Sterilising question

The Minstrel

Guys,
Anyone know if sodium bicarbonate can be used as a steriliser. It's not for the bottles, just for the primary - it's brand new and hasn't been used. Would I get away with cleaning it with sodium bicarbonate?

If not, could alcohol be used to clean it, or would this be a bad idea. It's 90% alcohol (used for cleaning) - thought maybe I could throw it in with a bit of boiling water. I don't have a a regular sterilising agent to hand.

Martyn1989

Im not sure about those. Think your best bet would be to get some thin unscented bleach (supervalue have it for 67c for 2l) and some white malt vineger. Mix 30mls of each into 5 gallons of water (dont mix the two neat as its dangerous) and you have 5 gallons of rinse free sanitizer.

Ronan cork

A good scrub and boiling water should do the job. Good enough for baby bottles is good enough for beer id say!

oblivious

The Minstrel wrote: »

Guys,
Anyone know if sodium bicarbonate can be used as a steriliser. It's not for the bottles, just for the primary - it's brand new and hasn't been used. Would I get away with cleaning it with sodium bicarbonate?:

sodium bicarbonate (Baking soda) sorry no

The Minstrel wrote: »

If not, could alcohol be used to clean it, or would this be a bad idea. It's 90% alcohol (used for cleaning) - thought maybe I could throw it in with a bit of boiling water. I don't have a a regular sterilising agent to hand.

70% ethanol is more effective at killing bugs, but would would be cheaper to go with the Bleach and Vinegar method or invest in some star san

oblivious

Ronan cork wrote: »

A good scrub and boiling water should do the job.

Dont use abrasives on plastic fermenters, it can create grove where bacteria can survive and cause infections.

Ronan cork wrote: »

Good enough for baby bottles is good enough for beer id say!

Babies also have a innate immune and developing acquired immune system

Kid Charlemagne

i wouldnt worry too much about sterilisation on a new primary.
just horse in a kettle of boiling water, swirl around and put the lid on
leave for 5 minutes and bobs your uncle.

so long as you activate your yeast in advance + keep a lid on the fermenter you are unlikely to have any probs.

ive made cider from windfalls in the past without any attempt to sterilise - with no issues. yeast is too strong for bacteria. plus it produces a protective blanket of CO2 that protects your drink from the oxygen dependant bacteria.

the danger starts once fermentation ends so make sure to treat with campden tabs if a still drink, or bottle condition otherwise - to protect your beverages.

some lads go to town with the milton etc but we've been getting locked on homebrew for 1000's of years before the invention of bleach. once you understand the principle of keeping oxygen away you wont have problems.

rubadub

The Minstrel wrote: »

Anyone know if sodium bicarbonate can be used as a steriliser.

Baking soda can be used for cleaning (not sterilizing), it is in some toothpastes, but it is abrasive so I would not use it on plastic because of this. It can also absorb bad smells/tastes.

oblivious wrote: »

70% ethanol is more effective at killing bugs,

Yes, this is since it does not evaporate off as fast so although weaker, it is in contact with nasties for a longer time. You can just dilute your 90% a bit. BUT you must be sure it has no additives. Like if you got meths from woodies it would leave a residue behind.

Tesco value bleach is unthickened & unperfumed.

I used to just use boiling water.

backagain

The Minstrel wrote: »

Guys,
Anyone know if sodium bicarbonate can be used as a steriliser. It's not for the bottles, just for the primary - it's brand new and hasn't been used. Would I get away with cleaning it with sodium bicarbonate?

If not, could alcohol be used to clean it, or would this be a bad idea. It's 90% alcohol (used for cleaning) - thought maybe I could throw it in with a bit of boiling water. I don't have a a regular sterilising agent to hand.

Cheapest sterilant is steam at 134*c for 3+ minutes. Not easily achieved at home without an autoclave. Do you need to sterilise or disinfect? Disinfection is achieved, if the glass is cleaned and then heated to 90*c for 1 minute. This removes most bacteria. Sterilisation can be achieved by steam then or chemical sterilant. For beer you do not need clinical sterility.

Sky King

For beer you do not need clinical sterility.

That's interesting. Is this why brewers say 'sanitise' instead of 'sterilise'?

oblivious

Sky King wrote: »

That's interesting. Is this why brewers say 'sanitise' instead of 'sterilise'?

You can never truly prove sterility , it come down a confidence interval

Baneblade

The idea behind sanitising as i understand it is to reduce the number of any contaminants present and retard their ability to grow

once the wort is cooled to the correct temperture range and the correct quanity of yeast added as soon as possible, the high number of yeast will out compete any bacteria for food. add to that the diminishing oxygen levels and rising alcohol content making bacterial growth difficult

Ronan cork

Baneblade wrote: »

The idea behind sanitising as i understand it is to reduce the number of any contaminants present and retard their ability to grow

once the wort is cooled to the correct temperture range and the correct quanity of yeast added as soon as possible, the high number of yeast will out compete any bacteria for food. add to that the diminishing oxygen levels and rising alcohol content making bacterial growth difficult

Yeah that's basically it but you need to make sure the bacteria doesn't have a foothold so to speak by cleaning thoroughly or it may knock out the yeast before it gets started. I wouldn't go mad on it at all, just scrub off anything you can see in tread etc and then disinfect just to make sure there is nothing nasty you can't see.