Sanitation

Homebrewers are concerned with sanitation and about bringing wild yeast and bacteria into their breweries whether by accident or deliberately. It is my view that such concerns apply more to the professional rather than amateur brewer. The homebrewer can easily take all his equipment apart and thoroughly clean and sanitize it. The professional does not have this luxury. Carboys, buckets, hoses and other equipment can all be exposed to the appropriate sanitizer to eliminate any wild yeast and bacteria. I brew all my beers using HDPE and PC containers and have used the same containers to brew lambic-style beers for that last 2 and a half years. I have never had a problem with cross contamination. I clean all my equipment thoroughly before and after each use. I make sure all my equipment is free from any stuck on grime and use iodophor to sanitize it. After a container has had wort in it for a year I will clean it to the point of being visually clean using automatic dishwasher detergent. The generic brand I use contains TSP as well as sodium hypochlorite. Thus it does a preliminary job of sanitizing the container. I then will soak the container overnight in 12.5 PPM iodophor and then rinse the next day. By following good cleaning and sanitation practices I see no reason to worry about cross contamination. If you are concerned about contamination you may want to have a dedicated set of equipment for lambic- style beer brewing.

See also Clean and Sanitary: a discussion of home brewery sanitation practices, by Michael Froehlich and Brewery Cleaning and Sanitizing, by Jim Liddil and John Palmer.