Kinds of Beer for Summer

[grapeman]

The cheapest stuff for sanitizing the equipment would be plain old Potasium Metabisulfite. If you have a gallon jug mix up a gallon at a time per the manufacturer and just keep the unused portin capped until needed. It will last a month or so.


By the way I like your name- does it refer to Agronomy?

 

[Leaky Spigot]

BREWHOUSE Beer Kits made by Spagnols come with very good Sanitzing Instructions, And they say SULPHITES are "NOT" strong enough for sanitizing beer Equipment because of the lower ABV.%. As i live on a farm with a well, and my well water is questionable sometimes, i have to use a None Rinse Sanitizer. I've usedOXY SAN with good Results, but now i'm using "STAR SAN" Both are none rinse sanitizers. Both of these products have saved my beer and my neck!!!

If you are sure about the quality of your water then the Pink Powder works good (Sani-Brew) is just one of the names it's sold by.


Another Sanitizer used in beer making is IODOPHOR , an iodine based sanitizer.

 

[grapeman]

Leaky,


I didn't know that K-Meta wouldn't work for sanitizing because of lower alcohol content. There may be more to it than that because it works fine for wine coolers which are similar in alcohol. Best to be safe though. I will have to get something else.


Thanks

 

[masta]

This subject definitely needs some more research and I am on it.


Sanitizing equipment during makeup of the wort and testing, racking has nothing to do with the lower alcohol content of the finished beer. I checked Winexpert's instructions of the Baron's kit and they also suggest using a "chlorinated detergent solution" for sanitizing.


What doesn't make sense to me is the bacteria you are trying to eliminate should be the same as what would containment your wine. If sulfites aren't good enough for sanitizing beer making equipment than should we use something else for winemaking?


I will get to the bottom of this and post info soon.


Just for the record I use nothing but C-Brite for sanitizing all my equipment and mix at a rate of 1 tsp per gallon of water and this has served me well for 4 years (~200 batches of wine,beer,and mead) with no infections.

 

[Dean]

I can help you there Masta and Gang. The one reason that Sulphites work for wine and not beer also has to do with not only the alcohol levels, but also the PH levels. Wine is quite acidic compared to beer! Thus, with the lower PH levels, sulphites will work just fine to kill the bacteria that can cause spoilage. If you test your mist kits, you will see that the acid is actually quite high in those kits to balance the sweetness. Lower PH + sulphites = better killing power.

With beer, you get higher PH + sulphites = almost no killing power. Therefore, you need a stronger sanitizer. Chlorine based sanitizers work and are cheap (unscented bleach), but are a pain to use since you need to soak everything for a minimum 20 minute contact time.

No rinse sanitizers like Star San and Idophor kill on contact. I use Idophor myself because I get it pretty cheap. I get a 500ml bottle of it for $8.00. This is a highly concentrated solution and I mix 1ml per 1L of water, so basically I get 500L of sanitizing solution! That's pretty cheap. The problem is that it is only effective for the first 24 hours of mixing it up. So I mix it up, use what I need and pour the rest out after. It works well with a spray bottle. The other problem with idophor is that it will stain clear/white plastic brown over time with use.

I hope this helps,
Dean

 

[masta]

Thanks Dean I guess this makes sense in some ways. I still have questions about sanitizing equipment when you first start a batch. K-meta kills bacteria on contact (this was verified at Winestock) so it will clean your equipment perfectly fine when making up your batch.


The difference is later on when you have the power of free SO2 and low pH working together to protect your wine. Your beer has a small percentage of SO2 since sulfiteis a byproduct of fermentation and the CO2 is the main protection against oxidation in the capped bottle.


As Dean and the manufacturers recommend use astronger sanitizerwhen cleaning your beer equipment to prevent any issues.

 

[grapeman]

Thanks Dean and Scott for the very informative insight into sanitizing for beer. I am new to this stuff and it is good to find this out before I have a contaminated batch or two and wonder why!

 

[Leaky Spigot]

Dean :


Thank ya very much fer the INput!! All i learned was K-Meta!! just wasn't Strong Enough for Sanitizing Beer Making Equipment. I couldn't really Explain why! but Thanks to You Dean!! we all know now! So I'm just gonna keep it simple and Use! Star San threwout the entire beer making Process for Sanitizing. I use 13.6cc per gal. of bottled water. Works out not to Bad a deal as well! That's less then 1/4ounce per Gal. of water, and it will keep a long time if sealed up. Like a Month.


WELL LETS ALL GO AND HAVE A "BREW"! cheers!!

 

[DrtDoctor]

Appleman,

Yes, my screen name does refer to agronomy. I'm a professor of soil science at Penn State Univ.

masta,

YOu use only 1 tsp per gallon of C-Brite?? The label says to use significantly more, like onces per gallon. I'm using about a cup per 6 gal.

Drt Doctor

 

[masta]

I use more than the 1 tsp per gallon for tough cleaning but for no rinse sanitizing I use the 1 tsp per gallon. I will have to check the label instructions again but I remember the mixtureconcentration was done in weight as you mentioned.


Bottom line is that after 4 years of success I really don't think I will be changing my techniques.

 

[grapeman]

DrtCoctor,


I thought maybe with a screen name like that, you might be involved in soils. I'm a grad of SUNY Cobleskill 1974 with a degree in Agronomy-Plant Science. I've been on the growing end of the soil for most of the last 40 years.


Richard

 

[DrtDoctor]

I know a prof from there and a few graduates mostly working in the turfgrass industry.

Drt Doctor

 

[masta]

A follow up on the C-Brite sanitizing solution I use.


Directions say to use 1-2 oz per 2.5 gal of water for cleaning and 1 oz per 2.5 gal of water for a sanitizing solution with 100 ppm available chlorine.


My dilution of 1 tsp per gal of water equals .25 oz per gallon.


1 oz per per 2.5 gals equals 0.4 oz per gal for the 100 ppm solution rate.


So I am mixing at a lower rate ~ 65% of what is called for in theinstructions but with an 100% success rate of no infections after making ~200batches I don't plan on changing.


But I would recommend everyone always follow the directions omitting no detail whatsoever!

 

[grapeman]

Ah yes the Wisdom of ages. "Do as I say, not as I do!" Thanks for the info. I will be sure to follow the directions exactly!

 

[grapeman]

Masta,


How did your Canadian High Test turn out? I racked mine to secondary two days ago and it's barely bubbling. It's already dropping out the yeast.Looking much better now. The hops included really turned the wort into kind-of-a gross looking greenish brown scummy mess.

It smells great though

and I'm hoping for a nice Molson type beer.

 

[grapeman]

Well I'm very pleased with the Cabadian High Test beer so far. I bottled it this last weekend. I didn't have enough beer bottles empty, so I used a six pack worth of screw cap beer bottles. I added 1 cup of priming sugar per instructions for a well carbonated beer. I don't want to explode any bottles, so I opened one tonight already of the screw cap type. It already has a good head on it and it hissed when I opened it like it should. The taste is great already, only a few days after bottling. I'm afraid those thin bottles won't hold the pressure well, so I will have to sacrifice myself and drink them up in the next week or so(only the six-not all of them).

Great tasting beer- would recommend to anyone.

 

[grapeman]

KEGERATOR-


How's the Kegerator system coming Masta. Do you have your four selections ready for your tasting party. Fall isn't far away

We'd love to see pics.

 

[masta]

Unfortunately I had to put the kegerator project on hold for now due to some unexpected expenses that came up but I will still have at least 4 selections of beer ready for the tasting in addition to the wines and meads.


This weekend I will be bottling at least 3 of the selections so they carbonate and age a bit before the event at the end of September.

 

[OldWino1]

what is the percent of alcohol when you make home brew?

 

[masta]

Most of the batches I make are between 4%-6% ABV but you can adjust just as you would with wine.