It is no secret that the single most prevalent ingredient in beer is water. But there is also an equal if not larger amount of water involved in the making of beer that does not become beer. This would be the water we use for cleaning, sanitizing, and cooling.
Like myself, there are many other home brewers who are enduring another of California’s infamous droughts. Virtually the entire state is suffering a serious decline of rainfall that has left many fertile areas unusually barren, many a lake all but dried up, and many electric vehicles unwashed. It's a serious issue and one that we, as home brewers living in the state, must be conscious of when making our favorite tasty beverage. With proper care, and a little bit more attention payed towards water conservation, we can have a successful brew day, and use up less water than you might use taking a shower in the morning. Speaking of that, you might as well forgo your morning shower on brew day… you’re most likely going to get dirty anyway.
Reused StarSan, spray nozzle, and scrub brush.
Lets be honest here, beer is as much as 95% water. Brewing requires a great deal of cleaning and sanitation, and the majority of the products we use to clean and sanitize are water solutions. PBW recommends that you fill up your containers/kegs/fermenters and soak overnight. Star San also has their own set of recommendations that involve soaking, and then dumping and drying. On top of that, there are just certain things that you want to make sure get a good and proper cleaning. Maybe your mash paddle or tri-clamps and hoses.
By my calculations, one could easily use 50 gallons just cleaning their equipment before a brew day - for a 5 gallon batch! Do you soak your lauter tun, mash tun and brew kettle with PBW? That’s 20 gallons. Rinse them again to remove the PBW, lets say thats 5 gallons, and another soak with Star San makes another 20. Then you do the same with your fermenter and thats 6-10 gallons. Maybe you make a bath for your tools and connections. Another 2-3 gallons.
All of these things are unavoidable for a clean and sanitary environment, but maybe you can change up your process to save some water. Here are 5 ways you can save water, and in this drought every little bit helps. Besides, it will lighten your water bill, if even it's only a couple bucks.
Invest in an Eco-Spray Hose Nozzle.
Whether you use your kitchen sink or a yard hose, a spray nozzle can reduce your water usage from 4 water wasting gallons per minute down to 1.5 GPM or less when fully open. And, many spray nozzles have a lever action that will shut off the water unless you squeeze the trigger, thus saving water from being wasted while you are trying to keep the cat from jumping on the still hot Blichmann.
Don't Dump Your Chilling Water.
Many of us have plate chillers, counter-flows, or even coil chillers. That cold water is going to run opposite the direction of the wort, cooling it, then come out nice and toasty. Redirect that runoff water from the drain into a 5 gallon bucket, and use it to scrub your mash tun clean after the brew. That bucket full of water sitting there might serve as a reminder to clean your equipment before everything gets dry and crusted on.
Get Clever.
Conservation of water doesn't just mean not using water, but also offsetting what you do use. With just a little bit of effort you can also use that “spent” chilling water for areas outside of your brewery.
• Water your plants with it.
• Put it in the cat's or dog's water bowl.
• Wash your car with it.
• If it is the same source as your kitchen sink, use it to prepare your pastas, or for baking.
• Make Star San mix with it.
• Reuse it! I put a few gallons back into the freezer for making ice cubes to use the next time I brew, and need to cool my water down in my chilling tank.
My PH Tester making sure the StarSan is still effective.
Reuse Your Star San.
While we are trying to save water, it would be in vain if it meant the beer suffered. Your fermenting vessel, whether carboy or conical, most likely needs to have a good rinse with water, perhaps some scrubbing, another rinse and a full soak with Star San. You can't avoid the soak in this case, but how about instead of always making new batches of Star San, you reuse it? If you are using Star San correctly, it should be after a cleaning and rinsing. With proper cleaning procedure, there shouldn't be much sugar, grain, or yeast residue, and you can store that used Star San for later use. You just need either some pH test strips or a calibrated pH Meter. You are going to want to make sure that the pH of the Star San doesn't rise above 3.0, which is the maximum acceptable pH level to be an effective sanitizer.
Scrubbing clean the mash tub with a few cups of water. I’ll give it a light rinsing afterwards and a towel dry.
Not Everything Needs A Soak.
My last tip might be read as brewing sacrilege to some, but the truth is your kettles most likely do not need PBW and/or Star San soaks. When it comes to cleaning my mash tun and brew kettle, I will dump about one quart of water in the mash-tun, give it a good scrubbing, then dump/pump that water into my brew kettle, and use that same grimy water to scrub off the burnt on residue that is banjo-burner-shaped on the bottom of the kettle. If I need a deeper scrub, I might mix a bit of Bar Keepers Friend in there, but that's rare. I then use about another quart at a gentle rinse setting on the hose nozzle to rinse out both the kettles, and dry with a towel.
Personally, I don't think a soak is necessary if your kettle or mash tun has no inaccessible nooks or crannies. Furthermore, with stainless steel, if your equipment is properly passivated a good rinse and dry should suffice. Also, remember these steps are before the boil, which will kill most everything in your brew. For soaking things like connectors, funnels, and hoses, use a smaller 8 quart pot or plastic flower box. For added reassurance you can keep a 16 or 20 ounce spray bottle with Star San at the ready for a quick, light spray down and drying.
Hopefully these tips can help save some water in this desert wasteland of California. I brew 30-40 times a year, potentially saving 2000 gallons a year over my old ways. I’ve yet to have an infection, or have an off flavor that was because of cleaning or sanitation issues. If you’ve got any tips, I’d love to hear them!
Like myself, there are many other home brewers who are enduring another of California’s infamous droughts. Virtually the entire state is suffering a serious decline of rainfall that has left many fertile areas unusually barren, many a lake all but dried up, and many electric vehicles unwashed. It's a serious issue and one that we, as home brewers living in the state, must be conscious of when making our favorite tasty beverage. With proper care, and a little bit more attention payed towards water conservation, we can have a successful brew day, and use up less water than you might use taking a shower in the morning. Speaking of that, you might as well forgo your morning shower on brew day… you’re most likely going to get dirty anyway.
Reused StarSan, spray nozzle, and scrub brush.The Facts
Lets be honest here, beer is as much as 95% water. Brewing requires a great deal of cleaning and sanitation, and the majority of the products we use to clean and sanitize are water solutions. PBW recommends that you fill up your containers/kegs/fermenters and soak overnight. Star San also has their own set of recommendations that involve soaking, and then dumping and drying. On top of that, there are just certain things that you want to make sure get a good and proper cleaning. Maybe your mash paddle or tri-clamps and hoses.
By my calculations, one could easily use 50 gallons just cleaning their equipment before a brew day - for a 5 gallon batch! Do you soak your lauter tun, mash tun and brew kettle with PBW? That’s 20 gallons. Rinse them again to remove the PBW, lets say thats 5 gallons, and another soak with Star San makes another 20. Then you do the same with your fermenter and thats 6-10 gallons. Maybe you make a bath for your tools and connections. Another 2-3 gallons.
All of these things are unavoidable for a clean and sanitary environment, but maybe you can change up your process to save some water. Here are 5 ways you can save water, and in this drought every little bit helps. Besides, it will lighten your water bill, if even it's only a couple bucks.
Invest in an Eco-Spray Hose Nozzle.
Whether you use your kitchen sink or a yard hose, a spray nozzle can reduce your water usage from 4 water wasting gallons per minute down to 1.5 GPM or less when fully open. And, many spray nozzles have a lever action that will shut off the water unless you squeeze the trigger, thus saving water from being wasted while you are trying to keep the cat from jumping on the still hot Blichmann.
Don't Dump Your Chilling Water.
Many of us have plate chillers, counter-flows, or even coil chillers. That cold water is going to run opposite the direction of the wort, cooling it, then come out nice and toasty. Redirect that runoff water from the drain into a 5 gallon bucket, and use it to scrub your mash tun clean after the brew. That bucket full of water sitting there might serve as a reminder to clean your equipment before everything gets dry and crusted on.
Get Clever.
Conservation of water doesn't just mean not using water, but also offsetting what you do use. With just a little bit of effort you can also use that “spent” chilling water for areas outside of your brewery.
• Water your plants with it.
• Put it in the cat's or dog's water bowl.
• Wash your car with it.
• If it is the same source as your kitchen sink, use it to prepare your pastas, or for baking.
• Make Star San mix with it.
• Reuse it! I put a few gallons back into the freezer for making ice cubes to use the next time I brew, and need to cool my water down in my chilling tank.
My PH Tester making sure the StarSan is still effective.Reuse Your Star San.
While we are trying to save water, it would be in vain if it meant the beer suffered. Your fermenting vessel, whether carboy or conical, most likely needs to have a good rinse with water, perhaps some scrubbing, another rinse and a full soak with Star San. You can't avoid the soak in this case, but how about instead of always making new batches of Star San, you reuse it? If you are using Star San correctly, it should be after a cleaning and rinsing. With proper cleaning procedure, there shouldn't be much sugar, grain, or yeast residue, and you can store that used Star San for later use. You just need either some pH test strips or a calibrated pH Meter. You are going to want to make sure that the pH of the Star San doesn't rise above 3.0, which is the maximum acceptable pH level to be an effective sanitizer.
Scrubbing clean the mash tub with a few cups of water. I’ll give it a light rinsing afterwards and a towel dry.Not Everything Needs A Soak.
My last tip might be read as brewing sacrilege to some, but the truth is your kettles most likely do not need PBW and/or Star San soaks. When it comes to cleaning my mash tun and brew kettle, I will dump about one quart of water in the mash-tun, give it a good scrubbing, then dump/pump that water into my brew kettle, and use that same grimy water to scrub off the burnt on residue that is banjo-burner-shaped on the bottom of the kettle. If I need a deeper scrub, I might mix a bit of Bar Keepers Friend in there, but that's rare. I then use about another quart at a gentle rinse setting on the hose nozzle to rinse out both the kettles, and dry with a towel.
Personally, I don't think a soak is necessary if your kettle or mash tun has no inaccessible nooks or crannies. Furthermore, with stainless steel, if your equipment is properly passivated a good rinse and dry should suffice. Also, remember these steps are before the boil, which will kill most everything in your brew. For soaking things like connectors, funnels, and hoses, use a smaller 8 quart pot or plastic flower box. For added reassurance you can keep a 16 or 20 ounce spray bottle with Star San at the ready for a quick, light spray down and drying.
Hopefully these tips can help save some water in this desert wasteland of California. I brew 30-40 times a year, potentially saving 2000 gallons a year over my old ways. I’ve yet to have an infection, or have an off flavor that was because of cleaning or sanitation issues. If you’ve got any tips, I’d love to hear them!
