I bought some Camden tablets for wine making and wondered can they be
used as a general sterilising agent for beer making equipment? If so how
many per gallon of cleaning water?

--
Remove N0_SPAM_PLEAZE to email
It's a spring thing
[url]http://www.hookeslaw.com[/url]

"George" <newzgroupzN0_SPAM_PLEAZE@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1970ca62e383e80c98987e@News.CIS.DFN.DE...[color=blue]
> I bought some Camden tablets for wine making and wondered can they be
> used as a general sterilising agent for beer making equipment? If so how
> many per gallon of cleaning water?
>[/color]

No, they can not. If you want to use an economical sanitizer, look at
Idophor ... or you could even use bleach if you rinse well.

Tom Veldhouse

In article <3f098822$0$617$a1866201@newsreader.visi.com>,
[email]veldy71@yahoo.com[/email] says...[color=blue]
>
> "George" <newzgroupzN0_SPAM_PLEAZE@btinternet.com> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1970ca62e383e80c98987e@News.CIS.DFN.DE...[color=green]
> > I bought some Camden tablets for wine making and wondered can they be
> > used as a general sterilising agent for beer making equipment? If so how
> > many per gallon of cleaning water?
> >[/color]
>
> No, they can not. If you want to use an economical sanitizer, look at
> Idophor ... or you could even use bleach if you rinse well.[/color]

Ah well the beer will be interesting then. Had to go ahead and barrel it
before you posted. The initial taste seems fine and I used a camden
mixture to wash everything for the fermenting process. It was just a kit
so if it doesn't work out I haven't lost much. A friend says 1 cap of
Domestos, (strong bleach) to a gallon of water is ok so may do that in
future.

--
Remove N0_SPAM_PLEAZE to email
It's a spring thing
[url]http://www.hookeslaw.com[/url]

"George" <newzgroupzN0_SPAM_PLEAZE@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1973a0b55df73476989891@News.CIS.DFN.DE...[color=blue]
>
> Ah well the beer will be interesting then. Had to go ahead and barrel it
> before you posted. The initial taste seems fine and I used a camden
> mixture to wash everything for the fermenting process. It was just a kit
> so if it doesn't work out I haven't lost much. A friend says 1 cap of
> Domestos, (strong bleach) to a gallon of water is ok so may do that in
> future.
>[/color]

If you only have access to bleach, it will work fine, but you must rinse
like there is no tomorrow or you will taste it in your beer (it doesn't take
much). Idophor on the otherhand does not need rinsing at all. You dilute a
couple of capfuls in 5 gallons and you are set. It costs about $12 per
liter and it will go a very long way. So, in the end, it is cheaper than
bleach. Keep in mind that Idophor does not clean, it just sanitizes.
Bleach, One-step and others will do this for you nicely however.

Tom Veldhouse

In article <9EoOa.2735$ye4.6355@sccrnsc01>, [email]wbell1@bellsouth.net[/email] says...[color=blue]
> Interesting discussion...which lead me to wonder: As sanitizers, can
> Iodophor, TSP, and bleach go on killing microorganisms indefinitely, like a
> catalyst that can effect a change without itself being changed? Or does
> their killing power diminish, the more microorganisms they kill?[/color]

Good point. Don't know the answer though! :-)

On a related note, just how clean does stuff have to be in order for a
brew not to get tainted or contaminated? When I tried a few kits years
ago I used Chempro I think it was called to sterilise everything.
However I've seen programs on TV where beer or cider has been made and
the buckets and other equipment used look really manky, yet the end
result is allegedly excellent. Plus I've read of some weird and
wonderful stuff being added to beers during fermentation that I'd have
thought would have seriously contaminated it.

--
Remove N0_SPAM_PLEAZE to email
It's a spring thing
[url]http://www.hookeslaw.com[/url]

"Bill Bell" <wbell1@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:9EoOa.2735$ye4.6355@sccrnsc01...[color=blue]
> Interesting discussion...which lead me to wonder: As sanitizers, can
> Iodophor, TSP, and bleach go on killing microorganisms indefinitely, like[/color]
a[color=blue]
> catalyst that can effect a change without itself being changed? Or does
> their killing power diminish, the more microorganisms they kill?
>
> Bill
>[/color]

Idophor evaporates (at least the iodine component does). Some of the others
do as well. Some are neutralized over time. All are ineffective given some
duration exposed to oxygen.

Tom Veldhouse

"George" <newzgroupzN0_SPAM_PLEAZE@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1974d6394a892ae59898a0@News.CIS.DFN.DE...[color=blue]
>
> Good point. Don't know the answer though! :-)
>
> On a related note, just how clean does stuff have to be in order for a
> brew not to get tainted or contaminated? When I tried a few kits years
> ago I used Chempro I think it was called to sterilise everything.
> However I've seen programs on TV where beer or cider has been made and
> the buckets and other equipment used look really manky, yet the end
> result is allegedly excellent. Plus I've read of some weird and
> wonderful stuff being added to beers during fermentation that I'd have
> thought would have seriously contaminated it.
>[/color]

Anything that comes in contact with post-boil wort or beer needs to be
meticulously cleaned and sanitized. If not cleaned, you can not properly
sanitize.

Tom Veldhouse