Brew Like a Pro by Dave Miller

Author:Dave Miller
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2012-10-18T16:00:00+00:00

Other Sanitizers. For the sake of thoroughness, I should mention two other sanitizers that are sometimes used in breweries. The first is peracetic acid, also known as peroxyacetic acid. This is very effective and is used no-rinse in many commercial breweries. I do not think it is suitable for homebrewing. While not as dangerous as caustic, in concentrated form it is corrosive and hazardous to skin and eyes. I have burned myself with it. It is also unstable, losing potency over a matter of weeks if it is stored at warm temperatures. Commercial brewers and their suppliers have carried on a lively debate over the years about the relative merits of chlorine dioxide and peracetic acid, which are generally acknowledged as the two best no-rinse sanitizers. As a commercial brewer I have used both. As a homebrewer, I would not consider peracetic, even if I could find a seller who was willing to ship it to me.

The other sanitizer is actually a whole separate class of chemicals known as quaternary ammonium compounds, or quats. One of the things every student at Siebel, the renowned brewing school, is taught is that quats should never be used in any vessel, pipe, hose, or other brewery equipment. Not because they don’t work. They are stone killers. Their flavor impact is minimal. But they utterly destroy the foam retention of beer. Years after my Siebel training, when I was working at Blackstone, I had occasion to get involved in some contract brewing. We wanted to put out bottled beer for the local market, and we had neither capacity nor space in our pub.

Our first shipment of bottles was okay on flavor, but the beer had no head at all. I made a trip to the contract brewery and found a suspicious-looking gallon jug sitting next to the bottle rinser. I asked about it and was told it was an “acid sanitizer.” Hmm. The label showed that it was not sold by one of the regular brewery chemical companies. I pulled out my pen and notepad and copied the active ingredients list from the label. As soon as I got to a computer, 30 seconds of Googling told me what I had already guessed. These guys were spraying quats into their bottles. Mindful of the bottom line, they had accepted the guidance of a salesman who was ignorant of brewing but carried a persuasive price list. Yet again, the lore of my teachers had been confirmed. In a brewery, quats are very helpful for controlling mold on wet floors and walls, but that is all they are good for.

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