Chris Schiffer On Sanitation
<editor's note>
From the Northern Brewer Newsletter
As you read this, keep in mind that the first three rules of good brewing are:
1. Sanitation
2. Sanitation
3. Sanitation
Also keep in mind that Hogtown Brewers made a bulk purchase of StarSan and PBW.
The StarSan has all found homes, but there is plenty of PBW available - at
approx half the retail cost. This is another benefit of your HB membership.
Contact Wayne to get some PBW for your brewery.
</editor's note>
Questions always come up around the issue of sanitation, so for this months article I thought I would tackle the subject. We must all accept that our beer, no matter how well we sanitize, is infected. If good sanitation is practiced this infection doesn't perceivably affect the flavor of the beer. It is not if the beer is infected, but how bad the infection gets. The job of sanitation is to keep the number of spoilage organisms down to a point where they have difficulty growing to numbers that will affect the taste of beer. Good sanitation procedures will almost guarantee this will be the case. Bad sanitation procedures don't guarantee that you will get bad beer, but the risks are higher. There are a number of products that are sold to homebrewers to accomplish sanitation and they all have their benefits and drawbacks. Later I will give a rundown of the products that Northern Brewer sells. Be aware that some products are not sanitizers, but rather they are cleansers meant for cleaning. Good clean equipment is the beginning of good sanitation, and cleansers have there place making sure that beerstone, caked on yeast, protein, oils, and other residues of brewing can be easily removed and won't serve as a breeding ground for spoilage organisms. Only once a surface is clean can it be sanitized. There are two basic schools of thought on sanitation. The first school uses very strong and powerful sanitizers like caustic lye or chlorine to sanitize tough equipment like stainless steel or glass and then will rinse with scalding hot water until all traces of the sanitizing solution are gone. This is typical in commercial breweries where clean in place systems and safety gear keep the workers safe from these dangerous but effective sanitizers. Bleach water and a good hot rinse is the home version of this school of thought. The second school is to use milder sanitizing solutions such as mild acid sanitizers, oxygen bleaches, or iodine bases sanitizers that don't need to be rinsed away. This type of sanitation is more typically used in homebrewing. Switching gears a bit I think it is useful to emphasize that sanitation is only as good as your dirtiest piece of equipment. Sanitation can be ruined, along with your beer, by having a "weak link". Most often this link is a piece of siphoning hose, but many plastic or rubber pieces are more difficult to effectively clean and then sanitize. Vinyl hose is inexpensive and I often replace hose If I think it may be suspect. Now for an overview of some of the products Northern Brewer stocks. Sanitizers Star San: Star San uses a combination of two food grade acids to form a unique and effective no-rinse foaming sanitizer. It has little odor and will not stain surfaces when used as directed. It is a very popular sanitizer in commercial breweries. Star San will leave behind a thin acidic film that will keep surfaces sanitized for up to a week. It is safe on glass, stainless steel, and plastic. Star San can be used as a liquid, or shaken to produce economical sanitizing foam. Star San will continue to be effective as long as the solution has a pH of less than 3. Star San solution will also turn opaque and white as it loses sanitizing power. Any residual Star San foam or residue will have no affect on the yeast or on beer flavor and aroma, and may even improve head retention. Star San has a contact time of only 30 seconds One-step: One-step releases oxygen into solution in a way that forms hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide kills bacteria and other infectious organisms. Hydrogen peroxide then degrades into water and oxygen and the only residue is a thin film of minerals that are naturally found in most water supplies. One-step is not labeled as a sanitizer because the producer has not chosen to apply with the FDA for that designation. One step is mixed at one tbsp. per gallon of warm water. One-step should not be used with hard water (over 200ppm total hardness). One step has no listed contact time, but in our experience 2 minutes is effective. BTF Iodophor: Iodophors are some of the most popular sanitizers in the food service and dairy industry. They are very economical and use iodine to eliminate infectious organisms. 1/2 fluid ounce of BTF Iodophor in 5 gallons of cool water will make an effective no rinse sanitizing solution. Any residual iodine is at dietary levels and will not harm yeast or perceivably alter beer flavor. The color of the solution will fade as it losses sanitizing power. Test strips to monitor sanitizing power can also be obtained from BTF for FREE. Iodophors will stain skin, plastics, wood, and other surfaces. Will not stain glass. Avoid contact with eyes, serious injury can result. Iodophor has a 2-5 minute contact time depending on solution strength. Cleansers Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW): PBW is a very effective alkali cleanser. It is environmentally friendly and safe on septic systems. It will work in cold or warm water and in soft or hard water. PBW is safe on stainless steel, glass, plastic, and many other surfaces. It was originally formulated as a clean in place (CIP) cleanser for the Coors brewery. Works well in the dishwasher to remove suborn stains from plates and glassware, and can be used as an overnight soak to cut grease and burnt on residues from bakeware, pots and pans. Mix 1/2 tbsp. per gallon of water for light cleansing or up to 2 tbsp. for heavy soils and overnight soaking. B-Brite: B-Brite is another alkali cleanser similar to PBW. B-Brite is lower in price, but not as powerful as PBW. B-Brite is safe on septic systems and safe for use on stainless steel, glass, plastic, and many other surfaces. B-Brite does require warm water and is not effective in hard (more than 200 ppm total hardness) water.
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