Sanitizing mash tun for berliner weisse

[Beeradise]

I am planning on doing a berliner weisse when the temperature starts cooling off. I am planning on using a partial runoff decoction boil, but not a full wort boil.

My question is will One-Step or Easy Clean be good enough to sanitize my cooler? Or should I PBW the thing? I keep it clean anyway, but don't usually take any steps other than a good scrub down since I am going to boil for at least 60 minutes normally.

The one thing I am worried about with the PBW is if it could possibly eat away the polystyrene insulation if it gets behind the lining of the cooler.

 

[nukebrewer]

For anything pre-boil, all you need to do is make sure it's clean. As you said, you're going to boil which will sanitize the pot and wort. Once you start chilling, though, anything that touches the wort must be sanitized.

 

[Beeradise]

A berliner weisse does not get boiled the same as normal clean beer does, hence I will have to rely on a very clean mash tun to make sure I only get a lactobacillus infection...I don't really want any acetobacter and since there are parts that may be affected by the chemicals (the polystyrene) I would rather know before I sanitize to sanitize hard or soft...

 

[HollisBT]

Do a short boil (about 10-15 minutes) and pitch your lacto.

I tried to sour a mash once, never again...

 

[Beeradise]

Do a short boil (about 10-15 minutes) and pitch your lacto.

I tried to sour a mash once, never again...

LoL If you don't mind my asking what were the flavors? Did it just have a bunch of acetobacter in it or was it something even more malevolent than that?

I do have some soured oak beans (about 2 oz. worth) I might be able to use to inoculate...or I could just make a lacto starter with a handful of grain in a starter solution...I don't really like Wyeast Lacto though, it isn't aggressive enough for me. Upside with the beans is that they have brett in them too, downside is they probably have pedio in them as well considering I inoculated the sour they were helping age with the dregs from a bottle of Russian River's Consecration.

 

[HollisBT]

It had all sorts of awful... It smelled like garbage, I didn't even waste my yeast on it, just dumped it.

 

[CadillacAndy]

What temp are you mashing at? I usually mash in at around 160-165F, this really should be enough to pasteurize anything thats in there, especially of you let it sit for at least an hour or so. I usually pitch pre-cultured lacto when doing a sour mash rather than pitching grain after its cooled to 120~.

Keep in mind that pasteurization (in this case at least) is more like sanitizing than sterilizing, meaning that it gets unwanted microbes down to suitable levels, allowing the lacto that you introduce to take off.

 

[SecretBrew]

If you really want it clean why not runoff into your BK then boil for 15 min then pitch precultured lacto. either way I wouldnt worry about getting such a clean sourmash just sanitize as normal and try to keep the temperature up for the duration of the mash since the lacto likes it hot. I do my sourmash (wort only)in a 5g boil kettle and keep the temp @ 115 with a heating pad.

It had all sorts of awful... It smelled like garbage, I didn't even waste my yeast on it, just dumped it.

A sour mash usually has some sort of stink to it. I have had some worse than others but after fermentation all the garbage smell disappears and you are left with a fairly clean lactic acid. Its best to limit exposure to oxygen with saran wrap and or co2 purge to get a cleaner lacto fermentation.