Beardy wrote:Is there a cleaning and sanitation FAQ on here, as having a quick look down the list there seems to be a lot of repetition in teh questions, though slightly different each time. I'll he here until my first brew is fit for drinking if I try and read (and understand
)all that lot.
There used to be a lot more info but then a member left and took all his posts with him leaving forum somewhat bereft of this former info - some ltd info at:
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/hints_tips.htm
The questions I'm thinking of are:
Beardy wrote:What's the best sterilisation method?
Thorough cleaning followed by effective sterilisation.
How this is achieved is open to many views and interpretations, is 'best' characterised by ease, reliability, cost or hassle?
Beardy wrote:What's the best sterilisation fluid/powder,
In my opinion Oxy or Soda Crystals or VWP to clean
Star San to sanitise
Beardy wrote:does my tap water make any difference?
Depending on what you;re using yes - e.g. starsan is affected by alkalinity so using asda bottled water is a good bet unless your water is VERY soft.
Beardy wrote:Can there really be such a thing as no rinse sterilising flud?
YES - starsan is a no-rinse sanitiser specially developed for the dairy and brewing industries, it's no-rinse and the foaming agent breaks down into a form that yeast can actualluy digest!
Beardy wrote:What about rinsing freshly sanitised equipment, aren't I defeating the object?
Not really - tap watrer is pretty sterile, not totally but not bad so it doesn't defeat the purpose but does render it less sanitised.
Beardy wrote:Can the hydrometer and thermometer be left in sanitisation fluid whilst fermentaion is going on, is there a best solution for this?
Guess so - but why? Why not take off a smaple and test it, drink it to see how fermentation is progressing and chuck it rather than risk infection? You're not going to miss 300ml for 3 samples but will miss 23l for trying to put those 300 ml back!
Beardy wrote:How long is a mix of fluid good for? If I was doing bottles, could I poor it form one to the other?
Star San is good for a LONG time if alkalinity is right and it's kept out of bright light.
[quote="Beardy"All these questions are before I even get onto the subject of cleaning, as I've not had to do any yet,so not sure what to expect?[/quote]
Do it immediately and do it well and don';t scratch tyhr plastic - oxy or soda crystals are grerat, VWP is also fine and acts to sanitise as well but needs a LOT of d=rinsingl. Personally I go belt-and-braces: Clean with oxy, after use, clean with VWP before use and then rinse out with campden tablet in water to neutralise chlorine then spray with star san... Overkill probably but I lsot 3 batches in a row. If I'm in a rush then its clean with oxy, rinse and star san only...
[quote="Beardy"If there isn't a GCF 101, perhaps this post could form the basis of it and Mr Jim could then start a wiki section on the forum? (It's just a thought
)[/quote]
I think that's the point of the new 'Brewniversity'
http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/home_brew_faq-index.htm but dnot sure if it will be a wiki (hope so!)
