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Clean up of lautering and boiling equipment

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  • Clean up of lautering and boiling equipment

    There is much to be said for the cleaning process. First thought that comes to mind is control you yourself have the ability to control what goes into your brew.Second is how clean is clean and what is over board. Third is what cleaner should I use. Lets start with what goes into your brew. We all spend a pile of money perusing a hobby that will allow us to create a taste profile that is unique and suits our own palette. So why would we not take the time to clean what effects the bad taste profile the most, your equipment. The reasoning to this is your equipment touches the whole brew from start to finish. Where could taste be effected more than that. What is on your equipment winds up in what ever you are making.Second how clean is clean I personally have been told I am anal abut this step I believe that to be so my reasoning is stated above so I think if it looks and feels clean it is clean that means stain removal, scale removal and time lines/proper mix of the proper cleaners for given types of equipment to be cleaned. Types of cleaners are specific to given types of materials in our brewing equipment. Alkaline based cleaners are good for all metals including stainless steel. These are also brilliant at removing beer scale that forms after brewing a beer or cleaning something that has been used to store beer in. Scale is a ongoing problem that is easily rectified with the use of this style of cleaner. Scale is formed from protein deposits the common name for this is Beer Stone. The surface of beer Stone is rough and is a perfect place for infections to grow that will infect and ruin your brew. Beer stone is hard and does not scrape off very well the best way is to dissolve it off if you scrape hard enough you can remove beer stone from any surface but you will have to scrape hard enough to scratch that surface leaving marks that again give infections a place to grow.Diversol is a excellent cleaner for every thing except metal like stainless steel it will clean stainless without any question but it pits the surface over time this leads to places for infections to hide that you can not get at. Diversol must be rinsed off prior to mixing any brew this in my mind renders it use limited to cleaning only not to sanitizing. My thinking to this is the rinsing must be done in cold water to prevent the off gassing of chlorine gas it is hard to get cold water that is sanitized our governments chlorinate water and use all kinds of chemicals to make it safe to drink but they can not say how long the water has been resting in the water mains and what is actually in the water mains. There have been in recent memory several instances of contaminated water in our drinking water distribution systems this in it's self puts tap water off my list as safe to rinse with. I prefer to use a non rinse contact sanitizer like Idofor. mixed properly there is no after taste and you are guaranteed bad bugs are dead
    Last edited by rjb222; 14-05-2008, 08:40 PM.
    http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

  • #2
    Beer stone

    here is a picture of draught lines one is clean the other is coated with beer stone.
    Attached Files
    http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

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    • #3
      Equipment

      These are a few pictures of stripped equipment in the process of being cleaned.
      Attached Files
      http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

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      • #4
        Equipment

        You by now have noticed my equipment is old I built this laughtering tun many years ago stored it out in a damp shed for a couple years while I was doing other things but it is clean and usable to this day. I clean all my beer brewing equipment with a Alkaline based cleaner after each use the results I think speak for them selves. I have never had an infection in anything I have brewed. When I have hung a ferment (and this has happened) nothing has gone off because I am clean.I believe this gives me time to solve the hung ferment with out losing my brew to an infection that can start when a ferment is is slow and the natural ability of yeasts to fight off and infection are at their low point. I do not give bad bugs places to get going and spoil my hard work. I will remain anal to some with justification in my own mind
        Last edited by rjb222; 14-05-2008, 08:42 PM.
        http://www.winensuds.com/ Gotta love this hobby

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