Aussiedistiller, Home Distilling, Moonshine, Home Brew

I know everyone is super sterile but does it really matter... I mean I have been watching the TV show Moonshiners and they stir their mash with a fence pailing and a kayak paddle. :))
They said it comes out at 140 proof.... does that mean 140% alcohol ? When I use turbo is cones out round 93%...

Being sterile is not as important as it is in beer brewing, but being clean does help reduce any undesirable flavours from poor hygiene.

As for "proof" half it and tou get your %ABV.
so 140proof is only 70%ABV.

140 proof is 70% abv, being sterile is not as important for spirits as it is beer. That being said being clean is important, I don't sterilize any of my gear but it is all rinsed b4 and after use and my fermenting and stilling area is kept clean. Hard to sanitize a fermenter when doing generations.

Do not confuse entertainment for truth,and leave the redneck stuff were it belongs,good standards and hygenic practices will leed ta good results and consistency period.And proffesional attitudes will favour legalizeation in the future in my opinion.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

Washing with detergent is about all you need to do (and not using a fence paling). Your boiler is your steriliser for the final product. So you just need to make sure your fermenter is clean enough for the yeast to overtake any other microbe that might find its way in there.

Also, you don't use steriliser chemicals on your cutlery and dinner plates and yet you eat off it. Make your fermenter/equipment clean enough to eat off and you'll be right.

Yeah don't get hung up on sterilisation, if it's hosed after use its usually enough if it's been sitting a month or more hose it again.
So far none of the issues I've had have been tracked back to hygiene.
Hose it out and fill it again. Even if you can't run the wash for a few months it's going to be fine and a full fermenter isn't getting mold and bugs all over it. Much easier than rewashing...

Starsan is cheap and cheerful. Why wouldn't you use it? I might not sanitise my cutlery but I also don't leave it soaking in a sugar solution.

Ps. It's sanitise, not sterilise. We almost never sterilise anything.

If I had nasty bugs I'd definitely want to sterilise them lest the become more!

orcy wrote:Ps. It's sanitise, not sterilise. We almost never sterilise anything.

Sorry, thanks for correcting me.

I don't bother with anything other than detergent because I've never needed to. Others have said they just hose out their fermenters and I do too if I am doing back to back runs. When doing generations, obviously there is no cleaning or sanitising.

hillzabilly wrote:Do not confuse entertainment for truth,and leave the redneck stuff were it belongs,good standards and hygenic practices will leed ta good results and consistency period.And proffesional attitudes will favour legalizeation in the future in my opinion.cheers hillzabilly ;-)

:text-+1:

I clean all my fermenting gear with dishwashing detergent and a brush or sponge and rinse it thoroughly afterwards. I also keep my fermenter open and covered with a towel when it’s not in use and I give everything a ring and a quick spray with sanitiser before starting a new wash.

Cheers,
Prof. Green.

Another thing to consider is size of fermenter,ifn its a 30lt you only stand ta loose a little were as a 200lt fermenter holds up to six times that much,so I allways put a bit more care into the big batchs,and ifn its all grain there's even a lot more time effort and money ta loose,in short ifn ya go bigger go cleaner and more tidy and put the odds in your favour,and the sooner ya clean things the easier it is what ever way ya choose,personaly I spray with water after useing a soft brush and rinse with only tap water and dry quickly then seal up for next time.cheers hillzabilly :handgestures-thumbupleft:

:text-+1: wouldnt like to lose a 30l ferment let alone a 200l one :scared-eek:

From personal experience I can honestly say it really sucks to tip a 180L wash into the drain!
That said the only time it happened was before I learned to control my pH in rum.
In a fermenter that's lazily hosed out and dried A wash/mash that's pitched with the correct amount of viable yeast stands very little chance of infection even up here in qld where bugs grow in the freezer it's so hot lol

I'm using chlorel, it's a chlorine based sanitizer that is used in the milk industry and by butchers, found it at a produce place, very little after smell that disappears quickly

Beer guy I know reckoned his brew tasted way better when he dropped sanitizer for steam cleaning

Pist n broke wrote:I have been watching the TV show Moonshiners

There’s ya problem , forget anything you think you may have learnt from this show.

The Stig wrote:

Pist n broke wrote:I have been watching the TV show Moonshiners

There’s ya problem , forget anything you think you may have learnt from this show.

:laughing-rolling: :D :laughing-rolling:

Some even use the Foreshots or early heads as cleaning/ sanitising solution... Waste not want not!