Section 1 – Brewing with Malt Extract
Chapter 2 - Brewing Preparations
The Road to Good Brewing
There are three important things to keep in mind every time you brew: preparation, sanitation, and good record keeping. Good preparation prevents nasty surprises. You don’t want to be halfway through your brewing and realize that you don’t have any yeast. You don’t want to pour good wort into a fermentor that you forgot to sanitize. Cleaning and sanitizing are part of your preparation but are the most important factors for assuring a successful batch of beer. During an interview, Bob Brandt, the head brewer at a very successful brewpub, told me, “Good brewing is 75% cleaning.” And I agree.
Likewise, there are two types of brewers—lucky and consistent. The lucky brewer will sometimes produce an outstanding batch of beer, but just as often one that is not. He brews from the seat-of-his-pants, innovating and experimenting with mixed results. The consistent brewer has more outstanding batches than poor ones. He may be an innovator and an experimenter, the difference is that he takes note of what he did and how much he did of it so that he can always learn from his results. Good record keeping will make the difference between luck and skill.
See Figure 22
Preparation
Preparing your brewing equipment is primarily a matter of cleaning and sanitizing, but organization is a part of the process too. For each of the brewing processes, some preparation can be done to make the process work better. Let’s think about what you are going to do:
Check the Recipe—Make a shopping list of your ingredients and amounts. Plan ahead on how you are going to measure them. Do you need extra bowls or measuring cups? Do you have good water out of the tap, or should you buy some?
Equipment—Make a checklist of the equipment you will be using and note whether it needs to be sanitized or only cleaned. Don’t try to clean something at the last minute just as you need it; you are inviting trouble. Use a checklist to organize your thoughts and see if you have overlooked anything. You may want to purchase utensils expressly for brewing, so that you don’t stir the wort with a spatula often used to cook onions. More instruction on cleaning is given later in this chapter.
Sanitizing—Anything that touches the cooled wort must be sanitized. This includes the fermentor, airlock, and any of the following, depending on your transfer methods: Funnel, strainer, stirring spoon and racking cane. Sanitizing techniques are discussed later in this chapter.
Preparing The Yeast—This step is paramount. Without yeast, you can not make beer. The yeast should be prepared ahead of the brewing session , especially if you need to make a yeast starter to increase the cell count. If you spend time preparing the equipment and making the wort, but have nothing to ferment it with, you will be very disappointed. See Chapter 6 for detailed information on yeast preparation.
The Boil—Weigh out your hop additions and place them in separate bowls for the different addition times during the boil. If you are going to steep crushed specialty grain (see Chapter 12), then weigh it, bag it, and steep it before adding your extract to the boiling pot.
Cooling After the Boil—If you plan to chill the wort using a water bath, i.e., setting the pot in the sink or the bathtub, make sure you have enough ice on hand to cool the wort quickly. A quick chill from boiling helps prevent infection and promotes the cold break in the wort. A good cold break precipitates proteins, polyphenols (tannins), and beta glucans that are believed to contribute to beer instability during storage. A good cold break also reduces the amount of chill haze in the final beer. Chilling overnight will accomplish the same goals, but your sanitation needs to have been top notch to prevent contamination and growth in the meantime.
All this preparation will make your brewing go smoothly and reduce the likelihood of disasters like missed steps, boilovers, forgotten ingredients, or unwilling yeast. In short, having the equipment ready and the process planned out will make the whole operation simple and keep it fun. Your beer will probably benefit too. As in all things, a little preparation goes a long way to improving the end result.
Sanitation
Cleanliness is the foremost concern of the brewer. Providing good growing conditions for the yeast in the beer also provides good growing conditions for other micro-organisms, especially wild yeast and bacteria. Cleanliness must be maintained through every stage of the brewing process.[figure 23 – yeast and bacteria]
The definition and objective of sanitization is to reduce bacteria and contaminants to insignificant or manageable levels. The terms clean, sanitize and sterilize are often used interchangeably, but should not be. Items may be clean but not sanitized or vice versa. Here are the definitions: • Clean To be free from dirt, stain, or foreign matter. • Sanitize To kill/reduce spoiling microorganisms to negligible levels. • Sterilize To eliminate all forms of life, especially microorganisms, either by chemical or physical means.
Cleaning is the process of removing all the dirt and grime from a surface, thereby removing all the sites that can harbor bacteria. Cleaning is usually done with a detergent and elbow grease. None of the sanitizing agents used by homebrewers are capable of eliminating all bacterial spores and viruses. The majority of chemical agents homebrewers use will clean and sanitize but not sterilize. However, sterilization is not necessary. Instead of worrying about sterilization, homebrewers can be satisfied if they consistently reduce these contaminants to negligible levels.
All sanitizers are meant to be used on clean surfaces. A sanitizer’s ability to kill microorganisms is reduced by the presence of dirt, grime or organic material. Organic deposits can harbor bacteria and shield the surface from being reached by the sanitizer. Therefore, it is up to you to make sure the surface of the item to be sanitized is as clean as possible.
Cleaning Products
Cleaning requires a certain amount of scrubbing, brushing and elbow grease. It is necessary because a dirty surface can never be a completely sanitized one. Grungy deposits can harbor bacteria that will ultimately contaminate your beer. The ability of a sanitizing agent to kill bacteria is reduced by the presence of any extra organic matter, so prior cleaning is necessary to assure complete sanitization. Several cleaning products available to the homebrewer are discussed below. Cleaning recommendations for your equipment will follow.
Detergents
Dishwashing detergents and cleansers should be used with caution when cleaning your brewing equipment. These products often contain perfumes that can be adsorbed onto plastic equipment and released back into the beer. In addition, some detergents and cleansers do not rinse completely and often leave behind a film that can be tasted in the beer. Several rinses with hot water may be necessary to remove all traces of the detergent. Detergents containing phosphates generally rinse more easily than those without, but because phosphates are pollutants, they are not used in most household products. A mild unscented dishwashing detergent like Ivory™ brand is a good choice for most of your routine equipment cleaning needs. Only stubborn stains or burnt-on deposits will require something stronger.
Bleach
Bleach is one of the most versatile cleaners available to the homebrewer. When dissolved in cold water, it forms a caustic solution that is good at breaking up organic deposits like food stains and brewing gunk. Bleach is an aqueous solution of chlorine, chlorides and hypochlorites. These chemical agents all contribute to bleach’s bactericidal and cleaning powers but are also corrosive to a number of metals used in brewing equipment. Bleach should not be used for cleaning brass and copper because it causes blackening and excessive corrosion. Bleach can be used to clean stainless steel, but you need to be careful to prevent corrosion and pitting. There are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind when using bleach to clean stainless steel. • Don’t leave the metal in contact with chlorinated water for extended periods of time (no more than an hour). • Fill vessels completely so corrosion does not occur at the waterline. • After the cleaning or sanitizing treatment, rinse the item with fresh water and dry the item completely if it is going to be stored. (Drying completely prevents any residue buildup from regular evaporation.)
Percarbonates
Sodium percarbonate (e.g., OxyClean™) is sodium carbonate (e.g., Arm and Hammer™ Super Washing Soda) reacted with hydrogen peroxide and it is an effective cleaner for all types of brewing equipment. It rinses easily. Several products containing percarbonates are approved by the FDA as cleaners in food-manufacturing facilities. Use these cleaners according to the manufacturer’s instructions, but generally use one tablespoon per gallon (4 ml per liter) and rinse after cleaning.In my opinion, percarbonate-type cleaners are the best choice for equipment cleaning. Some products combine the percarbonate with sodium metasilicate, which increases its effectiveness on proteins and prevents the corrosion of metals (like copper and aluminum) that strong alkaline solutions can cause. Note: These cleaners will throw a chalky haze on surfaces in hard water if left sitting for several days that can only be removed with an acid rinse or acidic cleaner like CLR™ from Jelmar.
Automatic Dishwashers
Using dishwashers to clean equipment and bottles is a popular idea among homebrewers but there are a few limitations:• The narrow openings of hoses, racking canes and bottles usually prevent the water jets and detergent from effectively cleaning inside. • If detergent does get inside these items, there is no guarantee that it will get rinsed out again. • Dishwasher drying additives (Jet Dry™, for example) can ruin the head retention of beer. Drying additives work by putting a chemical film on the items that allows them to be fully wetted by the water so droplets don’t form; preventing spots. The wetting action destabilizes the proteins that form the bubbles.With the exceptions of spoons, measuring cups and wide mouth jars, it is probably best to only use automatic dishwashers for heat sanitizing, not cleaning. Heat sanitizing is discussed later in this chapter.
Oven Cleaner
Every once in a while, brewers will scorch the bottom of their brew pot, resulting in a black, burned deposit that is difficult to remove. The easiest solution is to apply oven cleaner and allow it to dissolve the stain. After the burned-on area has been removed, it is important to thoroughly rinse the area of any oven cleaner residue to prevent subsequent corrosion of the metal. This is usually the only situation where you would need to use it. Usually, percarbonate cleaners should be all that is needed to clean even tough deposits.Spray-on oven cleaner is the safest and most convenient way to use sodium hydroxide. Commonly known as lye, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is the caustic main ingredient of most heavy-duty cleaners like oven and drain cleaner. Potassium hydroxide (KOH) is also commonly used. Even in moderate concentrations, these chemicals are very hazardous to skin and should only be used when wearing rubber gloves and goggle-type eye protection. Vinegar is useful for neutralizing sodium hydroxide that gets on your skin, but if sodium hydroxide gets in your eyes it could cause severe burns or blindness. Caustic can cause a lot of damage to skin without much pain (at first). That slippery feeling is the oils and lipids in your skin turning into soap. Sodium hydroxide is very corrosive to aluminum and brass. Copper and stainless steel are generally resistant. Pure sodium hydroxide should not be used to clean aluminum brew pots because the high pH causes the dissolution of the protective oxides, and a subsequent batch of beer might have a metallic taste. Oven cleaner should not affect aluminum adversely if it is used properly.
Cleaning Your Equipment
Cleaning Plastic
There are basically three kinds of plastic that you will be cleaning: opaque white high density polyethylene (HDPE), hard clear polycarbonate and clear soft vinyl tubing. You will often hear the polyethylene referred to as “food grade plastic”, though all three of these plastics are. Polyethylene is used for utensils, fermenting buckets and fittings. Polycarbonate is used for racking canes and measuring cups. The vinyl tubing is used for siphons and the like.The main thing to keep in mind when cleaning plastics is that they may adsorb odors and stains from the cleaning products you use. Dish detergents are your best bet for general cleaning, but scented detergents should be avoided. Bleach is useful for light duty cleaning, but the odor can remain, and bleach tends to cloud vinyl tubing. Percarbonate cleaners (see above) have the benefit of cleaning as well as bleach without the odor and clouding problems. Dishwashers are a convenient way to clean plastic utensils, but the heat might warp polycarbonate items.[figure 25- bottles and bottle brush]
Cleaning Glass
Glass has the advantage of being inert to everything you might use to clean it with. The only considerations are the danger of breakage and the potential for stubborn lime deposits when using bleach and percarbonates in hard water areas, but an acid rinse takes care of the problem. When it comes to cleaning your glass bottles and carboys, you will probably want to use bottle and carboy brushes so you can effectively clean the insides.
Cleaning Copper
For routine cleaning of copper and other metals, percarbonate-based cleaners like PBW are the best choice. For heavily oxidized conditions, acetic acid is very effective, especially when hot. Acetic acid is available in grocery stores as white distilled vinegar at a standard concentration of 5% acetic acid by volume. Acid cleaners such as CLR™ (Calcium, Lime & Rust Remover) or “dairy rinse” or even Star San are also very effective when diluted.Brewers who use immersion wort chillers are always surprised how bright and shiny the chiller is the first time it comes out of the wort. If the chiller wasn’t bright and shiny when it went into the wort, guess where the grime and oxides ended up? Yep, in your beer. The oxides of copper are more readily dissolved by the mildly acidic wort than is the copper itself. By cleaning copper tubing with acetic or phosphoric acid once before the first use and rinsing with water immediately after each use, the copper will remain clean with no oxide or wort deposits that could harbor bacteria. Cleaning copper with vinegar should only occasionally be necessary. Cleaning and sanitizing copper and brass with bleach solutions is not recommended. The chlorine and hypochlorites in bleach cause oxidation and blackening of copper and brass. If the oxides come in contact with the mildly acidic wort, the oxides will quickly dissolve, possibly exposing yeast to unhealthy levels of copper during fermentation. Note: I discuss the cleaning of metals more thoroughly in Appendix B—Brewing Metallurgy.
Cleaning Brass
Some brewers use brass fittings in conjunction with their wort chillers or other brewing equipment and are concerned about the lead that is present in brass alloys. The amount of lead on the surface of brass parts is miniscule and not a health concern. However, a solution of two parts white vinegar to one part hydrogen peroxide (common 3% solution) will remove tarnish and surface lead from brass parts when they are soaked for 5–15 minutes at room temperature. The brass will turn a buttery yellow color as it is cleaned. If the solution starts to turn green, then the parts have been soaking too long and the copper in the brass is beginning to dissolve. The solution has become saturated, and the part should be re-cleaned in a fresh solution.
Cleaning Stainless Steel and Aluminum
For general cleaning, mild detergents or percarbonate-based cleaners are best for steel and aluminum. Bleach should not be used to clean stainless steel and aluminum because it is just too corrosive. Do not clean aluminum shiny bright because this removes the protective oxides and can result in a metallic taste. This detectable level of aluminum is not hazardous. There is more aluminum in a common antacid tablet than would be present in a batch of beer made in an aluminum pot.
There are oxalic acid based cleansers available at the grocery store that are very effective for cleaning stubborn stains, deposits, and rust from stainless. They also work well for copper. Examples are Bar Keeper’s Friend Cleanser, Revere Ware Copper and Stainless Cleanser, and Kleen King Stainless Steel Cleanser. Use according to the manufacturer’s directions and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards. These cleansers are more effective than any other method for removing stains, heat tint, and corrosion from stainless steel and other brewing metals..
Beerstone Removal
Beerstone is a composite coating of protein and calcium oxalate that is more difficult to remove than typical hard water scale. It precipitates from beer over time to deposit a film onto stainless steel and glass. It is undesirable not only because the coating is rough and can harbor bacteria, but it can also initiate crevice corrosion of stainless steel around the edges of the deposit. Cleaning of beerstone requires a two step process: a detergent or wetting agent to break up the protein binders, and then a second acidic cleaner to dissolve the exposed oxalates and carbonates. A blend of nitric acid and phosphoric acid is commonly used in the brewing industry, but that solution is fairly hazardous to handle. A safer and more accessible solution for the homebrewer is to soak the item with a strong solution of PBW for a couple hours or overnight, and follow that with an acid soaking to dissolve the exposed salts. Phosphoric acid, acetic acid or CLR™ can be used for the final step.
Sanitizing
Once your equipment is clean, it is time to sanitize it before use. Only items that will contact the wort after the boil need to be sanitized, namely: fermentor, lid, airlock, rubber stopper, yeast starter jar, thermometer, funnel, and siphon. Your bottles will need to be sanitized also, but that can wait until bottling day. There are two very convenient ways to sanitize your equipment: chemical and heat. When using chemical sanitizers, the solution can usually be prepared in the fermentor bucket and all the equipment can be soaked in there. Heat sanitizing methods depend on the type of material being sanitized.
Chemical Methods
See Figure 26— The most commonly used chemical sanitizers: Iodophor, Star San, and Bleach.
Bleach The cheapest and most readily available sanitizing solution is made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water (4 ml per liter). Let the items soak for 20 minutes, and then drain. Rinsing is supposedly not necessary at this concentration, but many brewers, myself included, rinse with some boiled water anyway to be sure of no off-flavors from the chlorine. NEVER soak stainless steel in bleach solution for more than a half hour because it may cause pitting. Iodophor Iodophor is a solution of iodine complexed with a polymer carrier that is very convenient to use. One tablespoon in 5 gallons of water (15ml in 19 l) is all that is needed to sanitize equipment with a two minute soak time. This produces a concentration of 12.5 ppm of titratable iodine. Soaking equipment longer, for 10 minutes, at the same concentration will disinfect surfaces to hospital standards. At 12.5 ppm the solution has a faint brown color that you can use to monitor the solution’s viability. If the solution loses its color, it no longer contains enough free iodine to work. There is no advantage to using more than the specified amount of iodophor. In addition to wasting the product, you risk exposing yourself and your beer to excessive amounts of iodine. Iodine is a halogen, like chlorine, but it is less corrosive to stainless steel. Iodophor will stain plastic with long exposures, but that is only a cosmetic problem. The 12.5 ppm concentration does not need to be rinsed, but the item should be allowed to drain before use. Even though the recommended concentration is well below the taste threshold, I rinse everything with a little bit of cooled boiled water to avoid any chance of off-flavors, but that’s me. Phosphoric/Anionic Surfactants Acidic sanitizers like Star San™ from the makers of PBW, and Final Step™ from Logic, were developed especially for sanitizing brewing equipment. It requires only 30 seconds of contact time and does not require rinsing. These sanitizers work by opening the bacterial cell membranes and rupturing cell walls. Unlike bleach and iodophor, they will not contribute off-flavors at higher-than-recommended concentrations. The recommended usage is one fluid ounce per 5 gallons of water. The solution can be put in a spray bottle and used as a spray-on sanitizer for glassware or other items that are needed in a hurry. The foam is just as effective for sanitizing as immersion in the solution. Star San and Final Step are my preferred sanitizers for all usages except those that I can conveniently do in the dishwasher. These solutions have a long usage life and an open bucket of it will remain active for several days. It will keep indefinitely in a closed container, such as a spray bottle. The viability of the solution can be judged by its clarity; it turns cloudy as the viability diminishes.Star San is only effective when the pH of the solution is less than 3.5. At a pH above 3.5, the solution turns cloudy and loses its bactericidal properties. This is also the reason it is a no rinse sanitizer—when the fermenter or bottle has been drained and filled with wort or beer, the higher pH of the wort and beer neutralizes the sanitizing capability so that the yeast are unaffected. As a matter of fact, even though there can be a huge amount of foam in vessels like carboys after draining, it will have no effect on fermentation or flavor. I have proven this to myself by intentionally fermenting in a carboy that had been full of foam, and the fermentation, flavor, and head retention of the beer were fine. One last note on this product: Because it is listed as a sanitizer and bactericide by the FDA and EPA, the container must list disposal warnings that are suitable for pesticides. Do not be alarmed, it is less hazardous to your skin than bleach. Peracetic Acid (PAA) This no-rinse sanitizer is generally not sold for home use in the United States, although it is used by commercial brewers and is a common homebrewing sanitizer in other countries, such as Brazil. It should be mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Peracetic acid is highly effective, but it needs to be used with caution. It is irritating to skin and mucous membranes, can cause asthma attacks in sensitive people, and is corrosive at high concentrations (i.e., 10X sanitizer concentration). Despite its pungent vinegar-like odor, it will not cause off-flavors in beer. Percarbonate-based Sanitizers The oxidizing properties of sodium percarbonate also work to kill most micro-organisms, The concentration is stronger than for cleaning. The items should be immersed in the solution for 10 minutes of contact time and then allowed to fully drain before using. Fermenters should be filled with the solution for 10 minutes and then drained completely before use.
Bleach The cheapest and most readily available sanitizing solution is made by adding 1 tablespoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water (4 ml per liter). Let the items soak for 20 minutes, and then drain. Rinsing is supposedly not necessary at this concentration, but many brewers, myself included, rinse with some boiled water anyway to be sure of no off-flavors from the chlorine. NEVER soak stainless steel in bleach solution for more than a half hour because it may cause pitting. Iodophor Iodophor is a solution of iodine complexed with a polymer carrier that is very convenient to use. One tablespoon in 5 gallons of water (15ml in 19 l) is all that is needed to sanitize equipment with a two minute soak time. This produces a concentration of 12.5 ppm of titratable iodine. Soaking equipment longer, for 10 minutes, at the same concentration will disinfect surfaces to hospital standards. At 12.5 ppm the solution has a faint brown color that you can use to monitor the solution’s viability. If the solution loses its color, it no longer contains enough free iodine to work. There is no advantage to using more than the specified amount of iodophor. In addition to wasting the product, you risk exposing yourself and your beer to excessive amounts of iodine. Iodine is a halogen, like chlorine, but it is less corrosive to stainless steel. Iodophor will stain plastic with long exposures, but that is only a cosmetic problem. The 12.5 ppm concentration does not need to be rinsed, but the item should be allowed to drain before use. Even though the recommended concentration is well below the taste threshold, I rinse everything with a little bit of cooled boiled water to avoid any chance of off-flavors, but that’s me. Phosphoric/Anionic Surfactants Acidic sanitizers like Star San™ from the makers of PBW, and Final Step™ from Logic, were developed especially for sanitizing brewing equipment. It requires only 30 seconds of contact time and does not require rinsing. These sanitizers work by opening the bacterial cell membranes and rupturing cell walls. Unlike bleach and iodophor, they will not contribute off-flavors at higher-than-recommended concentrations. The recommended usage is one fluid ounce per 5 gallons of water. The solution can be put in a spray bottle and used as a spray-on sanitizer for glassware or other items that are needed in a hurry. The foam is just as effective for sanitizing as immersion in the solution. Star San and Final Step are my preferred sanitizers for all usages except those that I can conveniently do in the dishwasher. These solutions have a long usage life and an open bucket of it will remain active for several days. It will keep indefinitely in a closed container, such as a spray bottle. The viability of the solution can be judged by its clarity; it turns cloudy as the viability diminishes.Star San is only effective when the pH of the solution is less than 3.5. At a pH above 3.5, the solution turns cloudy and loses its bactericidal properties. This is also the reason it is a no rinse sanitizer—when the fermenter or bottle has been drained and filled with wort or beer, the higher pH of the wort and beer neutralizes the sanitizing capability so that the yeast are unaffected. As a matter of fact, even though there can be a huge amount of foam in vessels like carboys after draining, it will have no effect on fermentation or flavor. I have proven this to myself by intentionally fermenting in a carboy that had been full of foam, and the fermentation, flavor, and head retention of the beer were fine. One last note on this product: Because it is listed as a sanitizer and bactericide by the FDA and EPA, the container must list disposal warnings that are suitable for pesticides. Do not be alarmed, it is less hazardous to your skin than bleach. Peracetic Acid (PAA) This no-rinse sanitizer is generally not sold for home use in the United States, although it is used by commercial brewers and is a common homebrewing sanitizer in other countries, such as Brazil. It should be mixed according to the manufacturer's instructions. Peracetic acid is highly effective, but it needs to be used with caution. It is irritating to skin and mucous membranes, can cause asthma attacks in sensitive people, and is corrosive at high concentrations (i.e., 10X sanitizer concentration). Despite its pungent vinegar-like odor, it will not cause off-flavors in beer. Percarbonate-based Sanitizers The oxidizing properties of sodium percarbonate also work to kill most micro-organisms, The concentration is stronger than for cleaning. The items should be immersed in the solution for 10 minutes of contact time and then allowed to fully drain before using. Fermenters should be filled with the solution for 10 minutes and then drained completely before use.
Heat Methods
Heat is one of the few means by which the homebrewer can actually sterilize an item. Why would you need to sterilize an item? Homebrewers that grow and maintain their own yeast cultures want to sterilize their growth media to assure against contamination. When a microorganism is heated at a high enough temperature for a long enough time, it is killed. Both dry heat (oven) and steam (autoclave, pressure cooker or dishwasher) can be used for sanitizing.Oven Dry heat is less effective than steam for sanitizing and sterilizing, but many brewers use it. The best place to do dry heat sterilization is in your oven. To sterilize an item, refer to Table 2—Dry Heat Sterilization for the temperatures and times required.
Table 2—Dry Heat SterilizationTemperature Duration338°F (170°C) 60 Minutes320°F (160°C) 120 Minutes302°F (150°C) 150 Minutes284°F (140°C) 180 Minutes250°F (121°C) 12 Hours
The times indicated in begin when the item has reached the indicated temperature. Although the durations seem long, remember this process kills all microorganisms, not just most as in sanitizing. To be sterilized, items need to be heat-proof at the given temperatures. Glass and metal items are prime candidates for heat sterilization. Some homebrewers bake their bottles using this method and thus always have a supply of clean sterile bottles. The opening of the bottle can be covered with a piece of aluminum foil prior to heating to prevent contamination after cooling and during storage. They will remain sterile indefinitely if kept wrapped. One note of caution: bottles made of soda lime glass are much more susceptible to thermal shock and breakage than those made of borosilicate glass and should be heated and cooled slowly (e.g. 5°F per minute). Put the bottles in the oven when the oven is cold. You can assume all beer bottles are made of soda lime glass and that any glassware that says Pyrex™ or Kimax™ is made of borosilicate. Autoclaves, Pressure Cookers and Dishwashers Typically when we talk about using steam we are referring to the use of an autoclave or pressure cooker. These devices use steam under pressure to sterilize items. Because steam conducts heat more efficiently, the cycle time for such devices is much shorter than when using dry heat. The typical amount of time it takes to sterilize a piece of equipment in an autoclave or pressure cooker is 20 minutes at 257°F (125°C) at 20 pounds per square inch (psi). Dishwashers can be used to sanitize, as opposed to sterilize, most of your brewing equipment, you just need to be careful that you don’t warp any plastic items. The steam from the drying cycle will effectively sanitize all surfaces. Bottles and other equipment with narrow openings should be pre-cleaned. Run the equipment through the full wash cycle without using any detergent or rinse agent, we want to avoid having any residue drying onto the items. Dishwasher rinse agents will destroy the head retention on your glassware. If you pour a beer with carbonation and no head, this might be the cause.
Table 2—Dry Heat SterilizationTemperature Duration338°F (170°C) 60 Minutes320°F (160°C) 120 Minutes302°F (150°C) 150 Minutes284°F (140°C) 180 Minutes250°F (121°C) 12 Hours
The times indicated in begin when the item has reached the indicated temperature. Although the durations seem long, remember this process kills all microorganisms, not just most as in sanitizing. To be sterilized, items need to be heat-proof at the given temperatures. Glass and metal items are prime candidates for heat sterilization. Some homebrewers bake their bottles using this method and thus always have a supply of clean sterile bottles. The opening of the bottle can be covered with a piece of aluminum foil prior to heating to prevent contamination after cooling and during storage. They will remain sterile indefinitely if kept wrapped. One note of caution: bottles made of soda lime glass are much more susceptible to thermal shock and breakage than those made of borosilicate glass and should be heated and cooled slowly (e.g. 5°F per minute). Put the bottles in the oven when the oven is cold. You can assume all beer bottles are made of soda lime glass and that any glassware that says Pyrex™ or Kimax™ is made of borosilicate. Autoclaves, Pressure Cookers and Dishwashers Typically when we talk about using steam we are referring to the use of an autoclave or pressure cooker. These devices use steam under pressure to sterilize items. Because steam conducts heat more efficiently, the cycle time for such devices is much shorter than when using dry heat. The typical amount of time it takes to sterilize a piece of equipment in an autoclave or pressure cooker is 20 minutes at 257°F (125°C) at 20 pounds per square inch (psi). Dishwashers can be used to sanitize, as opposed to sterilize, most of your brewing equipment, you just need to be careful that you don’t warp any plastic items. The steam from the drying cycle will effectively sanitize all surfaces. Bottles and other equipment with narrow openings should be pre-cleaned. Run the equipment through the full wash cycle without using any detergent or rinse agent, we want to avoid having any residue drying onto the items. Dishwasher rinse agents will destroy the head retention on your glassware. If you pour a beer with carbonation and no head, this might be the cause.
Cleaning and Sanitizing Final Thoughts
Clean all equipment as soon after use as possible. This means rinsing out the fermentor, tubing, etc. as soon as they are used. It is very easy to get distracted and come back to find that the syrup or yeast has dried hard as a rock and the equipment is stained. If you are pressed for time, keep a large container of water handy and just toss things in to soak until you can clean them later.You can use different methods of cleaning and sanitizing for different types of equipment. You will need to decide which methods work best for you in your brewery. Good preparation will make each of the brewing processes easier and more successful.See Tables 3 and 4 for a summary of cleaning and sanitizing products.
Record Keeping
Always keep good notes on what ingredients, amounts and times were used in the brewing process. There are several brewing spreadsheets and software programs available over the Internet that can be a big help or if you want to keep things simple, paper forms work just fine. A brewer needs to be able to repeat good batches and learn from poor ones. If you have a bad batch and want to ask another brewer for their opinion, they are going to want to know all the brewing details: ingredients and amounts, how long you boiled, how you cooled, the type of yeast, how long it fermented, what the fermentation looked like, what the temperature was, etc. There are so many possible causes for “it tastes funny”, that you really need to keep track of everything that you did so you can figure where it might of gone wrong and fix it the next time. Chapter 21—Is My Beer Ruined? will help you identify possible causes for most of the common problems.
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Figure 22 – All the equipment and ingredients for the day’s brew are set out on the counter and ready to go. The crushed specialty malt is tied in a muslin grain bag and the hops have been weighed and put in three separate bowls.
Figure 23 – The yeast cells are the round things, the worms are the bacteria. 500X.
Figure 24 – Common cleaning products.
Figure 25 - Bottles and bottle cleaning brush.
Cleaning and Sanitizing Bottles
Dishwashers are great for cleaning the outside of bottles and heat sanitizing but will not clean the insides effectively.If your bottles are dirty or moldy, soak them in a mild bleach solution or sodium percarbonate type cleaners (ex. PBW™) for an hour or two to soften the residue. You’ll still need to scrub them thoroughly with a bottle brush to remove any stuck residue. To eliminate the need to scrub bottles in the future, rinse them thoroughly after each use.
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Figure 26 – Common sanitizing products.