Sanitation Procedures

[Tweek]

I haven't had a totaly ruined batch yet but I'd like some tips to avoid ruined batches in the future.
Right now I'm using a coopers kit food grade plastic fermenter as my main fermenter and a glass carboy as my secondary. I like to transfer to secondary for a few weeks and then back into my main fermenter as a bottling bucket as it's got a handy dandy spiggot on it.

I am using a bleach solution to sanitize currently and this BBrite stuff to scrub off the bulk of the crud. Is there anything out there you recomend for better and quicker sanitation procedure? When I brew I like to keep a pot of boiling water going for quick sanitation of things like by brew spoon and funnel... I just don't feel like my procedures are enough.

One big concern I have is rinsing after dumping the bleach solution. I rinse really well with hot water until I can't smell bleach anymore. I'm afraid boiling water to rinse with sanitized water just isn't practicle. I am trying to reduce the time it takes to brew right now and that just increases it. Am I really risking infection rinsing my newly sanitized fermenter with hot water? I have heard of no rinse sanitizers but the concept sounds weird to me... you don't have to rinse after? Won't that impart a weird taste in my brew once I add it to the newly sanitized fermenter? I've also heard of using an iodine solution but I don't want to stain my fermenter.

Lemme hear some ideas of some sanitizers I can use and some good procedures. Thanks for any advice guys.

[Mylo]

Star San. I started using it two years ago, and I will never use anything else. The stuff is magic.

Don't fear the foam. Save that bleach for your tighty whities.


Mylo

[ColdBraue]

+1 on the StarSan.
The magic combination of cleaning and sanitizing is PBW and then StarSan. You can use a very soft sponge for the really stuck on stuff, but PBW should get rid of most deposits without scrubbing, meaning less work for you!
Plus StarSan is actually really cheap per gallon of solution, easy to use, and works wonders. Plus you don't have to worry about off flavors like you do with Bleach.
Go with the PBW/StarSan combo and fear no more.
Cheers!

[bewm]

StarSan all the way. PBW rocks too, but if you are looking to save a few bucks Sun Oxygen Cleaner is basically the same thing. I use PBW on the important/expensive stuff, and Sun on the rest.

I've never used bleach and never would. I think you'll be very pleased once you start using StarSan.

Lastly, if you're scrubbing then you're doing something wrong. Follow the PBW instructions (soak in hot water) and you'll be a convert in no time.

[rhino777]

+1 Iodophor

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

+1 Iodophor

+2 My water is hard, so StarSan doesn't work very well. I use iodophor to sanitize.

[bewm]

I use Iodophor on bottles (less foaming in the push-down-spray-thingy) but that's about it.

[Henway]

Sorry, but this is my pet-peeve, but PLEASE use the correct stuff.

Bleach isn't correct. Oxyclean isn't correct. Bleach leaves residue, which you have to rinse off with water. So with potentially dirty rinse water, you're back to square one. Oxyclean doesn't have surfactants and just doesn't work as well as PBW. You wanna do a massive kill or whiten stuff, then use bleach, but then you're going to have a 3 step process.

As other people have said, use PBW to get the crud off. With your plastic, NEVER use a scrubbie. Only a sponge. It's as if someone DESIGNED PBW for our use. It's perfect. Use it. Then put in iodophor/Star-San. It's a two-stage process and there's no shortcuts. Really, we should all be grateful that someone's developed something PERFECT for us. Use recommended mixing strengths.

Sure, they're more expensive, but consider this: you're paying your money to your LHBS and it's the RIGHT thing to do. Plus, a batch of ruined beer is at a minimum $20, and you'll probably have more than one ruined batch before you find out you have a problem.

Pay the man and smile about it--no sanitation worries any more. You're doing the right thing.

Now for the other pet-peeve: don't get me started on the people who want to ferment in pickle/free/Home Depot buckets instead of just buying the RIGHT buckets at their LHBS. Right tool for the job and all that...