Sanitizing question

[Donutz]

People keep going on and on about sanitizing. I know that it is VERY important and should be done with as much things as possible. But then I read where people say to use tap water. Or Ice. Or even bottled water. I would have to ASSUME that the water company bottling the water did a decent job... but that is only an assumption...and we all know what happens when we assume. But if you are using tap water... when is the last time the faucet, plumbing, etc was sanitized? If I had to guess, Never. When they installed it in the house, there was probably dirt in it...or dust at the least. No one ever used bottle brushes in the lines and then sanitized before installing. What about the ice... how often do you sanitize the ice maker? The plastic line running behind the fridge and/or all of the components in the fridge to make sure it is perfectly sanitized??? I'm not trying to sound like an @SS... but it just makes me wonder. You take the time to sanitize everything you touch or that comes in contact with the beer.. Yet 95% of the beer is actually the water. At my work place years back, they actually took a test of the water from the water fountain and a test from the big 5 gallon water jug (polar water or culligan or whatever they had) and they said the water from the fountain was actually better for you. The jugged water had more contamination!!! Anyhow, it was just something I was thinking about and wondering about. Again, I know that I would rather sanitize anything and everything I can so that I know that it is the best product I can put out!

 

[MWM777]

For what it's worth, the water you use to brew the beer gets boiled, so a good majority gets sanitized that way. Most of the contaminants that you talk of in the water aren't the kinds that are strong enough to truly "infect" your batch.

 

[flars]

People keep going on and on about sanitizing. I know that it is VERY important and should be done with as much things as possible. But then I read where people say to use tap water.

Tap water is your personal well water. The bacteria in the subsurface purifies water seeping through it. If the ground water in the area of your well is contaminated a lot of people would be getting sick. If my neighbors aren't sick and I am not sick the water is good for brewing.

Remember the stories how people brewed beer for something to drink which would not make them sick. They used bad water to brew with.

Or Ice. Or even bottled water. I would have to ASSUME that the water company bottling the water did a decent job... but that is only an assumption...and we all know what happens when we assume.

Someone took a very good word in the English language and turned it into a very tired cliche because they had no knowledge to offer.

But if you are using tap water... when is the last time the faucet, plumbing, etc was sanitized? If I had to guess, Never. When they installed it in the house, there was probably dirt in it...or dust at the least. No one ever used bottle brushes in the lines and then sanitized before installing.

Water lines have been well rinsed. Dirt or soil is not necessarily dirty.

What about the ice... how often do you sanitize the ice maker?

Refrigerator ice makers are about the dirtiest ice there is. So is the part you store your leftovers in. We don't die.

The plastic line running behind the fridge and/or all of the components in the fridge to make sure it is perfectly sanitized???

All these parts are well rinsed.

I'm not trying to sound like an @SS... but it just makes me wonder. You take the time to sanitize everything you touch or that comes in contact with the beer.. Yet 95% of the beer is actually the water. At my work place years back, they actually took a test of the water from the water fountain and a test from the big 5 gallon water jug (polar water or culligan or whatever they had) and they said the water from the fountain was actually better for you. The jugged water had more contamination!!!

Did the water jug have contaminants or the mechanism it flowed through to get to the drinking cup?


Anyhow, it was just something I was thinking about and wondering about. Again, I know that I would rather sanitize anything and everything I can so that I know that it is the best product I can put out!

That is what we do with out going Howard Hughes.

Just felt a little light hearted before I start a Caribou Slobber.

 

[Desvio]

Also keeping in mind that the water system feeding your house is a closed system, making what characteristics your water has (mineral content, etc) unique, meaning if you and I brewed the exact same thing in the exact same way they will most likely taste different.


But for what 'bugs' may still exist, the environment of the wort alone before boiling is too much for them to survive in. Then add a boil, and fermentation, and all in an environment without oxygen, you really have to screw up to get an infection.

 

[Brew-Jay]

Maybe I'm missing something but it sounds like the OP is talking about sanitizing stuff pre-boil. The only equipment that needs to be sanitized is the stuff that will touch the wort after it has been cooled. Boiling the wort sanitized everything before the cooling takes place. So don't bother sanitizing your kettle, mixing spoon, mash tun, brew water, etc.

Now, if you are doing partial boils, then you have a point about the water. I've used filtered water (unsanitized) before to top off in the carboy without any problems. But you really should boil that water first to make sure it is sanitized.

 

[tooldudetool]

I have never had a problem topping off using straight tap water back when I did partial boil extract kits, and on every brew I've done with dry yeast I've used straight tap water to rehydrate it. I think the reality is that the water coming into your house has been filtered and sanitized already and there aren't a lot of "bugs" that live in the pipes, considering it's leak free, and there is an almost constant flow through them. Another thing to consider is that your beer does have bacteria and wild yeast in it already (unless you are brewing in a sterile lab environment). Do you shake your carboy to aerate the wort? That air you are mixing in has plenty of things floating around in it that are now in your wort. It's a matter of population numbers. Maybe there are a few hundred or even a few thousand wild yeast cells in your wort, but then you add 200 BILLION of your brewers yeast cells and they basically take the place over and leave nothing behind for the wild yeasts. People have been making beer long before they even understood the role yeast played in fermentation, and well before Starsan was invented. It's a matter of minimizing infection risk, not completely eliminating it.