Sterilisation using bleach

[matc]

I made my first batch last saturday and i transfered my beer in the secondary bucket. But while i was cleaning and sterilising my siphon i was wondering if the bleach could ruin my beer even if i rinsed the siphon with boiled water...What stuff do you use ?

 

[SwAMi75]

Personally, I think bleach if fine as long as:

A) You don't use too much

B) You rinse really well

Sounds to me like you should be fine. Most folks recommend other cleaners like One Step or Iodophor (I use One Step), but if you're careful with it, I think bleach is probably the best thing for your money.

Just my opinion....again, I use One Step, but I'm lazy.

 

[matc]

Well i poor 5 tablespoon of bleach to 5 gallons of water, that's what i read on howtobrew.com. Are the no-rinse products very expensive ? Do they come in big size too ?

 

[SwAMi75]

You should check the prices at places such as: www.midwestsupplies.com or www.morebeer.com.

There are many no rinse products available from many retailers, in different quantities. Check out the above for some comparison shopping. I don't endorse either site....they're just the first ones to pop into my head.

Again, I think bleach gives you the best bang for the buck, if you use it properly. If you're using it according to the instructions on howtobrew.com, you're probably alright. Basically don't get drunk and use too much of it or forget to rinse it off....you should be fine.

 

[92greenyj]

we use bleach for all our sanitation needs. Havent had a problem with a batch yet. we have a five gallon bucket with a red "S" painted on it that we fill first thing with bleach water to sanitize everything throughout our brewing. Just gotta rinse everything really good.

 

[DyerNeedOfBeer]

This is from the thread No Rinse Sanitizers

http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article08290301.shtml

I read this article and will be tweaking the way I use my Iodophor. Just my opinion, but now that I have read this article I am even more satisfied with my choice of using Iodophor over bleach due to the rinsing requirements.

Sam75 is absolutely right though...

but if you're careful with it

refering to bleach here but this would apply to any choice of sanitizing agent.

 

[matc]

Is it important to rinse the sanitazed pieces with boiled water ?

 

[uglygoat]

i don't think he has a large enough sample of testors to draw any sound conclusions...

i think you should to rinse the !@#$t out of any carboy or bottle or siphon setup that will come into contact with the beer post wort boil.

i also think that teh old addage, if you can drink your tap water it is suitable for brewing holds true.

don't use the garden hose to rinse your stuff out

 

[andre the giant]

Is it important to rinse the sanitazed pieces with boiled water ?

I think that rinsing with boiling water is uneccessary. There are much more effective and less dangerous ways of sanitizing. Using grain alcohol like everclear, then flaming the mouth of the bottle seems to be effective. Right now I use a combination of bleach and Starsan. (not together in the same bucket mind you), but I use bleach on glassware, rinse like hell with room temp water, and usually give them a second round of sanitizing in a starsan solution. lf something lives through all that, I need to nuke the basement.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I've used bleach for many years and have had no problems whatsoever.

Just rinse everything off for a bit (a good 5-7 seconds) or several times (however you wish to describe it) using warm to hot tap water.

Incidently, after I soak my bottles in bleach water I usually just let them drip dry. Then I place a piece of aluminum foil on each one. This way they stay sanitized for up to a year (someone else's calculation, not mine). When you get ready to bottle all you have to do is rinse the bleach off.

Another benefit is by seeing the foil you can always tell which bottles are sanitized and which are just washed/rinsed. If you had as many cases of bottles as I have (20 plus) this example comes in very handy.

 

[tnlandsailor]

Procedures, especially sanitizing procedures, are a very personal thing. Everyone seems to do things a bit differently. The main reason I use Iodophor is that I'm lazy. Rinsing is another step and a big bottle of Iodophor lasts a loooooong time for most brewers. I still use bleach, but not for sanitizing. Bleach is a great cleaner for organic stuff like carboy crud. I don't like Star-San, the stuff just foams too much for me, that's just personal preference. If bleach works for you, it's certainly the cheapest option, but no-rinse sanitizers are a bit easier to work with and you eliminate the rinsing step.

Prosit,