It's good stuff and seems to work fine.
I always thought bleach too risky. Before Star-san, I used bisulfite.
Posted on 03/01/2016 11:26:46 AM PST by taxcontrol
Question for the forum:
How do you sanitize your equipment?
Any tips or tricks you can share?
Ok folks, time for the monthly Brewers and Vintner’s forum topic.
Related side question: How do you dry your equipment after sterilization? And how long does it sit before you use the equipment?
I just started kegging my beer, so bottles aren’t an issue. I usually use bleach and soak it longer since the iodine can be messy cleaning the keg.
Bleach rinse for the brew and bottling buckets
Dishwasher for the bottles after scrub
Tried using some of the commercial cleaners from the supply houses but was never really comfortable or happy with them
After use is just general cleaning. Sterilization is always just before the brewing.
When I was brewing regularly I cleaned everything with a PBW (powdered brewers wash) soak and then a trip through the dishwasher rense cycle. Then every piece of equipment would get sanitized with a solution of Star-San.
Not to highjack the thread, but I just purchased 6 vines. Any suggestions for low cost and easy to build trellis?
Personally, I don't bother with sterilization, I just sanitize the equipment. That's it.
95% of the time, I use Star San. (I will use Iodophor when I bottle, but that's it)
With Star San, there is one basic, fundamental principle: don't fear the foam. Therefore, I will sanitize immediately before I use the item and go from there. On a brew / rack / keg day, I will keep a spare bucket with Star San in it to hold the utensils and hoses.
If I think of it, on my next brew / rack / keg day, I'll post a pic of the worm of Star San bubbles coming out the top of a carboy or a keg.
There is one thing I would point out, though: I generally use a bucket for primary fermentation. You should be sure to pull the o-ring out of the lid of the bucket and soak that separately as part of the cleaning/sanitization process. Then re-install the o-ring after both it and the lid have been sanitized. That way you can get any nasties that may have crept around the o-ring during the last primary fermentation.
If you are doing grape trellis then I would recommend the post and wire method. This is a post in the ground where the plant is planted. About 5 to 6 feet out of the ground. Then use a strong wire run horizontal to a post 6 feet to the left and another one to the right. Posts should form a reasonably straight line east to west. The 2 to 4 horizontal wires (I use 3 wires - 18 inches apart) should connect across the three posts. Bottom wire needs to be 18” off the ground. If your grapes are heavy, you may need an anchor in the ground to support the end posts.
Grow your vines up the center pole first, then wrap / grow / prune to encourage growth sideways along the wires. This allows for easy access to the grapes for harvesting and to the vines for annual pruning, assuming you have a path on the front and back.
If you have one row in front (sun side) of the other, then your solar angle will determine your distance between rows. Some trig might be required to calculate that distance or you could just set up a six foot pole and measure the shadow at noon. You should do this during the Spring or Fall. Winter angle is too long, and Summer angle is too short.
Thanks for the reply. The east to west is a bit of a problem. The front of my house is facing south-east. My neighbor has a fence in the back yard so my plan was to have the grapes far enough away from the fence so that they would get plenty of sun. Since I’m in NC the sun is very high in the sky. Do you think the direction will be an issue if my wires run south-east to north-west?
Heavy hemp cord between Y stands; take a look of pictures at local vineyards for their solutions, but that's been the easiest I've seen. The local vineyard used to use jute, but with the expansion of the world hemp market, they were able to convert cheap enough and replace their lines every other season.
Are you saying that one grape vine should be trained to cover three wires 5 to 6 fee to the left and 5 to 6 feet to the right?
That would mean that one plant is to be trained to fill the 6 wires (so to speak)?
East to West would be optimum in that you would have full exposure without self shadowing. Running diagonally like that can work, just might create some self shading during summer. Not a major problem, just might be slightly less than optimal.
Understand that East West alignment means that one side of the trellis will get sun all day. That in turn means that one side will be leaves and typically the “back” side will be where you find your clusters. I find I can get a higher density of rows and can harvest easier this way. Other opinions are also supported by others.
I would see your two biggest concerns would be cold in the winter and excess rain. Most grapes are not very fond of cold so you may want to cover in winter. I live in Colorado so have have both snow and cold to worry about.
Here is a excellent presentation from the University of Vermont. http://pss.uvm.edu/homefruit/hfgccgrapes.pdf
Understand these guys recommend North to South alignment. Their underlying assumption is that one side gets morning and the other side gets afternoon/evening sun. It works, but be aware that you may actually end up with less space due to the distance required between rows with this method.
To protect them, I run a cross bar made from ripping down a 2x4. The cross bar is at the very top of the poles. This allows me to toss sheet plastic over the top. That way the plastic does not touch (get cut by) the wire. I can then stretch the plastic to the ground and sand bag in place. Once I do this I really dont uncover till after last frost.
This protects from cold but if you have a fair amount of snow, this can lead to over watering due to run off. Over watering can also happen during rain season. To help with that, I make sure that the ground is loamy and I mound up around the base of the vine. Drainage is also important.
I switched to kegs some years ago. It has made brewing so much more frustration free...
FedEx delivered two new 5 gal. kegs yesterday, and I hope to fill them over the weekend!
Something wheat-y and springlike! That’s the ticket!
Funny. I was just planning my next beer and intend to go with a wheat. Something light and easy to drink.
It's good stuff and seems to work fine.
I always thought bleach too risky. Before Star-san, I used bisulfite.
Just built a new 20 gallon eBIAB system. First brew was German hefe... As far as cleaning everything is TC fitting so dis and use hot water from plate chiller w PBW to clean it... Then rinse w hot water and dry...
Sorry... Use Star San to sanitize everything. I keep a spray bottle handy.
The whole process, and it starts with a recently emptied wine bottle, is like this:
1) Rinse and refill with water and let sit over night. Empty and store upside down. 2) Day before bottling, select the bottles needed for the current batch, usually 18 - 750 ml and 6 - 1.5 l to equal the 6 gallons.
3) Soak and scrub in a hot mix of Dawn and oxy-clean. Any recalcitrant labels get attention from a stainless steel sponge.
4) Rinse in hot water and then soak in hot C-Brite solution.
5) Double rinse in hot water and drip/air dry in Fast Rack.
Equipment gets the same treatment except I just seal the conical and store the small stuff in a sanitized and sealed container. Everything is handled with powder free exam gloves. I don't sanitize the corks and have not had an issue yet.
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