Sanitizing question

[Krimbos]

Certainly, the topic of sanitizing seems never ending, but I wonder how sensitive is the brewing process and, even more so,how contaminated are our environs with harmful microorganisms?

I am tempted to run a batch with no starsan in sight, to see what happens.

But I digress....

My question, when you top off a 2.5-3 gallon boil with enough water to bring to 5 gal, does that water néed to be sanitized with a drop or two of StarSan? Boiled? I have never seen anything related to that.

 

[grim322]

When I was doing extract recipes, I used chilled gallons of bottled water that had not been opened. Never had a problem.

 

[LarryBrewer]

I'd say there is a minimal risk from topping off with tap water, but the off flavor is noticeable in all but the strongest beers. Tap water often contains chlorine, or chloramine, which gives a noticeable taint to home brew.

Purchasing spring water, or doing a boiling treatment in advance addresses the sanitization concern and the chlorine issue.

Chloramine may be harder to get rid of (campden tables, or an excessively long boil). Portland Oregon water has Chloramine, but I don't personally notice it even in my lightest beers that are all grain. I do notice it in my friend's extract beer. It sounds like you may already be exploring full wort boils.

A carbon filter would be the sure way to get high quality water on brew day. Every pro brewery I've ever toured runs their water through a series of carbon filters. I am looking at getting an inline carbon filter, but as I said at this point with my full wort boils I'm doing great.

 

[Nosybear]

I use straight tap water. But advisedly: The City of Aurora's water supply is extremely clean. The analysis gives a bacteria count and we have had very few instances of bacteria in the water. There is a risk in using straight tap water or any unboiled water but it seems to be extremely low.

 

[Head First]

As a certified water operator of a small municipal system I can assure you that the chance of contamination from tap water is VERY minimal. As Larry Brewer pointed out chlorine is used in most systems of any size and a carbon filter is needed to remove the residule . On the other hand tap water can be TAINTED very easily. The vessel you use to transfer the water or the screen and bubbler in your faucet. As brewers we deal with sanitation every brew. I recently installed a new utility sink in my brewery and that faucet even contains a screen which is not the norm for garden hose threaded faucets. These Items are exposed to air out side of the distribution system so are possible contamination points. Be assured the water in your public water system is safe as far as sanitation or you would be notified by the distributer. We all pay lots of money to make sure of this. But Know your water profile. If your profile is good and you are concerned about getting sanitary water from your tap, you can remove the screen and bubbler,spray and wipe down the faucet with a sanitizer, inside and out, and if done as cleanly as your other brewing methods you should never have a problem.

 

[Conservidave]

Where i live the water comes from a river and treated by the community. It almost always has a "fishy" odor
especially noticable in the summer when drinking iced tea, something you wouldnt want in a beer for sure. So i boil everything and often blend with bottled water just to be safe.
Also having extra boiled water on hand i can rest assured that it's safe for rinsing after sanitizing or hydrating
yeast, etc.

 

[Foster82]

Water aside, I would guess most infections come from areas in or equipment that is hard to clean and has a tendency to stay wet during storage, giving the nasty stuff a nice home to live and multiply. This is why I re-sanitize everything at the end of a brew day and store everything disassembled as much as possible. If you keep it dry microbial growth will be severely hindered making cleaning on brew day easier and more effective.

Check out Larry's blog http://www.brewersfriend.com/2011/11/12/infected-batch-forensics/. I plan on doing a video on how to open these spigots up and clean them properly.

 

[Foster82]

Here is my video on cleaning an "Italian Bottling Spigot"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUBPfeT59PI

 

[LarryBrewer]

That's sweet! I need to do that on my spigots!

 

[The Brew Mentor]

Great video Foster!
Everyone should take note.
The only other thing I do I wipe a little Keg Lube on it where the parts go together.
Brian