OnTap Magazine

If you've started out in homebrewing, you might well have heard the old saw that, "Brewing is 80% cleaning," or something to that effect. And yes, that is (kinda) true. But I'm still surprised how many homebrewers (rookies and experienced ones alike) do not engage in proper, well-thought- through sanitation. The riskiest period of brewing, contamination-wise, is when you're working with yeast and chilled wort (i.e. the so-called cold side of brewing). Once wort cools, it becomes a lovely haven for all sorts of bacteria and wild yeast that are dead set on ruining your beer. So, you've got to think carefully about how contaminants may enter your brew and how to stop that from happening. For one, you should recognise that wild yeast and other contaminants are microscopic entities. That means they can reside in even the smallest speck of dirt inside your fermenter (so clean it first), the tiniest crevice or scratch in the fermentation bucket's interior (so replace that thing already), or the fur of the family cat (so ban pets from your home brewery). Also use a proper, made-for-purpose brewing sanitiser, like Peracetic acid or Star San. These are nifty because they don't require you to rinse afterward, thus limiting re-contamination. Far too many homebrewers make the mistake of using weird and wonderful sanitisers that are often not made for brewing and may not truly sterilise your equipment. Some of these substances (i.e. iodine) may well sanitise, but can also lead to off flavours in the finished product if not rinsed well enough. And rinsing brings with it risks (see above). In general, brewing beer at home is a very safe enterprise. I’d hazard a guess that homebrewing as a hobby is far safer than other activities like golf, tennis, or going shopping. But that doesn’t mean that you should be overly cavalier about it either! I’ve seen far too many homebrewers who ignore personal safety altogether. Commercial brewers spend a lot of time and money in ensuring a safe working environment in their breweries, and you can take a leaf out of their books in your own homebrewing operation. Common rookie safety mistakes I've seen include: IGNORING THE DANGERS OF PLASTICS + HEAT If you siphon hot wort during mashing or chilling, please make sure that you’re using copper, stainless steel, or heat- resistant plastic for the job. Far too many homebrewers will use any old plastic tubing to transfer hot wort and that’s not healthy. Many soft plastics release substances that are known carcinogens when heated. So do your homework before grabbing the most convenient tubing when working with hot wort! Use food grade plastic. IGNORING THE DANGERS OF CLEANING AGENTS Quite a few chemicals used for cleaning are potentially harmful. For instance, a common cleaning agent in commercial breweries is hot caustic soda, which does IGNORING SAFETY 2 NOT SANITISING PROPERLY 1 ontapmag.co.za | Autumn 2023 | 43