Proper cleaning of all supplies and equipment is key to brewing a good beer. Here is everything you need to know about how to sanitize for homebrewing.
Proper cleaning is an important first step for brewing beer at home. It is the best way to ensure that you brew a delicious-tasting beer.
Sanitation kills off all the free-range yeasts, fungus, and bacteria, making sure that your beer is only fermenting with the specific strains of yeast that you want to use, otherwise you might end up with a bad-tasting skunky beer.
– Of course sour beer is delicious, but only if you know what bacterial culture you are using.-
Basic Sanitizing Guidelines:
- Don’t sanitize for homebrewing by putting your supplies in the dishwasher or oven. It’s risky, and what’s the point of spending a day brewing just to make skunky beer? If you’re taking the time and money to make homebrew, you might as well make good homebrew.
- Boiling for 5 minutes will sanitize glass. However, since most airlocks and tubing are plastic, boiling is not a good option for homebrewers.
- A commercial sanitizer is really the best way to sanitize your bottles and brewing equipment. I usually fill up one of my sinks with chlorine sanitizer, and keep all my equipment stored there while I’m brewing. Just follow the instructions on the package for mixing and rinsing.
Here are the steps to cleaning and sanitizing before brewing
- Pull your hair back.
- Wash your hands and sing three verses of “99 bottles of beer on the wall” under the running water before touching any of the brewing equipment.
- Wipe down your counters with a sanitation solution.
- Sanitize all of your equipment.
- Never EVER towel dry your equipment.
Common Types of Sanitizer
Wondering what type of sanitizer to buy? Here are a few common options:
- Pink chlorine sanitizer powder: Equipment cleaned in chlorine-based sanitizers need to be rinsed well before use. Chlorine will also kill brewing yeasts and it doesn’t taste good. Officially, it’s risky to use tap water for rinsing… but I have never had an issue with contamination from my tap. If you use well water you probably want to buy water for rinsing.
- Star San: This is a food-grade phosphoric acid that is odorless and flavorless. When diluted for sanitizing, it doesn’t need to be rinsed off. However, you should wear gloves because the acid (pH of 3 or lower) is harsh on your skin. Also, don’t leave your metal and plastic implements soaking in Star San, because a long exposure to acid will harm them.
- One Step: One Step is an oxygen-based cleaner that doesn’t require rinsing. It is not technically a sanitizer, however, many homebrewers find that it is good enough for sanitizing their equipment and bottles. Just don’t use it on beer bottle caps, because it might react with the different coatings. Boil your caps instead, it helps to soften their seals anyway.
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