Sanitise or Sterilise?

[seannicholson2]

Hi quick question, im a novice home brewer have just done my first brew after i bottled it i just let it soak in bleach over night then rinsed it out. What chemicals should i use to clean out fermenter and bottles, ive read about different products (SODIUM METABISULPHITE,PINK STERI, 'Brewcraft Brewshield' and BREWCRAFT NO RINSE STERILISER but not sure which one to go with.

Help much apreciated,
Sean

[PaulSteele]

bleach is good, just make sure you rinse properly.

i use pink stain to soak my stuff in over night, and sodium met or unscented bleach to sanitise before a brew.

i also use the brewshield no rinse stuff for smaller things on brew day that i CBF rinsing. use this sparingly beause its more expensive.

brewers don't sterilise, they Sanitise. big difference.

read up on some of these chemicals and the best way to use them, there are plenty of articles out there about it. find one or two that work for your setup and that you don't mind using and stick to them.

a good sanitising routine is key to good quality beer, so do your research

[homebrewer79]

I would steer clear of sodium met, it's horrid stuff, it smells, it will make you feel sick if you inhale the fumes, IMHO it down right dangerous to use all the time. I can vouch for the Brewclean & Brewshield, they work a treat, the Brewclean is a bit pricey but the Brewshield is OK. Iphodor (spelling?) is another sanitiser highly thought of, although I can't comment (never used it). OT, you should get that package I sent you either today or tomorrow Sean, hope it helps

[rwh]

Iodophor. It's an iodine based sanitiser, much like betadine. The advantage is it's no-rinse. So you can sanitise, leave to drip dry and you're ready to go. Also 1mL dilutes in 1L water, so it's dirt cheap.

Iodophor is not a cleaner though; for that I use unscented napisan, and bleach definitely has its place; it's cheap and effective as both a cleaner and a sanitiser... but yes you really have to rinse it properly; hot water is good for this.

For my kegs I use oxyper. It's oxygen based bleach, so it won't etch the stainless steel surface.

Here's another link to that BBR podcast on using bleach.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?p ... radio-2007

Scroll down to "March 29, 2007 - Sanitizing with Bleach and Star San"

[seannicholson2]

cheers for the help guys and thanks for sending that package homebrewer79 really appreciate it
sean