Cleaning and sanitising

What you need

• A cleaner without fragrance, for example sodium percarbonate or a brewery cleaner
• A no-rinse sanitiser, for example based on peracetic acid or phosphoric acid
• A spray bottle
• Soft brushes and sponges, nothing abrasive

Step by step

1. Step 1Rinse right after use

   Rinse the kettle, fermenter and hoses straight after use. Dried-on residue is very hard to remove.

2. Step 2Clean thoroughly

   Soak dirty parts in a warm cleaning solution and remove deposits with a soft sponge. Scratches give germs places to hide.

3. Step 3Rinse clean

   Rinse off the cleaner completely with clear water. Residue harms the head on your beer.

4. Step 4Sanitise just before use

   Sanitise everything that touches wort or beer after the boil: fermenter, lid, airlock, hoses, spoon, thermometer and bottles. Keep to the contact time stated by the manufacturer.

5. Step 5Don’t touch

   Don’t touch the inside of sanitised parts with bare hands and don’t dry them.

6. Step 6Look after your bottles

   Rinse bottles as soon as you have poured the beer. Then cleaning and sanitising is all they need before the next bottling.

Tips and common mistakes

• Cleaning comes before sanitising: no sanitiser works under dirt.
• Be careful with chlorine: residue can cause medicinal off-flavours.
• Gear used only before the boil has to be clean but not sanitised. The boil sterilises the wort anyway.