Sanitizing

[kyoun1e]

Folks,

I have another thread out there right now and I've buried you all with questions around the brewing process. I figured I'd start a new thread to focus on another topic -- sanitization.

Again, I'm brewing a BSG White IPA.

A few questions:

1. Sanitization Timing -- When do you usually sanitize? Prior to starting the whole process? Or during the boil? Other? Just looking to maximize my time.

2. Starsan or Bust? This seems to be the preferred solution. Something called EZ Brite came with my kit but I also picked up some Starsand. A big benefit of Starsan seems to be no need to rinse...which brings me to my next question...

3. No Fear The Foam? With Starsan it says you don't have to rinse the foam out. I've watched videos where people are paranoid and rinse anyway.

4. Process -- I was going to go about it like this: Mix some Starsan and water in my carboy (via funnel...which would be sanitized). Swish it around to sanitize it and then dump that solution into a bucket. I'd then dump everything else in that bucket to sanitize the smaller items. I was also thinking of filling up a small spray bottle with Starsan solution to have at the ready.

5. Cleaning vs Sanitization -- If I have this right, you really only need to clean your pot for the brew and then you switch over to sanitization mode once you start cooling the wort. Just want to make sure I got that right.

6. Hands -- Do you wear gloves? Or do you just clean your hands and then as your sanitizing other items you're basically sanitizing your hands at the same time?

I'm moving right along here with learning the process.

Thanks in advance for any responses.

KY

 

[mongoose33]

Folks,

I have another thread out there right now and I've buried you all with questions around the brewing process. I figured I'd start a new thread to focus on another topic -- sanitization.

Again, I'm brewing a BSG White IPA.

A few questions:

1. Sanitization Timing -- When do you usually sanitize? Prior to starting the whole process? Or during the boil? Other? Just looking to maximize my time.

Santiize anything that comes in contact w/ the wort after boiling. Anything from tubing you're racking with to bottling bucket to fermenter, airlock, lid, stopper--it all gets sanitized.

You generally want to sanitize very close in time to when you use the item. I have a 5-gallon bucket of Star-San, I dunk things in there and pull them out when time to use. For the fermenter, I dump a pint or so of Star-San in there, swish around, then pour back into bucket. Then just before filling w/ wort, I'll do it one more time. Maybe more than I need, but I don't want infections.

2. Starsan or Bust? This seems to be the preferred solution. Something called EZ Brite came with my kit but I also picked up some Starsand. A big benefit of Starsan seems to be no need to rinse...which brings me to my next question...

No need to rinse, no flavor issues.....it works so well for so many, don't skimp and decide to try chlorine bleach, or some other half-measure.

3. No Fear The Foam? With Starsan it says you don't have to rinse the foam out. I've watched videos where people are paranoid and rinse anyway.

That's what paranoids do. I never rinse, and if you think about it, with what are you rinsing? Sanitized water? I don't think so. Don't fear the foam. Period.

4. Process -- I was going to go about it like this: Mix some Starsan and water in my carboy (via funnel...which would be sanitized). Swish it around to sanitize it and then dump that solution into a bucket. I'd then dump everything else in that bucket to sanitize the smaller items. I was also thinking of filling up a small spray bottle with Starsan solution to have at the ready.

Excellent process. I have four green small plastic spray bottles filled with Star San. I spray everything all the time--posts on kegs, quick disconnects, the spigot on my fermenters, tubing--spraying Star San is a good thing. And, don't fear the foam.

5. Cleaning vs Sanitization -- If I have this right, you really only need to clean your pot for the brew and then you switch over to sanitization mode once you start cooling the wort. Just want to make sure I got that right.

That's right--anything that's boiled or comes into contact with boiling wort for a few minutes will be sterilized.

6. Hands -- Do you wear gloves? Or do you just clean your hands and then as your sanitizing other items you're basically sanitizing your hands at the same time?

I don't wear gloves, but I also don't let the last thing a santiized item touch is my hands. You can't really sanitize your hands, too many crevices and such for bacteria to hide in.

If you're in doubt, sanitize. Won't hurt, may help, and you'll have peace of mind.

I'm racking beer into a fermenter as I write this. Sprayed the spigot, the posts on the keg, dumped the racking tubing in star-san, dunked the QD into Star-San, and so on.

 

[Nokie]

+1 to everything mongoose said. That's pretty much how I do it all to. I get everything out while I'm boiling and get my starsan in my bucket. Soon as I flame out I start sanitizing everything.
Plus a spray bottle comes in handy

 

[SlitheryDee]

Yeah that all looks good. Most of it is pretty common sense. Sanitized stuff doesn't stay sanitized indefinitely, so it follows that the earlier you can use it the better.

Starsan is just too easy to pass on, though there are other no rinse sanitizers that probably work practically as well.

Foam not bad. Foam good.

I leave the starsan in the fermenter until as close to when I'm going to put wort into it as is practical. I usually dump it into something else to sanitize my chiller, cap, airlock, and other various implements when there's about 10 minutes left in the boil.

When the wort's cool, it's fair game for bacteria. When it's hot, it kills bacteria. Sanitize stuff that will touch the cooled and cooling wort.

I do make sure to get plenty of sanitizer on my hands when I'm messing around with the cooled wort. Like mongoose said, you can't "really" sanitize them, but it's better than nothing. It isn't a big issue to make sure you grab things by the end that isn't going to touch the wort, or to give them a little dunk or spritz of sanitizer before you touch them to the wort after handling them. In my case that would just be the autosiphon because I will often use it to get the majority of the wort out of the kettle and into the fermenter before dumping the dregs in. That stuff can be heavy otherwise. Just sort of being aware of what you touched last and where is about as good as anyone does I think.

 

[violinguy]

I think everyone else pretty much covered it. Foam is what gets in the little nooks to sanitize so you definitely want it. I sanitize some equipment during mash and then I do the fermenter and accessories during the boil. The nice thing about starsan is, you can make 4-5 gallons of it, then use it again for a few weeks. One bucket does my brew day and bottling day. Once it gets cloudy, it's no good anymore.

 

[BigStew84]

See above...drink...repeat

 

[beermanpete]

All good info. I will add that sanitized aluminum foil is handy to cover the neck of the carboy or hole in the lid to your fermenter prior to installing the air lock or blow-off tube.

 

[mongoose33]

I think everyone else pretty much covered it. Foam is what gets in the little nooks to sanitize so you definitely want it. I sanitize some equipment during mash and then I do the fermenter and accessories during the boil. The nice thing about starsan is, you can make 4-5 gallons of it, then use it again for a few weeks. One bucket does my brew day and bottling day. Once it gets cloudy, it's no good anymore.

Actually, that may or may not be the case.

Star San is essentially a weak acid. I've read that as long as its pH stays below 3.0, it'll work fine. I keep Star San in a bucket and have done so for 2-3 months at a time. Sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's not. Once, for peace of mind, I checked the pH on a batch of fairly old Star San just to see if it was having an issue.

It was 2.5. Still good, even though it was somewhat cloudy and of course, there was remnants of beer in it

 

[violinguy]

Ooooh, that's good to know. I wonder how much Starsan I've wasted....

 

[kyoun1e]

Actually, that may or may not be the case.

Star San is essentially a weak acid. I've read that as long as its pH stays below 3.0, it'll work fine. I keep Star San in a bucket and have done so for 2-3 months at a time. Sometimes it's cloudy, sometimes it's not. Once, for peace of mind, I checked the pH on a batch of fairly old Star San just to see if it was having an issue.

It was 2.5. Still good, even though it was somewhat cloudy and of course, there was remnants of beer in it

So let me get this straight...you make a large mixture of starsan and water and it is effective for that long?

If that's the case, why isn't the first step in any process just make a huge bucket of starsan and dump everything in it?

I almost feel like I should have Starsan available at all times, everywhere. Bucket here...bucket there...spray bottle here.

 

[mongoose33]

So let me get this straight...you make a large mixture of starsan and water and it is effective for that long?

Yes. I put a lid on the bucket, but it'll be weeks and weeks before i change it. The one I have now is going for....probably 8 weeks or so.

If that's the case, why isn't the first step in any process just make a huge bucket of starsan and dump everything in it?

It is for me. There is no law in homebrewing that requires anyone to do things a certain way. Heck, I know one guy who sanitizes using bleach water in his sink, and then he rinses with his tap water which is drawn from a well. I think he's nuts, but his devotion to the craft, shall we say, is less that some other people.

All you can do is find what works best for you with your situation. I have a bucket of Star-San sitting on the floor in my garage near where I brew. If you live in a small apartment, perhaps that's not possible. Or perhaps you have aesthetic issues with a bucket just sitting there. Or perhaps you don't have a bucket. Or perhaps....

I almost feel like I should have Starsan available at all times, everywhere. Bucket here...bucket there...spray bottle here.

Well, having that 5-gallon bucket is standard for me. It's just easier to do it that way, the same with having small green spray bottles of Star-San. Why green? No particular reason, except I also have some blue ones I use during the boil (filled with water) to cool down any potential boilovers. So when I look for sanitizer to spray, GREEN is the answer. I keep one by the keezer, one by my ferm chamber, another in another place in my brew space....I buy 'em for a buck at Chinamart, in the aisle where they have the travel/sample sizes.



Like a lot of things, if you get in the habit of focusing on sanitation it becomes easy--you don't have to think about it. There isn't a question of "should I spray this with Star San"; I just do it

Here's a pic of my bucket I just took. I'm down about a gallon or maybe a gallon and a half. Over time it just disappears as it's used up. I dump star-san from swishing it around in my fermenter back into the bucket, but there are always losses. I keep my thief in there, a couple lids, a cottage cheese container for scooping some out, airlocks and stoppers, I'll dunk tubing in there to sanitize.

BTW, I don't leave vinyl tubing in there long-term. The other plastic you see in there, and the silicone gaskets on the fermenter lids aren't affected by the Star San. But if you leave vinyl tubing in there for weeks, it'll get slimy. So don't.

 

[Dcpcooks]

Don't forget to clean everything on the cold side with some form of alkaline cleaner and rinse with hot water prior to sanitizing. Remember you can't sanitize dirty stuff.

 

[mongoose33]

I brewed today and decided to test the pH of my Star San solution in the bucket.

That bucket has been sitting there for about 8 weeks; here it is:





And here's the pH of that solution:

 

[Brownalemikie]

I brewed today and decided to test the pH of my Star San solution in the bucket.

That bucket has been sitting there for about 8 weeks; here it is:


View attachment 403824


And here's the pH of that solution:


View attachment 403825

That's a pretty nice PH meter. I just use the little paper strips that turn red/orange.

 

[mongoose33]

That's a pretty nice PH meter. I just use the little paper strips that turn red/orange.

I never tried those. When I was looking for a pH meter the Milwaukee 102 had some pretty good reviews here and elsewhere.

What I kind of wish I'd done is buy an all-in-one unit like a Hach. When I'm calibrating I use little plastic cups that hold about 4ml (so I don't waste any calibration fluid). You can see them in the pic above.

They won't hold the probe w/o tipping over, whereas the Hach meters could just lean up against something. The wire on the probe on the Milwaukee makes it rather unwieldy, IMO.

Live and learn. The Hach is more expensive by about $25-30. Not sure it would have been worth that, but the meter I have works, at any rate.

 

[GHBWNY]

I try to use whatever has been soaked with StarSan while it is still wet. I rotate 4 bottles at a time through a deep plastic tray of SS while filling 4 others. I shake the SS in the bottle to work up the foam, drain it, set it on the counter and just before filling, give it a couple of good flicks to get any out of the bottle that has accumulated at the bottom. I also keep a SS-soaked dishtowel on hand to wipe down filled bottles and my hands. Using it while it is still wet is important to its effectiveness.