topic--cause I still want to know about the other stuff--but how do they do THAT? make the beer less alcoholic?

 

[ACbrewer]

It also goes to when we are talking about. Today they still do open fermentation in England somewhere and use the Karusen to inoculate the next batch. That big foamy head might help prevent bacteria from actually getting into the wort, or it might not I'm guessing on that.

They also may have initially (say 4K+ years ago) gone from boil to open ferment in 1 container, and not moved to a dedicated fermenter. Beer is mostly clear of bacteria because of the boil - some gets back in later, even in the best of homebrewer. BMC types today pasturize their beer to keep it consistant (kill any spoilagers helps on that score).

Hops also helps protect beer against bacteria, hence why IPA's were India pa's - took 5 months to sail there, you need something with enough hops to keep it fresh - or atleast not taste the spoilage for 5 months.

 

[Teromous]

It also goes to when we are talking about. Today they still do open fermentation in England somewhere and use the Karusen to inoculate the next batch. That big foamy head might help prevent bacteria from actually getting into the wort, or it might not I'm guessing on that.

I've always liked the idea of the Belgian cool ships where they let the wort absorb the natural yeast in the air. It's a very cool practice that I'd like to try sometime (given my wife allows me to build a giant metal tray in my attic )

 

[BrewKnurd]

Not to hijack the topic--cause I still want to know about the other stuff--but how do they do THAT? make the beer less alcoholic?

Just put less fermentables in the recipe.

 

[MissionBrewer]

Just put less fermentables in the recipe.

ok, but...what are the fermentables. I'm new at this. Haven't brewed my first batch yet. Still collecting tools and reading books

 

[BrewKnurd]

ok, but...what are the fermentables. I'm new at this. Haven't brewed my first batch yet. Still collecting tools and reading books

oh my! welcome to the party!

Fermentables = sugars, primarily from grain.

Therefore, if you want less alcohol, you use less grain (or extract, which is derived from grain).

 

[MissionBrewer]

This doesn't affect the flavor?

 

[BrewKnurd]

This doesn't affect the flavor?

Yep, it would affect flavor.

 

[BrewMU]

I'm only being half facetious when I ask: didn't people crap for thousands of years before soap, indoor plumbing or magazines? I'm sure I could dump sans reading material if pressed, but I'm not spurning covered sewage for $#@t in the streets, or my nice heated bathroom for an outhouse anytime soon.
Brew on, with all due sanitization.