I have been reading the forums clearly see that some people likes to clean with PBW and sanitise with Starsan, I am also coming from Brewing Beer, so I do clean my buckets with PBW and sanitise them with starsan automatically, but from what I understand for distilling this is not really necessary, so would that be ok to just clean the buckets with warm water maybe with some white vinegar ? and be done with it, I really do not like all that work every time I put a wash so it will be relieving to know that I will be ok with just hot water
A lot of people don't get as picky about sanitation when a product is going to be distilled because they usually distill it before an infection can get too bad and some infections actually help the final product. Some go from one ferment to another so if the fermenter is never empty it doesn't need cleaned so much. I think it all depends on what you are doing and how long you want to leave it before distilling it.
I find if I leave a fermenter washed out but not sanitized it will have mould growing in it after a few weeks .
If I am not using a fermenter immediately after emptying I will store it with about a liter of water and a teaspoon of sodium meta bisulfate ( sterilising solution ) swished around and upside down to cover the whole surface and leave it there for months and it will ready to use straight away .
Hopefully someone will jump in about using vinegar to rinse things out . I'm wondering if there is a possibility of vinegar convertng a fermentation to more vinegar
I reuse some of the same equipment for mashing and fermenting beer, so I generally sanitize when I'm done. I don't worry much about sanitizing before fermenting something that's going to be distilled.
I always clean with detergent after use then spray with starsan.. then just swill the starsan around again before use and rinse after a minute. worked so far..
I switched to starsan inplace of VWP (bleach type smelling stuff) as it took about 5 rinses to stop it smelling of bleach.. starsan is so easy.
I hate to clean. I'll say it again I hate to clean. But I found a really good method that doesn't take too much time at all. I just wash all of my implements and pots in warm soapy water very quickly make to make sure there's no debris. The starsan I mix up in spray bottles~ spray it on, let it sit for 1 minute, and then rinse it out.
I sanitize when doing beer, but not for whiskey. Usually a quick rinse and air dry. The wash is about 140 degrees when it is added to the fermenter. Never had a problem with an infection.
White vinegar wont turn alcohol to more vinegar. ACV *might if its the hippie kind with a live mother. But I wouldnt bother, just sanitize or dont.
I sanitize with starsan for sugar washes since I want it neutral as it gets, or on the rare occasion I know another wash will sit for a good while before running. But typically just clean or rinsed is sufficient for flavor ferments.
I've never gotten around to PBW for cleaning still or brewery stuff. Maybe I just dont know what Im missing.
I use unscented oxyclean to wash and on work days in the distillery I keep a bucket of strong KMETA / Citric acid solution to sanitize. When I don’t have enough work for a full bucket of kmeta - I then use a spray bottle of kmeta.
I like working with infections in backset and developing the flavour profile but also enjoy keeping things clean
