Sanitation Question

Pre boil steps - not an issue - just general cleanliness
Post boil steps - important issue - sanitation of everything is key

Infectons can still occur in the bottle if proper steps are not taken. While it will only effect bottles on a case by case basis and the risk of the overall batch may be less its still a crime to waste good beer you put all your effort into!

 

you are correct. after chilling your wort and up to fermentation are by far the most likely time a beer can get infected with unwanted organism. after there is some alcohol and fermentation is substantially complete the risk decreases.

but beer is still food, so it should be treated as such. if your bottles, bottle caps, bottling bucket or racking cane are not clean youll have problems. truth is, you have to be a bonehead or lazy to cause an infection while bottling.
Cheers.

 

You should be absolutely neurotic about the sanitation during the packaging step, especially if you are bottle conditioning. Siphons, bottling buckets, kegs, and re-used glass are huge infection risks.

Do not relax, do worry, and do not have any homebrew until you're done.

 

From what I understand, by bottling time the risk does go down considerably as the alcohol will help kill off some small nasties that try to sneak in. Obviously sanitation is still very important though.

 

It is the low pH (<4.6) more than the alcohol, and that only works on some spoilers. Lactic, Acetic, Brett and Pedio don't care.

 

If Star San is your friend - and used properly - you greatly improve the odds during the bottling stage....

 

You are correct, the riskiest time is during the cooling period, post boil. The risk falls significantly (assuming we are only talking about airborne contaminates) when you pitch your yeast and after fermentation due to the environment that the beer becomes. Yeast is a living organism, and like nearly all living organisms they will defend their territory. This is why it is important to pitch the proper quantity an quality of yeast. Some bacteria are stronger than brewing yeast, but in adequate numbers the yeast can get rid of the bacteria. Once fermentation is complete, the higher alcohol levels make it very difficult for anything to survive.

 

fwiw, remember that beer was first and foremost a historic drink due to its ability to remain relatively bug free. people brewed safe beer for centuries without even the slightest knowledge of bacteria. they were sure to be careful and always use the same exact techniques. that and of course the boiling part helps.

so be prudent, but don't stress like its open heart surgery. you don't need a silkwood scrub down.
Cheers.

 

Aly. Best thing I did was before I last bottled I bought one of those trees. The nice thing is you can mix your star san in your bottling bucket and dunk the whole thing in. Then after sanitizing the bottles just place them on the tree and they are done. Well worth the $$ IMO

 

It is indeed true that beer was consumed in the past because it was safer to drink than water. The boiling killed pathogens. The microorganisms that can infect beer will not harm you but they will produce off flavors. Below is a description about what beer would taste like in Colonial America:

“What did it taste like? Ale in the 18th century would have, in many cases, contained lots of hops, making it bitter in the same way that India pale ales are today. Hops flavored the brew and acted as a preservative. Moreover, flavors would have varied greatly from batch to batch. Brewers hadn't yet learned about microbes that make beer taste sour or skunky, as beer drinkers say today. "There was a high rate of infection" of the brew, Clark said. "So the same guy would make the same kind of beer, but it would taste different from batch to batch." Modern production makes for uniform tastes, but in the 18th century, beer drinkers expected peaks and valleys in quality.”

http://www.catholic.org/hf/home/story.php?id=29878

Cheers!

 

Yes. From what I understand bacteria will not go up an upside down bottle so once they are on the tree you can leave them be for awhile without risk of contamination. Obviously setting on the counter they are upright.
Plus any foam/star san will continue to drip out while you are tending to your beer.

We are on a similar time path if I remember.

Bottling the second time with the tree took less time as well.

Basically I filled my bottling bucket with starsan. Placed my tubes, racking cane, siphon etc. in there to soak.
Then I just siphoned the starsan into the bottles that I had placed into a cooler after washing. This also sanitized the tubing.

Then I simply dumped the bottles and placed on the tree. Racked my beer into the bucket and filled and capped.

So much easier with the tree....

 

agree on the tree...even though mine gets used more for bomber storage lately (keg 90% of my beers)

 

I will be hitting you up for Kegging tips in about 6 months or so I am sure

 

Sure. Anytime. Hope you have better luck this time. I am drinking my second batch and I really cannot believe how good the first 2 came out. I am sure I am quoting someone else when I say "pretty much best hobby ever"

 

Alternatively you can place the bottles upside down in the dishwasher and run it on the sanitize setting with no detergent. Not sure if it's as cost effective, but you get a similar effect. This is what I do personally.