Cleaning & Sanitation

Sanitation and cleaning is a very important, but often overlooked step in brewing beer. Brew pots, if left uncleaned, are a haven for bacteria. Even if you are using heat to boil the wort, it is still not enough to kill off the bacterial colony that may have grown within the crevices of your brew pot or other equipment. This is the reason why it is so important to clean and sanitize your brewing equipment.

It is important to define the difference between cleaning and sanitizing. Cleaning involves the removal of dirt and debris, while sanitizing is the process of removing the number of microorganisms present in the crevices of the brewing equipment.

Many home brewers skimp on buying the right cleaning tools and supplies for their home brewing equipment in the aim to save money. As a result, they opt to use generic bleach and cleansers. But what they are forgetting is that while ordinary bleach is effective in cleaning kitchen surfaces, using them to clean your brew pots is very dangerous. (more info below)