Friday, 17 October 2014

Choosing The Best Brewery Sanitizer

By Dominique Martin


Good, clean and tasty beer comes out of clean and sanitized equipment. It does not matter if you are using grains, malt or by combining two or more ingredients. There are problems that are bound to arise if sanitation for the equipment is ignored. The choice of the wrong brewery sanitizer will significantly offset the taste of your beer which means a reduction in quality.

Bleach- bleaches are commonly used in many homes because they are cheap and easily available. You require a very small amount to clean several equipment. It also is very powerful when used in sanitizing. It must however be thoroughly rinsed off with a lot of water. This might negate the sanitizing element.

Sterilized water is used in cleaning brewing equipment. This will definitely increase brewing expenses. Bleach causes significant harm to your cloths, arms and eyes which makes it undesirable especially to persons with very sensitive skins. You will be required to work extra hard to rinse it off your equipment or risk introducing a foreign taste or odor.

One-Step- this sanitizer is oxygen based and accompanies many starter kits. It does not require rinsing and is therefore regarded as good cleaner. The problem is that it is no longer among the sanitizers approved by FDA. One-Step is generally considered a strong sanitizer and therefore disregarded by many brewers.

Iodophor- it rates high among sanitizers because of its effectiveness. You can buy it from online shops or brewery stores in your neighborhood. Its contact time is short since it is based on iodine. The strength means that it will stain your cloths and plastic bottles after several years of use. The odor left behind in cloths and equipment after use is very strong.

Star-Sun- its foaming characteristic pushes it into cracks and crevices which makes it a thorough sanitizer. Star Sun is a very strong agent and is only used in small quantities. It has colorless and odorless properties that make it desirable. It allows reuse as long as its pH remains below 3.

The effect Star Sun has on the hands includes making the skin feel and appear very dry. Many brewers are also very afraid of dealing with the foam. Some complains that it leaves a slippery surface, but this might be as a result of failure to rinse thoroughly. It is considered one of the best there is in the industry.

The best way to use Star Sun is to place it in a squirt bottle. This allows you to use it sparingly and therefore clean more equipment. By mixing it with reverse osmosis or distilled water, you have a chance to reuse the same solution on other equipment then discarding it.

The concentration of bacteria in your brewing equipment affects the quality of beer. The aim of sanitizing is to allow yeast to take charge of the fermentation process. When yeast dominates the process, it is controllable and gives excellent tasting, smelling and quality beer. Autoclave helps to raise the standards of sterilization but is a microwave based equipment found in laboratories. Home brewers can opt to boil their equipment for twenty minutes which will achieve similar results.




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