Home brewing kits ....

Rinse 3 times with water? I use vwp and I rinse once. Although recently I have started putting them in the dishwasher afterwards on a rinse cycle.

Even with star san I'd still do the clean as well.
 
I'm sure I read that you need to rinse it at least 3 times. I'll just rinse the once from now on then.

I think I go way over the top with sanitising everything. I even washed some tea towels on a 90c wash prior to brewing so I could dry my hands after washing them with antibacterial soap and hold the malt tin with boiling water.
 
I might get a bottle then as it sounds like it'll last a lifetime with the small amount you use. I've read that Tesco bottled water is ok to mix with it, so you don't have to buy deionized?
 
Mark A said:
I might get a bottle then as it sounds like it'll last a lifetime with the small amount you use. I've read that Tesco bottled water is ok to mix with it, so you don't have to buy deionized?
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We've done about 500 litres of brews with our bottle and we've used less than a quarter. It's really awesome :)

We are lazy and use our tap water. As long as it doesn't turn cloudy it's good.
 
Garfo said:
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/bottle-barrel-cleaner-200g.html

been using that now for 2+years no probs what so ever very clean good strong stuff rinse once easy as pie,bugger starsan.

ive made many brews now and have made wine now [which tastes yummy]

:)

hey ho each to there own though
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I like the look of that for label removing and stain removal but you can't really argue with the ease of use of starsan - no-rinse is awesome. Especially if you bottle rather than keg.

edit: Starsan isn't suitable for stain/label removal however.
 
Just to add Starsan does not 'clean' it sanitizes as in kills germs and living organisms, it should only be used on clean items as it will not remove dirt. I check mine with a PH strip to check it's at 2.8, (~1.6ml per L should = PH 2.8)

As far as cleaners are concerned I use oxi laundry stain remover In my case Astonish oxi-plus ~£4 for 2kg but any non-scented Sodium Carbonate Peroxyhydrate cleaner should be OK. It's much the same stuff that some homebrew shops charge £7 per KG, I always rinse this cleaner just to be safe.

VWP is a pain to rinse, you can tell it needs more rinsing as the surface will feel slippy, I would avoid using this if possible.
 
We seem to get through so much VWP I'm beginning to think MrsS has a habit.
But yes, StarSan is brilliant stuff. Just stuck it in a spray bottle and coat everything liberally. Tip any excess away, sure, but no need to rinse off.
 
jimmy321 said:
VWP is a pain to rinse, you can tell it needs more rinsing as the surface will feel slippy, I would avoid using this if possible.
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Yeah I get that sometimes. Normally that's on the outside though so I don't worry about it. I dunk 6 bottles at a time in cold water, half empty them and shake like a mofo and pour out.

So far no issues.

I might though try washing bottles after use better and giving star san a try, where's the best place to buy?
 
Has anyone tried heating bottles in the over to sterilise? It occurred to me last night after washing/removing labels that i could stick a load of bottles in the oven on 100c to dry them out inside for storage. Worked great and meant I could box them all up immediately and not have them scattered all over the kitchen while they dried.

Just wondering if on the day of bottling up, I could take the washed bottles out of the storage box and then stick them all back in the oven on 100c to sterilise? I can fit 21 bottles in the oven on 3 shelves, so that would mean one load could be cooling ready for filling, while the other bottles are in the oven.

Or I could just get a bottle of starsan :p
 
I have said it before, got to your local pub and ask them to keep kopperburg bottles for you. The labels slip off with a 5 minute soak in warm washing up water and leave little no residue on the bottle.

I have 300 of them now, they clean up well.
 
My local brewing shop in Burnley doesnt sell it, so I think i'll get some from BrewUK, with a few other bits and pieces.

I'm surprised there are no UK sellers selling it on ebay. That's the first place I go for brewing bits and bobs.


My beer will be ready for bottling on monday, but i'm still undecided how to prime the bottles. I'm tempted to just get some more of the coopers carb drops, even though they are very expensive for what they are.
 
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"As this is Acid based product the water to mix with it should not be alkaline otherwise it will neutralise the acid and reduce the effectiveness of the product. Use Ro water or distilled water, some bottled waters work as well. To test use a small amount into a solution if it goes cloudy it wont be as affective as being clear."

I live in a hard water area so I take it my water will be alkaline?
 
It appears that way from when I was looking in to it a few days ago. Apparently Tescos Ashbeck bottled water works fine with it. Not sure about other bottled waters, but on the forum I was reading quite a few suggested the Ashbeck water, so seems like a safe one to go for. Plus you can get a 5l bottle of it and make the solution up in the bottle and then just keep re-using it.
 
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Yeah, we've tried a couple of the supermarkets 20ish pence value waters and they've all gone cloudy with minerals precipitating out (I guess) with Starsan. Ashbeck stays clear. As said, the 5l bottles are good, and can double up as a disposable demijohn once empty :D
 
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