StillSmart

Have not used Starsan,I use Peracetic acid which is a no rinse sanitiser all you need to do is add 3mls of the acid to 250mls of water in a spray bottle and give everything a quick squirt and the jobs done.This is where I get mine from http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk

I use a hydrogen hydroxide solution in a spray, Just because I use it in the green house.

I do rinse, but not too pernickety about it as I normally do it the night before I put the wash down, after a few hours all the HO2 breaks down to oxygen and water leaving nothing harmful behind, due to this you have to use all the solution you make up from the concentrate in one go.

There is a hydroponics store just down the road from my house. you can buy 1 or 5ltr containers at about 18% concentration. you only need to add about 10ml of concentrate per liter to use as a sterilizing solution so it lasts ages.

I just use stinking hot water to sterilize everything.
A wise old owl on another forum said:

punkin wrote:Because we are not trying to store the wash for long term and because we are brewing higher abv washes than when brewing beer, the protection of the wash is not so stringent. Infections have little chance of competing in the environments we create, and no chance to build numbers in the time frames we use. 8-)

That’s a very good point Andy. I’m no where near as stringent with sterilisation when it comes to a mash for distilling compared to getting a beer or wine down. The fact it’s not going to be aged, or spend weeks or months on end in a bottle means there is soo little time for things to go wrong. My current process means I effectively do 4 ferments before I re-sterilise everything. I’ll create a new topic to breakdown what I do rather than hijack this thread.

howdy

i've run out of vwp and am looking to get a wash and two apwelweins on tomorrow before i have to go back home (relatives)for a while

homemade or indeed store bought alternative would be appreciated

i'm sure i know it but my mind is a dark cave at times


thanks

the fermenters are "clean"

but been left for a month or so

i just wanna kill any lurgys that might be lingering



cheers

I use baby steriliser the likes of Milton........

I use this on everything I make, wine / beer and washes......the stuff fom Home Bargains is great and dirt cheap.......I have never lost an ale / beer or wash to bacteria using this stuff......and you can buy it from anywhere

I still use sterilisers for wine, but haven't done used anything for my wash fermentation other than very hot water for quite some time, no infections no issues.

I often wonder how big a deal it is, especially when adding this funky dunder to rum - on purpose.

thanks knobby - i'll get them shortly when tescos opens

and

the good captain

a mouldy dunder is all very well but not for an apfelwein which sticks in the fermenter for a month or two

i'm a good clean catholic boy who listens to his mother

my mother on the other hand says your rum must be beee ooot ee fullll


this is her before her wig replacement



thanks a million for the answers boys

really appreciate it

we're a lovely bunch of reprobates

Holy Shit CC! 'Funky' doesn't cover that stuff.

You'd need a Hazmat permit to work with that!

AM

Hehe - It smells quite floral with hints of chocolate and maybe raisins - if it smelled bad it would get chucked on the garden.

I keep the dunder pit away from all my other brewing gear.
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When doing a sugar wash, I boil up my yeast bomb in enough water so that when you add the sugar and top up the fermenters to the top with cold water the temp should fall between 30-35oC ready to pitch the big yeast starter. It starts fizzing very quickly, so I don't have a warm sugary wash hanging about when any nasties can get hold - its normally dropped 10-20 points on the hydrometer within 24 hours so the alcohol then prevents the infection - or that's what I believe is happening, but who really knows.

I've always just used a squirt of household bleach (non-scented!) - never had any trouble, I always rinse it very well. So long as the vessels are clean anyway (i.e. scrub them first and don't leave lumps in) it's only really bumping off any wild yeasts, bacteria, etc that may have got in. Be careful though because posh bleach can be quite thick and stick to the sides so use the cheap stuff!

Hot water and sunshine - I love QLD
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