One of the most important parts of brewing is consistency. Nothing is more frustrating than brewing a delicious beer and then struggling to recreate it in the future. There are different ways to keep your beer consistent from batch to batch, but one of the best ways to ensure this is through proper sanitation.
We’ve noticed discrepancies in terminology in other books and blogs between “cleaning,” “sanitation,” and “sterilization,” so before we share our cleaning considerations for home brewing, let’s quickly clarify these terms:
- Cleaning – also referred to as washing, this is the act that takes place before The point of this initial stage is to remove any built up dirt, grim, or prior residue. It is ideal to clean your equipment shortly after usage during the brewing process (as waiting will only make it more difficult to clean in the future), but you’ll always want to clean your equipment again before beginning to brew your next batch of beer.
- Sanitation – this is the act of removing the “bad” bacteria or wild yeast that may remain on your cleaned tools, equipment and work surface. You’ll want to remove these elements to ensure the quality and consistency of your beer, as they can negatively influence batches. You cannot properly sanitize if you haven’t cleaned first.
- Sterilization – I often see people use “sterilization” and “sanitation” interchangeably, but there is a technical difference in meaning. Sterilization is more intense than sanitation, as it is the removal of 100% of bacteria. Sterilization is a term you’re more likely to hear in a hospital. While it is technically possible for a home brewer to sterilize their work station, it would be difficult to do, and ultimately not necessary. The great majority of home brewers sanitize, but don’t sterilize.
Now that we’ve clarified things, let’s go over a few best practices and our preferences when it comes to keeping things clean.
We’ve already mentioned the importance of cleaning early and often, but we’ll repeat it because of its importance: take the time to clean your used equipment as soon as possible, and you’ll end up saving time in the future!
Cleaning Stage:
When the day arrives to brew, we recommend gathering all of your equipment and giving it a good scrubbing. It is fine to use an anti-bacterial soap with hot water for this initial cleaning, and use a soft sponge to scrub. As a warning, don’t scrub too hard on plastic equipment as you’ll run the risk of creating scratches, which in turn can create a breeding ground for bacteria.
Unlike the sanitizing stage, you’ll want to rinse off any cleaning agents you’ve used to clean.
Clean everything you’ve used in the past, everything that will come into contact with your beer/wort, and everything that will come into contact that that equipment (i.e., 
work surfaces).
Sanitizing Stage:
Once the cleaning stage is done, you’ll want to sanitize your equipment. There are different options out there for sanitizing, including the commonly mentioned use of household bleach. While bleach is cheap and effective, I’ve found it to be a hassle because a.) it is recommended that you rinse the bleach out (duh) and b.) despite rinsing, I can still sometimes detect a chlorine taste in the liquid. Not ideal.
So instead of bleach, we’ve been fans of Star-San for home brewing purposes. Those reading this blog have likely heard of Star-San before, but we’re here to reinforce the idea that it is worth the purchase.
To use Star-San, simply mix 1 oz. of the solution with cold water into the cleaned fermenter you plan to brew with. Add the tools you plan to brew with (spoons, vessels, tubing, etc.) into the fermenter and let soak for approximately 60 seconds.
Once you remove the tools from the Star-San solution, do not rinse it off. Why? Unless you’re using water that you’ve boiled and are keeping in previously sanitized equipment, you technically run the risk of re-introducing something that could alter the consistency of your beer. Star-San is designed to dry on its own without being rinsed, so no need to waste water.
Once everything is cleaned and sterilized, be cognizant of your surroundings and make sure you don’t place equipment on any surfaces that haven’t been cleaned. And that’s it – our main cleaning considerations for home brewing beer!
Check back later for tips on sanitizing on bottling day.
