Brewing Beer: Smoking Meat, Making Sausage, Making Cheese, Making Jerky, Brewing Beer, Canning, Dehydrating

Sanitizers

There’s nothing worse than brewing a great recipe and having everything go south because something contaminated your brew! The most important step in brewing is sanitation! It’s not hard and only takes a few minutes why risk ruining you beer because of a tiny bit of bacteria.

Wash and sanitize everything before you start! What is everything? The kegs, the covers, the bottles, the spoons you use stir, mix and measure with, the caps, the thermometer, the hydrometer, the counter top, the stove top anything that is used to make or that comes in contact with your brew or brew equipment! It will be handy to have a plate or something sanitized to lay your tools down on and keep a small container of sanitizer available for use as you go along. I have an old pretzel container I keep full of sanitizer and after using anything I rinse it in the sink and throw it back in the sanitizer jug.

There are many types of sanitizer available just be sure to use them according to the directions provided on the label of the sanitizer you are using . Here is an alphabetical list of some of what’s available:

B-Brite

It removes unwanted contaminates on contact and will not transfer contamination. A rinse with cool water is required. One eight ounce tub will make 20 gallons of sanitizing solution (one tablespoon per gallon of water).

C-Brite

A no rinse sanitizer in an easy to use pack that is sufficient for producing a 2 gallons of sanitizing solution. Ideal if on well water or if rinsing is not desired.

Iodophor

An excellent no-rinse sanitizer. Great for bottling, or any time a rinse is impractical. Requires 2 minute contact time. The most popular sanitizer among brewpubs & microbreweries. Iodine base sanitizers can cause stains.

Star San

An excellent no-rinse sanitizer. Lacks the odor normally associated with iodine based sanitizers. Great for bottling, or any time a rinse is impractical. Requires 2 minute contact time. Iodine base sanitizers can cause stains.

One Step

Oxygen based with a favorable cleaning powder and sanitizes on contact. Environmentally friendly. No rinsing required. Eight ounce bag will make 20 gallons of sanitizing solution (one tablespoon per gallon of water). I use One Step sanitizer all of the time it’s easy to use goes a long way is inexpensive and doe not contain iodine so there is no staining.

Note: if you have iodine sensitivities or allergies or are sensitive or allergic to shellfish (which is generally an indication of an iodine sensitivity or allergy) do not use iodine based sanitizers!

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