Sterilising Instruments

[alwilson]

Morning All,

During my last brew, it was a massive learning curve for us, so we were taking temp and gravity readings all the time, at varying stages, just to see what was happening. My question is, we obviously kept sterilising our gear. Is it acceptable to just have a big bucket full of sterlising solution, and chuck our bits in that bug in between readins, and then wife it off with kitchen paper before use?

Or do sterilising solution (milton, for example) deteriorate after a while.

Was just thinking on a brew day to leave our bits (thermometer, hydrometer, turkey baster, mash spoon, etc, etc) in a big cleaned, sterilised B&Q bucket

any thoughts?

Cheers
Alex

[trucker5774]

I have a bucket of bleach solution on the go when I have a brew on. After use i rinse things then drop them back in the solution. To use them take them out with minimum handling and rinse again..........DO NOT wipe them. Whatever you wipe with will have been exposed to creepy crawly nasty buggage!

[crookedeyeboy]

Go for it, its what most micros do, they will have a peracetic acid bath to keep all the hoses etc in.

Any volatile solutions will dissipate over time but if your just doing it over one day then no worries.

[coatesg]

I find a VWP solution will drop a solid out of solution if left over a good time, days++ - and is a sod to get off as it needs a good scrub afterwards which isn't ideal for hydrometers. Keeping it for a day or so is not an issue though.

[Wolfy]

What you are talking about is "sanitation" (killing enough bugs to make it sufficiently safe for your beer) not "sterilisation" (killing all the bugs), an autoclave or similar is usually required to sterilise equipment.

Most sanitising solutions will keep for a period of time, but it depends on what you are using to how long they can be stored and re-used for, some have a very short shelf life and others (especially when made with distilled water) can last for quite some time. For example StarSan is fine to use - on an indefinite basis - if the mixture is not cloudy and if it stays below a specific pH.

[alwilson]

Brilliant! Cheers All.

Alex

[grmills]

No point in sterilising anything you use pre-boil, the boil will do it for you.

[crookedeyeboy]

No point in sterilising anything you use pre-boil, the boil will do it for you.

That was the best thing I ever realised about home brewing! Time saver!

[grmills]

Personally, I steam the fermenter over the boil, bake bottles and bleach barrels. Everything else is "sterilised" under the tap, saves loads of time and, contrary to popular belief, works fine.

(I don't often mention it on here because the sanitory police get a bit hot under the collar )