Cleaning/Sanitizing Question

[Newb_Englander]

So I made a couple of mistakes when brewing my first lager (AG) last night. I went a little too late into the night and when I was moving my chilled wort from the kettle to my primary, I forgot to completely rinse the B-Brite from my primary.

Will this affect the finished product? (Instead of using the 2 Tbsp/gallon, I only used 1 Tbsp/gallon if that helps - and yes, I know Starsan is a superior product, just trying to use the rest of a 5# bag)

 

[Kent88]

Are you noticing a krausen?

 

[LexusChris]

B-Brite is an oxygen based cleaner. I looked around and most of them do recommend to rinse after use, although One Step says it is non-toxic and leaves no residue.

There is a thread here on rinse vs. no-rinse on these sorts of things..

If you dumped the cleaner out of the fermenter and it only had the residue of B-Brite, I would imagine you are probably ok. If you left a gallon of solution in there, and transferred on top, I would probably dump it.

Good luck!
--LexusChris

 

[brewkinger]

There is a more important point to be made here.
B-brite is a cleaner.
Not a sanitizer.....
So you may want to get a proper sanitizer like starsan or iodophor for future brews.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Will be brewing number 37 and 38 today. Have never used anything except one step no rinse. Never had a problem with anything and no infections. Used it on somewhere around 30 five gallon batch's of wine with the same results. Some times I believe some folks worry wayyyy too much about sanitizers. What did home brewers do in 1630? Why of course RDWAHAHB.

 

[ram5ey]

In 1630 they drank a lot more sour beer.

 

[unionrdr]

Back then, from my book research, they scrubbed them, but they didn't say with what. And they would have more batches wind up as dumpers. But from old woodcuts & the like, all the way up to the old Cleveland breweries, open fermentation was used in separate rooms with low ceilings. I found pics last night if y'all wanna peek?
As for the B-Brite, if all that was left was the coating inside, you should be ok.

 

[Newb_Englander]

Thanks to all for the replies, it's why I love this site.

I realize the whole B-Brite is not a sanitizer argument, but I have never had a problem with any infections or anything after letting everything soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. I figured we always used it on glasses at the bar I worked at.

Probably picking up some starsan this weekend though...

 

[kombat]

I realize the whole B-Brite is not a sanitizer argument, but I have never had a problem with any infections or anything after letting everything soak for a minimum of 30 minutes. I figured we always used it on glasses at the bar I worked at.

Sure, but when you pour a drink for a customer at a bar, do they let it sit for several weeks, or do they drink it right away?

 

[unionrdr]

I remember our favorite waitress at Beedub's saying they had to be heated for a certain amount of time at a certain temp range before serving with them. Besides the cleaner they used. And to think BW3 was started by a friend who made vice president of the UAW local me & pop belonged to. They eventually sold it from where they started in North Ridgeville.

 

[airbrett]

Back then, from my book research, they scrubbed them, but they didn't say with what. And they would have more batches wind up as dumpers. But from old woodcuts & the like, all the way up to the old Cleveland breweries, open fermentation was used in separate rooms with low ceilings. I found pics last night if y'all wanna peek?
As for the B-Brite, if all that was left was the coating inside, you should be ok.

Not to side track the thread, but the master brewer from Anchor in San Francisco did a talk during SF Beer Week. They still do open primary fermentation! I asked about how they keep infections at bay and he said that basically the yeast will overpower anything else. They have been doing it this way for many decades.

Plenty of cool pics of these open air fermenters via Google: Anchor Open Fermentation

 

[unionrdr]

You're right, of course. I was surprised when I found pics of the old breweries in Cleveland using open fermentation. Let me dig out a few. OK, finally dug'em out...
This one is the Leisy brewery , Cleveland;

Standard Brewing Co, also in Cleveland;

And Carling, also in Cleveland;

So it seems that open fermentation was still practiced by the old timers that brought their skills & recipes to America?!

 

[CooperBrew]

You're right, of course. I was surprised when I found pics of the old breweries in Cleveland using open fermentation. Let me dig out a few. OK, finally dug'em out...
So it seems that open fermentation was still practiced by the old timers that brought their skills & recipes to America?!

Samuel Smith's Brewery in England still does open fermentation.

Check out their website....http://www.samuelsmithsbrewery.co.uk/

 

[unionrdr]

It's amazing, looking back, how long this method has been used successfully. They must move it to the bright tank as soon as fermentation stops though?

 

[madscientist451]

The original question was about mixing wort with a detergent cleaner.
Will drinking a small amount of detergent hurt you? Maybe, maybe not.
And if brewers are using 1 step and getting good results, good for them. I'm sticking with star-san until something better comes along.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Awesome photos! Brew on and fear not the infection. Or maybe Fear not the infection and brew on. Trademark copyright tee shirts hats ect ect.... oogabogachiefwalkingdeer

 

[brewkinger]

The original question was about mixing wort with a detergent cleaner.
Will drinking a small amount of detergent hurt you? Maybe, maybe not.
And if brewers are using 1 step and getting good results, good for them. I'm sticking with star-san until something better comes along.

Agreed. It got a little OT there for a bit.

You made wort. Wait and see how it turns out and then figure out if B-brite gave it an off taste.
Like was mentioned, it depends on how much was mixed in.
8oz of liquid in 5 gallons of beer is around 1% cleaner in your beer.

Who knows? Maybe you are on to something exciting and new in beer flavoring.

Me? I will stick to starsan.

Just as an FYI, the research that I have done on the topic of open fermentation in older breweries and such is this:
They were making batches of beer and pitching onto an existing yeast cake that was THE dominant organism in the mixture.
The very same reason that most of us choose to make a yeast starter.
If you pitch an adequately sized colony of yeast into a wort then you give them the advantage of being the deciding factor in your beer fermentation.

 

[oogaboogachiefwalkingdeer]

Well I guess Star San is okay but I have read where some who have used it somehow still got an infection. So just maybe how it was cleaned ..... sanitized or what ever that really matters. Got another ten gallons on a slurry pitch in a no rinse. Hope it works again. I will let you know in about 5 weeks..

 

[unionrdr]

Well, with a cleaner like PBW, it needs to be rinsed well before using Starsan, for example. The alkaline cleaner will neutralize the acid sanitizer. So rinse off the cleaner well before sanitizing. Not to mention, getting the proper dilution ratio.