Sanitization

I have some questions and concerns

I have a batch contaminated with some VWP sanitizer. How dangerous is this? It’s a sanitizer you normally have to rinse and I fucked up and got some in a brew. I don’t know exactly how much and one bottle in particular has more than the others.

I am begging to question if it’s safer for me to not use sanitizer at all and instead just use dish soap. Maybe I should switch to a different sanitizer? I am not completely convinced of the safety of no rinse sanitizer either and want to find some sources or more information about these things. There is a high chance I will end up making a mistake using these and I don’t know what the risk profile is of different sanitizers. How dangerous is not using sanitizer at all?

Star san and chem san are somewhat expensive though I hear they last a while.

SpiderShoeCult,

For a while when I started brewing I used iodophor diluted as I had found recommended online as a sanitizer, worked pretty well to prevent infection. I just used the medical grade stuff (either iodine-povidone or tincture of iodine) diluted to about 12.5 ppm. At this level it should be no rinse.

I’d say try google for more information but it’s full of crap bot-generated articles now, so that’s gone. I mean, I found an article suggesting you use vinegar, baking soda and salt to make a sanitizer. Don’t, by the way.

I switched to starsan because it was more convenient and doesn’t smell like a hospital when using it. Starsan is basically phosphoric acid (same thing they add in coca-cola for example) with some surfactant mixed in.

If you don’t use any sanitizer your main issue will be beer tasting off due to contamination from wild yeasts, or bacteria. This becomes more of an issue when bottling, because wild critters can usually ferment more things in your beer than single-strain lab grown yeasts (except diastaticus, that thing is a beast), and over time they can eat through residual sugars in your beer and generate more alcohol and CO2 - so potential bottle bombs, worst case.

However, if you do want to go the rustic route, there are some books out there describing historical farmhouse brewing techniques, some still used today (and they didn’t have starsan).

neptune,

Theres a redd*t thread that questions whether vwp is a good product. I’ve never met anyone who uses it. Don’t recall seeing it in brewing stores. Sounds like you should throw it out, if you went against manufacturers directions for use.

I’ve always used star san. It does indeed last forever. I’ll probably never use anything else.

I have also read that some famous brewers do just use old fashioned dish soap.

areyouevenreal,

It’s more commonly sold in England. Starsan was banned here for a while, and it’s still hard to get a hold of, hence chemsan. Chemipro oxy is what I have found in a brew shop here and seems to work well. I might go back to that

neptune,

Yeah that’s tough. Pay the surcharge or just pay a lot of attention to cleanliness and signs of infection during ferment. That’s my advice. They brewed beer for a millenia before germ theory.

areyouevenreal,

Is it possible to get an infection and not notice?

neptune,

I don’t think so, there’s usually signs. I’d do heavy research if you switch to dish soap.

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