Sanitizing

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Tielson's

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When it comes to Sanitizing should i give my whole kitchen a scrub down before starting?

also what is some good sanitizer, how long should i let the bottles and fermenters sit in the water to sanitize? sorry i am asking so many questions. I just want to do things right.
 
It wouldn't hurt, but it's not necessary - unless, of course, your kitchen is a total disaster.
 
Unless your kitchen is especially dirty or dusty, you don't need to scrub down everything. Any surfaces that will come in contact with any of your equipment or materials should do the trick. As far as a sanitizer goes, Star-San is the only way to go. Short contact time, long shelf life, and no stink or stain.

Spray all your brewing equipment down with star-san (get a little spray bottle from Wallyworld for this), and make sure it's wet for 2 minutes. For bottles, get a bottle washer, a bottle tree, and a bottle rinser (Sulfiter), you'll thank me later... :mug:
 
Adolphus79 said:
Unless your kitchen is especially dirty or dusty, you don't need to scrub down everything. Any surfaces that will come in contact with any of your equipment or materials should do the trick. As far as a sanitizer goes, Star-San is the only way to go. Short contact time, long shelf life, and no stink or stain.

Spray all your brewing equipment down with star-san (get a little spray bottle from Wallyworld for this), and make sure it's wet for 2 minutes. For bottles, get a bottle washer, a bottle tree, and a bottle rinser (Sulfiter), you'll thank me later... :mug:
I agree.

I spray my bottle tree from the top while spinning it slowly then spray the lower branches before spraying the bottles.

For the sulfiter (bottle sprayer/washer) I recommend using Iodophor since there aren't any bubbles/foam to deal with as with Star San.
 
get a bottle washer, a bottle tree, and a bottle rinser (Sulfiter), you'll thank me later...

Or keg. You'll thank everyone but Adolphus later. :)

Seriously thought, +1 for Star-San. I switched to that from OneStep and it's great. Scrubbing down the kitchen isn't needed unless your countertops are supporting their own ecosystems - in which case you've got bigger issues to address than brewing.

Being lax is the quickest way to contaminate a batch, not brewing in the wrong environment. Forgetting to re-santize your spoon before whirlpooling the cooling wort is many times more likely to contaminate your beer the stuff growing in your drain since it comes in contact with the post-boil wort.
 
I just bought some san star and it says one ounce for every 5 gallons of water. So do i fill my carboys up with water and than 1 ounce of san star??? after I do that how long do i let it sit for before dumping and using???
 
Most of us make 5 gal batches for washing/rinsing out hands, soaking utensils, hydrometers,etc in.

I store mine in a primary bucket (gallon measurement lines on outside). It should last a couple of months, but I like to switch mine out every month. I also have a spray bottle that I refill with the new stuff every time I make a new batch.

You don't need to fill the container you're sanitizing. All you need is a minimum of 30 secs contact time. Some people do it for 2 minutes. But it really doesn't "need" to "soak", just be wet.

Pour some in the container and give it a shake then dump it back into the holding container. ;) :D

When I'm sanitizing bottles I'll make up a small batch of Iodophor. This keeps the bubbles to a minimum when using the bottling tree (sulfiter) sprayer.

Iodophor is only good for 24 hours, but SS will last for months under the right conditions.
 
homebrewer_99 said:
Most of us make 5 gal batches for washing/rinsing out hands, soaking utensils, hydrometers,etc in.

I store mine in a primary bucket (gallon measurement lines on outside). It should last a couple of months, but I like to switch mine out every month. I also have a spray bottle that I refill with the new stuff every time I make a new batch.

You don't need to fill the container you're sanitizing. All you need is a minimum of 30 secs contact time. Some people do it for 2 minutes. But it really doesn't "need" to "soak", just be wet.

Pour some in the container and give it a shake then dump it back into the holding container. ;) :D

When I'm sanitizing bottles I'll make up a small batch of Iodophor. This keeps the bubbles to a minimum when using the bottling tree (sulfiter) sprayer.

Iodophor is only good for 24 hours, but SS will last for months under the right conditions.

I was under the impression that iodophor is good as long as the concentration stays above 12.5 ppm. Many places sell testing strips so you can test if the concentration is strong enough. Anyways iodophor seems pretty cheap considering 2 cap fulls per 5 gallons will give you 12.5 ppm.
 
so I am starting in a hour, so do i just pour a little bit if pure sanitizer in the carboy or do i mix it with water. after i dump out the sanitizer how long i have to wait till i fill it up the cider and beer? can it go right in or do i have to let it dry
 
You mix the Starsan with water according to the directions.
Slosh it around to make sure the entire container comes into contact with it, wait for 30 seconds (I think 5 star recommend 2 minutes, but I'm impatient), drain till it stops pouring out, then fill with beer or cider.
Ignore the foam in the sanitized container. It looks bad, bur isn't.

-a.
 
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