How do you keep your work space clean?

[defrandj1]

When working with starters, and your yeast, how do you keep you work area clean? What is the best was to keep the area as sterile as possible in order to keep your yeast as clean as possible?

 

[Hello]

I don't really do much. I take things out and put things away pretty much as I go. I just need to worry about the flask being sanitized and anything that touches the cooled wort to be sanitized.

 

[Zuljin]

Starsan is the standard. BEST is also good stuff. I haven't had any stain issues from the iodine when properly mixed.

Keep a bucket or bin of sanitizer handy to put tools in. Rather than set them on the table, set them in the bucket.

Wipe down your entire work surface with sanitizer.

If you want to take it farther, don't work in the direct air flow of any vents or fans.

 

[zoomzilla]

Nothing much. Just a spray bottle of starsan or rubbing alcohol to sanitize my flask and foil. Yeast is pretty hearty stuff.

 

[Natdavis777]

Same as the rest. Im not in the OR. When making a starter, my pots boils the DME+water solution and I have my flasks filled with starsan solution. Ill cool my pots without covers in the sink with an ice water batch. 10-15 min later, when they reach the 60sF Ill pour a flask out (of diluted starsan) over my funnel, and funnel the wort into the flask. Same process with the other flask. Spray the yeast pack/harvested yeast jar with starsan, and pour into flask.

Keeping everything clean is very important in brewing, dont get me wrong. When making your starter, or beer, even, you are introducing 100's of billions of cells of yeast. They will far outnumber the thousands of bacterial cells that may make their way in. This, by no accounts, means scratch being sanitary. Im just saying, you dont have to kill yourself in the process. Sanitize your equiptment and instruments, and everything should be good. Brew on!