22 replies to this topic

[SchwanzBrewer]

Well, im not getting any reduced flow and im not getting any infections so I aint worried. I might soak it in some oxyclean next time or pump oxyclean through it, rinse and then soak it in starsan next time, but I think that is overkill.Cheers,Rich

[djinkc]

Well, im not getting any reduced flow and im not getting any infections so I aint worried. I might soak it in some oxyclean next time or pump oxyclean through it, rinse and then soak it in starsan next time, but I think that is overkill.Cheers,Rich

Yeah, just introducing something new to the brewery here. I know this is a potential problem and just wanted to see what others are doing. I don't want to spend a lot of time, especially at the end of the brewday, but also have no desire to dump 10 gal of beer. I've had a couple in the last year that should have been sewer beer. The best was forgetting to put starsan in the bucket I always use. Turned out fine with no sanitation except tap water - did make sure it was gone fast though. I lost a keg of annual Christmas Stout that went sour earlier this year for no good reason I could find. Swagman says we are paranoid sometimes, I like to take the minimal path to ensuring that the yeast beats the other bugs in the race. Just don't want minimal to include shortcuts..............I remember blktre dumping a substantial amount of beer a few years ago. I think everything went down the drain and he had to sterilize/sanitize/ or replace everything and rebuild his stock. That would take me months to replace the stuff in queue and I'm sure he had more. Guess it's the ounce of prevention deal without going nutzoid about it........ .

[Recklessdeck]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll put the CFC together this weekend. And probably run some PBW or oxy + TSP to clean. I'm curious if I'll need to use the pump to drain the kettle or if gravity will work. Guess a dry/wet run would be in order..........

I've been using a CFC for many years and always used gravity. However you will need to elevate the kettle substantially. I put my kettle on a platform I built off the side porch railing. the kettle should be about 3-4 feet above the fermentor. This will will give you all the gravity you need to drain the kettle quickly