How sanitary/aseptic are we?

[aggieactuary]

For those that use non-latex gloves, are you using nitrile? Are you using non-latex for a specific reason? Allergies?

I'm just wondering if there's a latex reaction to some sanitizing agent or other brewing agent.

 

[RegionalChaos]

Oxygen based cleaner, then star san, bare hands, but I get plenty of star san on them...

Same here..

 

[Bsquared]

pjj2ba, I think thats a very good Idea to be mindful of where your contamination sources are, like dust from grains and wind.Wearing gloves and washing up well after milling will reduce your risk of bringing some thing over from the grains to the cooled wort. And like you I don't wear gloves when I brew, though the Bilchmann brewing gloves I've always wanted to get a pair to protect my hands during brewing.

I also work in a lab, and work using sterile techniques, like the OP. But one thing that always gets me, is that when people who have not been acquainted with sterile techniques used for working with biologicals tend to think of the latex glove, and other pieces of personal safety equipment as a shield from contaminating their work.

Gloves are only more sanitary than your hands when they are first put on and before you touch anything. It always fun to watch some one walking around the lab with their gloves on, and go straight in the the hood to do tissue culture work with out changing gloves or spraying them down with 70% EtOH, and the next day they are confused why some thing other than their cells is growing in their flasks.

I think my point here is for all the people who are thinking about incorporating gloves into their brew day. Gloves are to protect you not your work. If you use them, change them often. be mindful of what you touch and when you are touching it, and wash your hands and arms frequently, just like you do with out gloves...right. Determine when and where your most sensitive steps are in the brewing process. ie, post boil, pitching, racking, packaging and dispensing (if you are kegging) and be extra diligent at these points. Incorporate a mandatory hand washing after the boil, and before pitching.

 

[Munsoned]

I brew sour beers, so contamination comes with my "brewery territory." I basically just try not to sneeze on the beer.

J/K. I actually start with Oxiclean to clean/get the chunks out, then Iodophor, then re-sanitize AGAIN with Star San. I don't use gloves, but I don't touch anything with my hands unless they've just come out of the bucket of Star San solution themselves.

 

[Bigscience]

Do you seriously have an autoclave set up within your home?

Not in my house, at my place of employment. We're talking large too, not the little countertop dentist office ones.

 

[DeeDub76]

They would go stupid here (my employer) if I toted in a few cases of bottles to run through the autoclave. But that is awesome that you can!

 

[Delorean1981]

Thoughts? You can tell me I'm a crazy anal SOB if you want, I don't mind.

:rockin:

I actually wanted to ask this a while back. I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe myself and guard myself against putting anything in a fresh brew so I go to these extremes too, nearly to the 'T' as you. I even wear a bandana to prevent any stray (balding) hairs from falling in.

But it tastes good!

 

[andysim]

Wow.... that's some pretty insane measures. I just wash my equipment out which is usually clean anyway because I clean after every batch as well. Then I fill up the fermenter I'll be using full of a starsan solution. I mix it around then dump the starsan solution into another bucket and use it to sanitize anything else I'll be using in the brewing process.

+1 on that

 

[Bigscience]

They would go stupid here (my employer) if I toted in a few cases of bottles to run through the autoclave. But that is awesome that you can!

So would mine. That's why I make sure they don't know about it. It pays to know the guy who runs that service. Back in college, it was the guy who taught me to brew and we autoclaved everything we could. I used to have a Pyrex carboy and we'd do that, the tubing and racking cane. Not that it mattered but because we could.