Cleaning

Sanitizers

Star San Acid-Based Sanitizer

  • Works very well!
  • Foam helps increase coverage
  • No-rinse
  • Reusable

BTF Iodophor Sanitizer (Titratable Iodine)

  • No-rinse at 12.5 PPM for brewing

    1:10 sanitizer (oz.) to water (gallon) ratio (1/2 oz. sanitizer per 5 gallons, 1 tsp. sanitizer per 1.5 gallons).

  • 2 min. contact time, air dry (at least 10 min.)

  • Non-corrosive and safe for skin and hands

  • Will stain clothes!

  • Light sensitive! (store in opaque #2 HDPE bucket with lid)

  • Reusable as long as the solution is still orange/amber1

Others

  • PBW is supposedly a favorite
  • Supposedly you can be real cheap and use Oxiclean2
2

https://www.experimentalbrew.com/2015/05/18/craftmeister-cleaners-the-picturing-carboy-test/

1

https://www.baderbrewing.com/content/simplifying-cleaning-and-sanitizing-home-brewers

Carboy

  1. Wash off particulate. If possible, use a jet of water like from a bottle washer attached to a faucet. Otherwise, soak with water that is less than 125F and agitate (to quote a pamphlet I received from “The Vintage Shop”, “remember you are sanitizing, not sterilizing”). If absolutely necessary, use a soft non-abrasive cloth to gently rub it off. Be careful to not scratch the inner surface!
  2. Fill your sanitizer bucket with warm water (less than 125F). Transfer to the carboy
  3. Add sanitizer and stir

tip

Now would be a good time to check the spigot stopper to be sure it has a good seal. You do not want to be surprised by this later on after you have transferred the wort… Trust me

  1. Agitate to get every surface wet. Surfaces don’t have to be submerged the whole time to be sanitized3
  2. After the required amount of time, transfer back to sanitizer bucket
  3. Let carboy air dry
3

https://homebrew.stackexchange.com/a/4582

Other Stuff

Fill a spray bottle with some sanitizer. This is useful for spraying equipment as needed and for spraying your hands before handling ingredients (such as when dry hopping).

Soap & Water

  • Everything except carboy unless absolutely necessary

Boil

  • Hop bags
  • Bottle caps (when needed)

Immerse in sanitizer

  • Everything else (after washing of course)