I'm SUCH an IDIOT!!!

[HarkJohnny]

I never knew it, but just realized it reading some of the posts around the board this morning.... that.....PBW isn't a sanitizer, just a cleaner. No wonder my last two or three batches got infected! I basically didn't have anything sanitized!

DAMN ME! Off to the LHBS to get some sani powder. duh!

[fretlessman71]

At least you tried to do it - my first batch didn't have any sanitation because, basically... I forgot. :( I feel for you!

[HogieWan]

Can't you just use some bleach?

[HarkJohnny]

that's been my only saving grace hogie.... i did use bleach after the PBW for this last brew... hoping and keeping the fingers crossed for the best!

[Stodbrew]

Just make sure you rinse the hell out of your equipment to get rid of all of the bleach. Otherwise you will get some chlorophenols in your beer, making it taste and smell of band-aids.

[HogieWan]

So as long as you rinse well, bleach is just as good as anything else, right?

[Stodbrew]

Well, bleach is a very effective sanitizer, but there are better ones out there. Some no rinse ones, but I'm not sure what the names are. I'm sure someone else can give you the names of those.

[Grog]

Star San and Sani Clean from Five Star and Brite-San by Wesmar are a few.

-G-

[HogieWan]

But bleach is really cheap. It's worth a few more minutes of rinsing.

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by Grog
Star San and Sani Clean from Five Star and Brite-San by Wesmar are a few.

-G-

Five Star chemicals are some of the best on the market. There is a difference between the 2 chemicals though. While they are both an acid anionic, Star San is formulated to be a high foaming agent meant for manual cleaning like a home brewer performs. Sani Clean is a low foaming solution meant to be used in a CIP (Clean In Place) application like that in a brewery.

Star San is a bit more expensive but is used in a much smaller amount then Sani Clean, about 5 times less or 1 oz in 4 USG. Both are no rinse and will not have any effect on the flavor. I used them both exclusively for my last 4 years in the brewery and love them.

Of course if you are feeling ballsy and can get your hands on it peroxyacetic acid is fun to play with....NOT!!! I am sure Stod has some fun stories about it too.

[BluesHarp]

Hey Brewmonkey (or anyone else) :) ...

I've been using "One Step No-Rinse Cleanser" distributed by L.D. Carlson.
I have had no infection problems and have not noticed any off flavors, but have heard that it is not really a sanitizer.

What do you know about this product?

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by BluesHarp
Hey Brewmonkey (or anyone else) :) ...

I've been using "One Step No-Rinse Cleanser" distributed by L.D. Carlson.
I have had no infection problems and have not noticed any off flavors, but have heard that it is not really a sanitizer.

What do you know about this product?

From what I know about it, it is a "sani" but only in the way that when the crystals disolve in water they release hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) . There is a reason you do not see it being used in breweries though and that is not a cost reason I am sure.

http://www.brewingtechniques.com/library/backissues/issue4.6/miller.html#hydro

The link has some info on what H2O2 can do in a brewing environment.

[BluesHarp]

Thanks...I'll give that a read.

OK...after reading that, it doesn't sound to me like the slight bit of product remaining on the surface of my equipment will really cause any problem, but I sure wouldn't want to pour any into my wort!
I believe I will buy some Star-San when my One Step runs out, it seems like the popular choice and has the least amount of potential risk.

Cheers!

[Stodbrew]

Oh, I've definitely had my fun with peroxyacetic acid. It's a great sanitizer, but some really nasty stuff. Just the smell of it gets your nostrils burning like crazy. When you get it on your skin, it turns it an amazing white color. Unnaturally so. And it kind of burns and itches at the same time. Cool stuff. :p

[HarkJohnny]

thank you for your insight gentlemen..... there's a reason I love this place!

[Fly Creek]

Doesn't anyone use B-Brite anymore? I use it for stainless and never seem to have had a problem.

For glass and plastic, I use bleach (mostly because it's so readily available when the nearest LHBS is a mail order away).

[toneyc]

I'm a star-san convert! At first, I used bleach, but I could rinse and rinse and rinse and still smell it. I found out later that there was also too much chlorine in my water. Ruined several batches with just my water alone! So I went to Iodophor which was nice because it was a no rinse product but my troubles didn't end there. I am not the most graceful individual in the world, especially with a couple of beers in me, so trying to work with Iodophor was frustrating because everything it touches turns purple. The counter top, Wifey's nice white utensils, my skin, everything! Then I read Brewmonkey's posts about Star-san and decided to pick some up. I got sticker shock pretty bad when I first bought it, but that one bottle has lasted me over a year, I think. $16 a year ain't bad for a good sanitizer that has a built in measuring device, and is reuseable for quite some time.

Oh! And I found out yesterday something that has nagged at me for a while. Remember the statement that Star-san is reuseable until it gets cloudy? For me, it had always been cloudy even when I first mixed it. Well, I've moved recently and I now have a water softener. I mixed up my Star-san as usual yesterday and it was clear as a bell. Made me wonder if something was wrong.

:)
Toney.

[kevin]

With Star San you won't get any off flavors from the foam? I use SS for my kegs but always rinse the foam out.

[BrewDog]

Kevin-

I rack directly on the foam with no off flavors. I try to let as much of it drain out as I can, but there's no reason to rinse it. Really!

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by Stodbrew
Oh, I've definitely had my fun with peroxyacetic acid. It's a great sanitizer, but some really nasty stuff. Just the smell of it gets your nostrils burning like crazy. When you get it on your skin, it turns it an amazing white color. Unnaturally so. And it kind of burns and itches at the same time. Cool stuff. :p

I bought some for my new brite tanks and the only thing Charlie had was a 15USG carboy with the pump, so I bought it. I love the stuff but man it SMELLS!!! I also disliked the amount you needed to use and that it was so caustic to skin. I came home many days with white burns or worse holes in my shirts.

I switched to 5% Chlorine Dioxide as my alternate and got rid of peroxyacetic. I liked to alternate my routine with the sani to ensure that whatever strain of bacteria/mild was groing in the ice house would not become resistant.

[Stodbrew]

I like to switch up my sanitizers every now and then, too. Don't want anything to get too used to the same sanitizer and become resistant to it. But I would always go back to the peroxyacetic acid because I know it so well.


Although, when I would switch to something else, I didn't miss the nice white burns on my skin and the burning nostrils of the perosan. And I'd still find ways to burn holes in all of my shirts. Damn that caustic! :D

[fuji6100]

Fly,

I don't think B-brite is a sanitizer. I'm pretty sure it is just a cleansing agent for getting crud off. When I have more time (at work now) I'll double check.

[fuji6100]

Fly,

I guess I was wrong. I just checked about 12 sites at random, and most bill it as purely a cleanser, but a few bill it as a sanitizer (with prolonged contact time and must rinse)

Sounds like too much work to me :P

[crashbobo]

I am pretty sure B-Brite is a sanitizer also. I recently picked up some cheapo generic Oxyclean for cleaning my used kegs and the ingredients in B-Brite and this cleanser are pretty close with the B-Brite having an acid added. I have heard Oxyclean will not sanitize so I could be wrong.

Here's a link that says its a sanitizer (http://beersummit.com/customer/product.php?productid=16175&cat=264&page=1)

[toneyc]

Note: be careful about leaving Oxyclean in your kegs. I ruined one by leaving oxyclean in it for two weeks.

:)
Toney.

[Fly Creek]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I have been using B-brite as a sanitizer since my first batch in 1990 without any problems. This leads to three possible conclusions:

1. B-brite is indeed a sanitizer.
2. B-brite is not a sanitizer, and over the course of a decade and a half I have believed that contaminated beer tastes pretty good.
3. I'm old.

Now for another question... I have read rave reviews about other sanitizers (especially Star San). I ferment in a stainless conical. It seems to me that it would be very expensive to use something like Star San to sanitize something that is to big and unwieldy to swirl around. Any thoughts?

[HogieWan]

I just got a homebrew kt for christmas and it came with C-Brite. It says it's a "one-step no rinse sanitizer." Anyone heard of this one?

[brewmonkey]

Originally posted by HogieWan
I just got a homebrew kt for christmas and it came with C-Brite. It says it's a "one-step no rinse sanitizer." Anyone heard of this one?

Anything that says one step cleaner/sanitizer should be ditched quickly. C-brite is a chlorine based cleaner/sani and IMHO chlorine has NO plce in brewing. Over use can lead to chlorophenols in your product as well Chlroine based products must be rinsed and I have a hugh problem with anything called a sanitizer that has to be rinsed.

[YamahaXS]

I am still a bleach boy. Rinse well and be careful to avoid prolonged contact with Stainless Steel. Perhaps someday I will move to a more modern sanitizer.

[HogieWan]

I think I'm using bleach for a while, too. I just feel the need to rinse well, no matter what the package says. Plus I can get gallon for a dollar.

[toneyc]

All it takes is one ruined batch of beer and you've more than paid for a large bottle of Star-san.

:)
Toney.

[Grog]

And once you switch to a no-rinse sanitizer, you will kick yourself for not trying it sooner. Believe ME!

-G-