A Few Cleaning Tips For a Better Brew Every successful homebrewer and professional brewer will tell you that keeping it clean is the key to success. Why is this so important? First, beer is more prone to infection than other alcoholic beverages because it has a lower alcohol content and a higher sugar content. Second, lots of microbes really like beer and its main ingredient, barley malt. Third, as brewer you probably already know how messy brewing can be! For the most effective cleaning routine, it is helpful to think of cleaning and sanitizing as a 2 stage process. A good cleaning will remove surface deposits and most bacteria. Then, after rinsing the cleaning solution residue away, a final sanitizing step (we recommend Iodophor or Star-San) will reduce microbes to a microscopic population. Thus, your yeast will have virtually no competition when it is introduced into your yummy wort. Want to get your carboy really clean? Nothing beats a good soak in the best cleaner we have tried, 5-Star PBW. This cleaner is low environmental impact, but expensive, so to avoid making a 5 gallon solution, make a 1- 1 1/2 gallon lukewarm solution (too much heat can break a carboy) and pour it into the carboy. On an old towel or blanket, lay the carboy on its side. The water level should be just below the mouth of the carboy (you may need to adjust this). Soak for 10- 20 minutes, then rotate the carboy, soak again, etc. Once all surfaces have had a good soak, use a carboy brush to scrub all surfaces. Because of the long soak, a gentle scrub is fine, just make sure every surface meets the brush at least once. Now rinse and admire your handiwork! Apply a long soak in PBW to other equipment that could use a deep cleaning, and you are ready for a lot of good home brewing! Hate the sound of metal scraping glass? It happens every time you use a bottle or carboy brush. On top of the annoying sound, every time you scrape the lip of a bottle or carboy, you can create a scratch that can harbor bacteria. Here is a simple but effective solution: Cut a length of 1/4" i.d. tubing to fit the unprotected wire handle of the brush. Thick walled tubing works best, the kind used for keg systems, because it holds its shape best. Now for the tricky part. Use a utility knife to cut through one side of the tubing lengthwise (if a cross-section of the tubing is an O, then once you cut it it becomes a C ) . Once this is done, force the tubing over the wire handle. Ta-da! You now have a better brush!

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