EQUIPMENT
How much care should I take in cleaning?
What bottles should I use?
Do I really need an hydrometer?
How do I use an hydrometer?
Q. How much care should I take in cleaning?
This is a very important question. Temperature and cleanliness form the two most critical controls in home brewing. Get these two right and you have a very high likelihood of continuing success.
The aim is to reduce the likelihood of spoilage organisms infecting your brew and making it undrinkable. These organisms are everywhere but proper cleaning and care will defeat their efforts to harm your brew.
I've tried a few different procedures but the one that I describe here is easy and effective. I've never had an infected fermenter and in thousands of bottles I've rarely had a failure.
I use the standard 30 L plastic fermenter with screw-on lid and rubber seal, tap with sediment reducer, and airlock with rubber grommet. I also use a temperature controlled immersion heater inserted into the fermenter. Other equipment I use is a long handled plastic spoon, an hydrometer, a simple plastic filling valve and a device for adding priming sugar to the bottles.
Never use soap or scented dish washing detergents.
 SAFETY NOTE: I avoid recommending metabisulphite sterilants. Some people are allergic to the sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas that is released.
I use a good quality, unscented, chlorinated bleach containing sodium hydroxide. It is available in all supermarkets. I make a solution of about 5% (half a cup, or about 100-120 mL) in 2 L of water. Solutions of active chlorine are extremely efficient sterilants (killers of spoilage organisms) and the sodium hydroxide present is a most effective cleaner.
My cleaning is done in a clean, non-dusty area such as the kitchen or bathroom. I clean any areas onto which I shall put my cleaned brewing equipment.
SAFETY NOTE: Make sure that you wear gloves and safety goggles. Keep children and pets away in case of splashes. Remove any spillages on benches or on the floor immediately.
I clean all equipment after each brew and immediately before the next one.
After I have finished bottling a brew I rinse as much sediment out of the fermenter as possible with tap water. I wipe any soiled areas with a clean, wet cloth. Avoid using abrasive cleaners as these may create rough surface areas where spoilage organisms may lodge and infect the next brew.
Don't add bleach to an unrinsed fermenter because a lot of its strength will be wasted by reaction with the beer/yeasty sediment.
I add about half a cup (100-120 mL) of bleach to the fermenter followed by hot water to the level of the tap hole. I put the fermenter on its side in the bathtub and roll it around so that all of the internal surfaces are wetted. (The solution should be spilling out the open end of the fermenter as you rotate it.)
I wet a cloth with the dilute bleach solution and wipe all hidden areas (under the top rim, under the handle impressions, the tap hole thread) and I strongly wipe any soiled area.
I let it stand for about five minutes and repeat the process. (Five minutes contact should destroy any spoilage organisms and loosen any remaining soil.)
I then rinse all surfaces three times with water after which I carefully smell for residual bleach - there shouldn't be any. However there may be a very slight and refreshing smell of beer. (It seems impossible to remove this but it causes no problems.)
Finally I carefully look at all surfaces for any soil - there shouldn't be any.
I rinse all the parts with water. I then put them in a sink, add about half a cup (100-120 mL) of bleach and add about 2 L of hot water. I ensure that all surfaces are wet and I stir everything around occasionally over 10-15 minutes.
I carefully look for soil and remove any with a clean cloth.
Finally I rinse all the parts clean of bleach.
If I want to start a new brew straight away then everything has obviously just been cleaned and sterilised and is ready for use.
If I am not brewing straight away I store everything in a clean, dust-free area until it is time to brew again.
After storage, before I start a new brew, I repeat the above cleaning and sterilisation process in a clean, dust-free area.
The cleaning process for bottles is best started as soon as they have been used. I flush glass bottles three times with hot tap water, upend them with shaking and let them drain. (I have found this sufficient to remove sediment.) I store the bottles in a dust-free area until the next bottling.
Just prior to bottling I inspect the bottles for soil, insects etc. I fill glass bottles a quarter full with very hot water (80°C) and upend them with shaking. (SAFETY NOTE: The glass becomes very hot and it helps to wear gloves. Keep children and pets away from very hot water.)
Hot water must not be used with plastic bottles (they will deform!). Carry out the rinsing procedure after consumption with cold or warm water and inspect carefully for unremoved sediment.
Just prior to bottling plastic bottles rinse them with cold water. Add about half a cup of the 5% bleach solution described above. Seal with a gloved thumb and shake well to wet all internal surfaces. Stand for 5-10 minutes. Repeat the shaking and standing. Drain and rinse with cold water until the chlorine smell has disappeared.
If you follow these procedures with care you are well on the road to successful brewing!
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Q. What bottles should I use?
SAFETY NOTE: Inspect glass bottles before each use for cracks and chips.
Some years ago most home brewers used the 750 mL bottles sold by Australian breweries. They were designed for many re-uses and were quite strong. Many home brewers still have these and keep re-using them.
However nowadays the bottles in the commercial beer market are designed for one use only and are therefore thinner. They may have a greater tendency to weaken if cracked or chipped. This may increase the risk of breakage during crown sealing or the risk of explosion if you accidentally prime with too much sugar or if you bottle before the end of fermentation.
You should bear this increased risk in mind if using glass bottles and rigorously check for cracks and chips.
You may prefer to use the PET bottles used by soft drink manufacturers or purchase plastic bottles from a home brew shop.
Alternatively some home brew shops now sell draught systems consisting of a multi-litre plastic container with CO2 bulbs and a draught tap.
Note that plastic containers can lose CO2 through their surface over time and can also absorb oxygen from the atmosphere. This will cause your beer to become both flat and to have an aged/oxidised flavour. However consumption within a few weeks or even a few months should result in no quality issues.
Also note that conventional beer bottles are coloured amber to prevent ultra-violet light causing undesirable flavour changes. Therefore colourless plastic bottles containing beer should be stored in a cool, dark place.
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Q. Do I really need an hydrometer?
The hydrometer (or saccharometer, from saccharo meaning sugar) is the most important piece of equipment for both professional and home brewers. I say to the home brewer that you must have an hydrometer - to ensure that you have a quality controlled brew and to ensure your safety. These are two very important matters and I'll elaborate.
Professional brewers use an hydrometer to determine the state of fermentation. How?
The hydrometer measures the density or specific gravity of a liquid, which can be simply referred to as "gravity".
Water has a gravity at 20°C of 1.000. When sugars (such as malt extract and table sugar) are dissolved in water the gravity increases. For example when 1.7 kg of a home brew kit is added with 1 kg of sugar to water to a volume of 23 L, these solids increase the gravity of the water to about 1.038.
To simplify things brewers remove the decimal point from these numbers and they become 1000 and 1038. Each unit is a "degree of gravity".
During fermentation the gravity drops from an Original Gravity (°G) of about 1038° to a Final Gravity (FG) or Present Gravity (PG) of about 1005°. This is because the sugars (denser than water) are converted into alcohol (less dense than water), carbon dioxide gas (CO2) that mostly bubbles out of the fermenter and yeast (which sinks to the bottom).
At a PG of about 1005° the yeast has fermented all the fermentable sugars. The remaining solids are proteins and unfermentable carbohydrates. Their presence keeps the PG above 1000°. If they were absent the beer would be less dense than water because of the alcohol.
This diagram shows how the gravity changes during fermentation. Elsewhere in this website there is a brew card which contains provision for such a curve. You may wish to download and use it.
SAFETY NOTE: Some brewers watch their airlock for signs of CO2 bubbling out. They assume that when bubbling stops the fermentation has ceased. Sometimes the fermenter seals (the lid's O-ring and the airlock grommet) may not be working and the CO2 is escaping through leaks rather than through the airlock. They bottle the beer erroneously believing that all fermentable sugars have been consumed. However fermentation of wort fermentables continues in the bottle along with the priming sugar fermentation. The CO2 pressure can become so great that a faulty bottle may explode. This is a dangerous situation.
For the sake of safety and quality I strongly recommend you use an hydrometer.
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Q. How do I use an hydrometer?
Firstly, treat your hydrometer with care. It is a delicate instrument and it costs money.
Check that it is reading accurately. It should read 1000° in water at 20°C.
The accuracy of the hydrometer depends upon the beer temperature. For samples with a temperature close to 20°C there is no need to adjust the reading. At 25°C add 1° to the reading (thus 1039° at 25°C should be adjusted to 1040°).
The sample of wort or fermenting beer is taken through the fermenter tap. However first take about 50 mL in a glass and discard this volume (it will contain a large amount of yeast and other sediment). HINT: draw off samples very slowly, otherwise the airlock contents may be sucked into the brew.
Then take the sample slowly (to reduce foaming) into a transparent plastic cylinder that will accommodate the hydrometer. (With some hydrometers the cylinders they are sold in are designed for this purpose.)
Carefully lower the hydrometer into the sample and spin it to remove bubbles adhering to it. If necessary blow away any foam close to the hydrometer.
Ensure that the hydrometer is not touching the sides of the cylinder.
Set your eye level to the liquid surface and note how the liquid rises up the hydrometer stem. This is called a meniscus.
Read the degrees of gravity at the top of the meniscus. You should be able to read to within 1° degree of gravity and differentiate between say 1039° and 1040° and between 1005° and 1004°.
Carefully clean the hydrometer after use.
Discard the sample. Do not return it to the fermenter, as this would increase the risk of entry of beer spoilage organisms.
Some home brewers keep their hydrometer in the fermenter throughout the fermentation. Each day they open the fermenter lid, spin the hydrometer (to remove yeast and sediments) and take a reading. This procedure is not recommended unless you are willing to increase the risk of infection and the dumping of a whole brew. In addition it is difficult to take an accurate reading.
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