Best Practices for Sanitizing Fermentation Chamber

[EtchyLives]

Just kegged my tripel and need to clean out my fermentation chamber something fierce. What are your best recommendations to get any residual unwanted beasties out of my ferm chamber (converted freezer with heating pad controlled by a STC-1000+)?

Due to warmer temps (68°-76°F), high gravity, and Belgian yeast I got some pretty nasty residue in the bottom of the fermentation chamber and by the end of the cycle I had blue/green mold growing in the chamber and that sour smell indicative of some serious rotting going on.

Thankfully it was all on the outside of the carboy and I think I dodged the bullet to my beer. But I need to clean out my fermentation chamber. I already unplugged everything and wiped it down with bleach water but there is still some of that sour smell. So... another application of Clorox water? Or something else?

 

[arcorey]

I use a solution of bleach water and leave the chamber open to dry. I also towel dry as much as I can too before leaving it open. Check in a few days and repeat if necessary.

 

[magno]

I second the call for a bleach water solution. Liberal application too. Can't be beat.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

I'm a big fan of acid treatment, e.g., Star-San (first go to) or Iodophor (most of what I used commercially, along with ClO2 on bottling lines). At a certain dilution, so long as you let it completely dry, bleach is volatile and will evanesce...but if it doesn't, you get chlorophenols in your beer. If you do end up simply rinsing the bleach away due to using a higher concentration, then unless you are certain you're using aseptic technique, you can't be certain you haven't re-infected your system.

This, plus the big difference in contact time required - I think it's something like 2 v. 20 minutes or so for Star-San v. bleach, all point me to the acid sanitizers. YMMV.

Reading your post, though, my first worry would be that you are sure you've got your unit completely clean, first. You cannot sanitize on top of substrate so you need to get rid of any dirt, microbiological or otherwise, first. I'd recommend PBW here - and leave it soak overnight in any possible suspected area. Any cleaner of your choice, so long as you can count on it removing any gunk you're afraid might still reside in your chamber. Then go ahead with your sanitizing regime.

Good luck, however you proceed. Tripel - yum.

 

[EtchyLives]

I'm a big fan of acid treatment, e.g., Star-San (first go to) or Iodophor (most of what I used commercially, along with ClO2 on bottling lines). At a certain dilution, so long as you let it completely dry, bleach is volatile and will evanesce...but if it doesn't, you get chlorophenols in your beer. If you do end up simply rinsing the bleach away due to using a higher concentration, then unless you are certain you're using aseptic technique, you can't be certain you haven't re-infected your system.

This, plus the big difference in contact time required - I think it's something like 2 v. 20 minutes or so for Star-San v. bleach, all point me to the acid sanitizers. YMMV.

Reading your post, though, my first worry would be that you are sure you've got your unit completely clean, first. You cannot sanitize on top of substrate so you need to get rid of any dirt, microbiological or otherwise, first. I'd recommend PBW here - and leave it soak overnight in any possible suspected area. Any cleaner of your choice, so long as you can count on it removing any gunk you're afraid might still reside in your chamber. Then go ahead with your sanitizing regime.

Good luck, however you proceed. Tripel - yum.

Thanks. I will get out there and re-scrub (just to make sure) and then probably do a wipe down with a wet bleach rag, let it dry for 20+ minutes, then spray down with my sanitizer bottle.

The Tripel was the problem. Blew and airlock, cleaned up, put in blow-off tube. Added sugar, krausen came out the top off my blow-off reservoir. Cleaned up again. Added sugar. Same thing again. Still got 5.5 gallons for bottling though. And the warm uncarbonated sample was delicious.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Been there!

Your brew sounds exciting. Good luck with the rest of it, Etchy.

 

[EtchyLives]

Been there!

Your brew sounds exciting. Good luck with the rest of it, Etchy.

Thanks. Here is the recipe. Turned out real nice and hit all the BS2 numbers.

Not sure where in WI you are, but if you're near Allouez (Green Bay-ish) check out Zambaldi beer. An old buddy of mine runs it.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

We're South, in Madison. But do head up to the U.P. quite a bit, wife's family. I'll make a note to stop in!

And your recipe looks awesome, though I don't know the first thing about Belgian brewing (and would like to learn). I consider you folks the true artists in the brewhouse, using such a plethora of techniques and materials. I love many Belgian styles, just haven't done any yet (very British in my brewing, it seems). Nice inspiration, and congrats on hitting your targets, etchy!

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Agree with the "clean before sanitize" approach. Give it a good old soap and water scrub followed by sanitizer of choice. Since it's not coming in direct contact with your beer I would personally go he bleach route. I use starsan or iodophore for anything that comes in contact with my wort/beer

 

[LarMoeCur]

When I built my fermentation chamber. I made sure to give the bottom half a good thick coat of spray seal. I didn't use Flex Seal. I got the cheaper Leak Stopper Rubber Flexxx. I put two very think coats on it. It took a long time to cure (full 24 hours). Now I use what ever cleaner I have on hand and a rag to wipe up any spills. My AC unit condensates a lot (Texas humidity) and the water just runs right off into my drain. No wood damage.

I'd clean it out. Let it completely dry. Then spray in a coat or two. Right over the mold. I doubt mold will grow through rubber. Trust me it's worth the 10 bucks.