In between batches I am cleaning my primary with very hot water. I drain that out and then I then add about a gallon of sanitizer to it and swish it around good and to further ensure that all surfaces are covered with the sanitizing agent I use my wine thief. I fill it with the sanitizing agent then run it around the rim of my primary, letting the agent run down the sides of the fermenter.
Sanitize that Primary
- Thread starter Waldo
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MedPretzel
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Way to go!
HI ALL, I know I'll get some feed back from this, butI have been using STERIMINE. This is in tablet form (1 tablet per gal H2O) This is a multi purpose sanitizer for sanitizing food contact surfaces. I disolve these either in a fermenter or a carboy, let sit 2 min then rinse. This is the same solution that restaurants and bars ect use. Its quite simple and effective. After I rack or empty a carboy I always clean with B-Britefor storage. Then when Im ready to use again I use these tabs. http://sanitize.com
Bill
Bill
lapslideman
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I just use hot water and antibacterial dish soap and rinse real well. Sometimes I use Bleach. Haven't had an infection in eight years
lapslideman
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I've neverhad a problem using Antibacterial soap or bleech.I don't use corks either. I also like to clean my glass bottles in the dishwasher on the high temp rinse cycle.
I think there are a lot of things people are doing to make things harder onthemselves than they need to do. Sanitation is crucial, but often what people tell me I need...is just not true based upon my experience.
I live hours away from any type of brew store and I either stock up on things I need when I go to a city or buy stuff via the internet. Ihave run outof the supplies that the guys at homebrew store told me I had to use what ever they were selling or I would screw up my brews...guess what...I learned that a 50 pound bagof grain, growing my own hops, and getting whatever kind of juice I want will go a long long way. I don't even use campden tablets. I've only had one infection to date....about eight years ago in two beerbottles...they fizzed up crazy and I knew something was wrong. The rest of the bottles were fine so I think it had something to do with the sanitation of the bottles..not the batch of beer I made.
I'm sure many of my brews don't have the appealof a"fine wine" but I'm completely satisfied whith what Imake. When I offer my home brews (including beers, wines, meads, and ciders) tomy friends I get rave reviews and genuine appreciation. I've also learned that keeping recipies simple usually produces a better product, especailly with beers....guess that's why they made that law in Germany so many years ago.
I think there are a lot of things people are doing to make things harder onthemselves than they need to do. Sanitation is crucial, but often what people tell me I need...is just not true based upon my experience.
I live hours away from any type of brew store and I either stock up on things I need when I go to a city or buy stuff via the internet. Ihave run outof the supplies that the guys at homebrew store told me I had to use what ever they were selling or I would screw up my brews...guess what...I learned that a 50 pound bagof grain, growing my own hops, and getting whatever kind of juice I want will go a long long way. I don't even use campden tablets. I've only had one infection to date....about eight years ago in two beerbottles...they fizzed up crazy and I knew something was wrong. The rest of the bottles were fine so I think it had something to do with the sanitation of the bottles..not the batch of beer I made.
I'm sure many of my brews don't have the appealof a"fine wine" but I'm completely satisfied whith what Imake. When I offer my home brews (including beers, wines, meads, and ciders) tomy friends I get rave reviews and genuine appreciation. I've also learned that keeping recipies simple usually produces a better product, especailly with beers....guess that's why they made that law in Germany so many years ago.
There is the "Bottom Line" lapslideman. If you are completly satisfied with what you make then you are doing exactly as you should.
Being new to winemaking though I am going to stick with the advice and instructions from the experts and those who have "been there and done that". I thinks the steps/efforts/practices are more to ensure the outcome we all strive for in making a good wine than just a measure to "Be Hard On Ourself"Edited by: Waldo
Being new to winemaking though I am going to stick with the advice and instructions from the experts and those who have "been there and done that". I thinks the steps/efforts/practices are more to ensure the outcome we all strive for in making a good wine than just a measure to "Be Hard On Ourself"Edited by: Waldo
MedPretzel
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I'm not trying to be mean, but I see some problems in your methods. Like Waldo said, if they work for you, great. I'd be a little leery about some things, though. At least be aware of some potential danger.
Bleach is actually okay if you rise out majorly and use K-meta or Na-meta afterwards. Glass bottles in the dishwasher sounds like a great idea, but don't forget about the little food particles that could be swished up into the bottle and steamed into place using the steam cycle. I'd be worried that a tomato seed or something gets pickled in wine - or worse yet - causes an infection.
Probably true. I would rather err on the side of caution though when I have spent over 50 bucks on supplies and about 50 hours babying, stirring, creating labels and whatnot. I'd be devestated and terribly mad at myself if an infection got into my wine because of me. Because that is one thing I know for sure that I can control in my wines.
I would rather say that your homebrew people at the store weren't very good homebrewers, if they believed that you HAD to use those supplies, otherwise your beer would be bad?I don't get it and I don't know where you're located, but that doesn't sound really like good businessmanship tome. But maybe I'm reading it wrong. That's happened before.......
But it's like yeast -- yeah, you can probably make wine without using yeast, but why would you want to? If there is something that can be reproduced, why not? Not using Campden tablets may be good for you, but I would feel quite uneasy about not using any sort of sanitizing agent. Beer and wine are different. I'm not that familiar with beer brewing, but I do know that it's a lot more crucial and unforgiving than wine-vinting.
If your wines taste good to you and your friends, then that is all that counts.
BTW, though, that "Reinheitsgebot" in Germany ain't being implemented as it was set up a million years ago. They use sulfites and campden and all those other goodies. Reinheit means cleanliness. The ingredients have to be clean. Reinheit means purity. The beer's recipe must be made following a tried and tested beer recipe. Reinheit, in today's German society, does not mean "without chemicals".... The bottles are sanitized in a normal way (as most would in wine-making) and some (natural - k-meta, others) additives are given to the beer that was brewed.
I know these things because 1.) I lived in Germany for 9 years. 2.) While I lived there, I drank a lot of beer. 3.) I was friends with someone who took me on a beer-making tour. 4.) In the course of my studies there, we had to go to a brewery to see "occupational hygeine" in practice.
Now in the United States, where there are actually hand sanitizers now at the county fairs, you cannot tell me that Budweiser or Coors (who claim they're using the German "Reinheitsgebot" as their Mantra) are not using any forms of sanitization things either. They'd be sent to the FDA, health department, and all other departments that could shut them down.
I am totally not trying to be bitchy in any way, but I also want to warn people that yes, you can make wine/beer and whatever without all the ingredients - even yeast can be left out. But what you get there is something that is made out of chance. The egyptians made wine "without" yeast.... But probably more than half of their wine was lost due to "stuck fermentation." Sanitation is probably overrated, but if you put in all that work, why would you want to risk it?
Just my opinions, and not meant to be mean in anyway at all. I welcome comments and critique!
Martina
lapslideman said:
Bleach is actually okay if you rise out majorly and use K-meta or Na-meta afterwards. Glass bottles in the dishwasher sounds like a great idea, but don't forget about the little food particles that could be swished up into the bottle and steamed into place using the steam cycle. I'd be worried that a tomato seed or something gets pickled in wine - or worse yet - causes an infection.
lapslideman said:
Probably true. I would rather err on the side of caution though when I have spent over 50 bucks on supplies and about 50 hours babying, stirring, creating labels and whatnot. I'd be devestated and terribly mad at myself if an infection got into my wine because of me. Because that is one thing I know for sure that I can control in my wines.
lapslideman said:
I would rather say that your homebrew people at the store weren't very good homebrewers, if they believed that you HAD to use those supplies, otherwise your beer would be bad?I don't get it and I don't know where you're located, but that doesn't sound really like good businessmanship tome. But maybe I'm reading it wrong. That's happened before.......
But it's like yeast -- yeah, you can probably make wine without using yeast, but why would you want to? If there is something that can be reproduced, why not? Not using Campden tablets may be good for you, but I would feel quite uneasy about not using any sort of sanitizing agent. Beer and wine are different. I'm not that familiar with beer brewing, but I do know that it's a lot more crucial and unforgiving than wine-vinting.
lapslideman said:
If your wines taste good to you and your friends, then that is all that counts.
I know these things because 1.) I lived in Germany for 9 years. 2.) While I lived there, I drank a lot of beer. 3.) I was friends with someone who took me on a beer-making tour. 4.) In the course of my studies there, we had to go to a brewery to see "occupational hygeine" in practice.
Now in the United States, where there are actually hand sanitizers now at the county fairs, you cannot tell me that Budweiser or Coors (who claim they're using the German "Reinheitsgebot" as their Mantra) are not using any forms of sanitization things either. They'd be sent to the FDA, health department, and all other departments that could shut them down.
I am totally not trying to be bitchy in any way, but I also want to warn people that yes, you can make wine/beer and whatever without all the ingredients - even yeast can be left out. But what you get there is something that is made out of chance. The egyptians made wine "without" yeast.... But probably more than half of their wine was lost due to "stuck fermentation." Sanitation is probably overrated, but if you put in all that work, why would you want to risk it?
Just my opinions, and not meant to be mean in anyway at all. I welcome comments and critique!
Martina
lapslideman
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Dudes...I'm sorry if I've freaked you out...I've just learned what I truly belive to be true. Don't wasteyour moneyon the super norinse sanitizers when hot water, bleachand / orantibacterial dish soap do the job. Hight temp rinse on the dishwasher works fine too....Food particals....oh my...just just don't wash your brew stuff (bottles) with the dishes and keep your dishwasher clean. By the way...I make sure all my plates, bowls, cups,glasses, and utensilsget rinsed before they go into the dishwasher. Call me a little crazy...but I've got this thing where I feel likeyou've at least got to rinse things offbefore you put them into the dish washer.
Many (but not all) homebrew stores are trying to rip you off. I went to one and they were trying to sell things to angle your carboy up so you could get that last drop of wine out without disturbing the yeast. I told them that I used mybox of dental floss or hairbrush depedning on which one was closer in the bathroom cabnet and it worked fine for me. Maye my angle wasn't 100% correct but theyknew that I knew what was up...
Don't be a sucker...don't getfooled. This is not to say that you should not support your local homebrew store as they often offer lots of good things for making wines just don't waste your time with the quick rinse sanitaizer stuff..unless you're lazy and don't feel like scrubbing and rinsing your equiptmentf.
Many (but not all) homebrew stores are trying to rip you off. I went to one and they were trying to sell things to angle your carboy up so you could get that last drop of wine out without disturbing the yeast. I told them that I used mybox of dental floss or hairbrush depedning on which one was closer in the bathroom cabnet and it worked fine for me. Maye my angle wasn't 100% correct but theyknew that I knew what was up...
Don't be a sucker...don't getfooled. This is not to say that you should not support your local homebrew store as they often offer lots of good things for making wines just don't waste your time with the quick rinse sanitaizer stuff..unless you're lazy and don't feel like scrubbing and rinsing your equiptmentf.
We all have our opinions, lapslideman. My opinion is that you are giving bad advice on this forum. Bleach and antibacterial soap are very hard to rinse away and alot of times contain perfumes that can carry over into the wine. The cleaner C-Brite and the sanitizer B-Brite are both very good products and are not just created to 'rip-off' the home winemaker. I use good old plain Potassium Metabisulphite to sanitize. Hot water weakens it and renders it less effective as a sanitizer. I agree alot of shops sell alot of stuff that is unneccessary. If you use finevinewines.com,The Winemaker's Toy Store,for all your homewinemaking supplies, you will not need to be paranoid and can be assured of 100% money back guaranteed trustworthiness!
Thanks for listening.
http://www.finevinewines.com/
http://www.finevinewines.com/products.aspEdited by: Hippie
Thanks for listening.
http://www.finevinewines.com/products.aspEdited by: Hippie
I believe that if you compared the price of a bottle of bleach and a bottle of anti-bacterial soap against a 100 ct bottle of Campden tablets you might just be surprised to learn that not only is the Campden a lot cheaper in the long run it is a time saver in getting your bottles ready to fill and not any danger of ruining a batch of wine with bleach/soap residue..There, I stood up and testified !!!
TNFISHRMAN
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Guys and Gals, I have a bottle of campden that I have been using for sanitation, I noticed that even after crushing 2 tablets and adding to my 1/2 gallon bottle of water for sanitation it doesn't have a SO2 smell and is sometimes hard to disolve in warm water.I did this 3 different times. I recently went back to using Sodium Metabisulphite in powdered form for sanitation. Are these Campden tablets still ok to use or should I ditch them? Thanks, Lynn
Convenience, if that's an advantage. If you are wanting to use the Potassium Metabisulphite powder for must preparation and wine stabilization, get a good gram scale and sulphite testing kit. I would rather just use the tablets and then use powder for sanitation of equipment.
fasteddy999
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you cannot tell me that Budweiser or Coors (who
claim they're using the German "Reinheitsgebot" as
their Mantra) are not using any forms of sanitization
things either. They'd be sent to the FDA, health
department, and all other departments that could
shut them down.
Martina the FDA and local health departments have
no juridicion in a brewery. BTAF
claim they're using the German "Reinheitsgebot" as
their Mantra) are not using any forms of sanitization
things either. They'd be sent to the FDA, health
department, and all other departments that could
shut them down.
Martina the FDA and local health departments have
no juridicion in a brewery. BTAF
Of course all breweries and wineries have sanitation practices!
First you say the FDA and health department could shut them down, then you say they have no jurisdiction. I am not sure you are a good expert commentator on the subject either.
First you say the FDA and health department could shut them down, then you say they have no jurisdiction. I am not sure you are a good expert commentator on the subject either.
