General homebrew discussion, tips and help on kit and malt extract brewing, and talk about equipment. Queries on sourcing supplies and equipment should go in The Store.
Iodine stains EVERY THING brown, except starch. Starch always stains a very dark blue, and is about the only compound that does. This shouldn't be noticalbe in beer, if Chris is correct in identifying yeast as fungi, as yeast would contain the amylase enzyme, which hydrolyses starch to maltose, which is fermentable by the yeast. No matter what time period, an Iodine based sanitizer shouldn't turn any thing in your fermentor blue/black, as fungi, unlike plants, don't store energy as starch, and further hydrolyses the starch in local environment. Unless you are adding potatoes to the fermentor when sanitizing . This is all well and good unless I am very much mistaken, and anaerobically respiring yeast don't produce amylase, but I don't see why they shouldn't really.
I picked up some proxitane the other day, as it was the only thing my HBS had as an alternative to sodium met. It's a leave in style sanitiser, so I'm a little dubious, but the bloke at the shop thinks it shouldn't taint the taste of the brew. Any experiences? Should I use it, or stick to sodium or bleach?
Hi Johnny_boy
I would try and not use proxitane as it contains peroxyacetic acid (vinegar) as well as hydrogen peroxide. The odour from this additive may taint your brew. Hydrogen peroxide is fine, but not with additives
Cheers
I read somewhere that Napisan (Sodium Percarbonate) is a good cleaner to use, but since its a bleach is it any good at sterilising too? I'm going to grab some baby bottle steriliser on Monday otherwise.
NTRabbit wrote:I read somewhere that Napisan (Sodium Percarbonate) is a good cleaner to use, but since its a bleach is it any good at sterilising too? I'm going to grab some baby bottle steriliser on Monday otherwise.
i've used sodium percarbonate for soaking my fermentors over night (to get of the staining of iodophor ).. i found it wasnt to friendly on rubber seals tho. apart from that it seems to work ok. & it's great for soaking bottles in a weak solution over night to remove yeast build up.
one thing to watch out for (as with most bleaches etc) is for scented types.. most dont list it on the packaging
i've sinced switched back to homebrand milton equiv. for soaking fermentors, taps, bottles etc.
Yeah i was planning on getting a basic homebrand equivalent of it, mainly for cleaning bottles and cleaning out my fermenter after I've bottled. I'm still undecided over what to use for sterilising though.
NTRabbit wrote:Yeah i was planning on getting a basic homebrand equivalent of it, mainly for cleaning bottles and cleaning out my fermenter after I've bottled. I'm still undecided over what to use for sterilising though.
Just watch with nappysan, as apparently a new variety now comes with a "fresh fragrance," which someone has mentioned stays in the fermenter. Unless you like 'flavoured' beer. be careful which one you choose.
Its a bargain brand which shouldnt come with anything extra at all, and Iodophor has its minuses like all the others. I might try the Grumpys Ortho-Phosphoric at some stage down the track, but it looks like im going to be sticking with sodium met for the forseeable future.
. This is all well and good unless I am very much mistaken, and anaerobically respiring yeast don't produce amylase, but I don't see why they shouldn't really.
