Brewing Sanitizer Concentrate: 100ml

Almost all food-grade disinfectants can be used as a sanitizer. However, our favorites are Campden for winemaking and hydrogen peroxide. Refer to the link for 6 golden rules to sanitization

Metallic flavors have multiple names: Tinny, coiny, copper, iron, or blood-like flavor. It makes the home brew beer and wine taste like beetroot and is generally considered undesirable.

There are two major reasons for the metallic flavors in beer and wine:

• Equipment issue: The metal ions from your equipment could be getting leached into your brew. Remember that fermentation releases a lot of organic acids that can react with metals. Fermenting in aluminum or non-food grade fermenters is the usual culprit.
• Even if you are using SS304 stainless steel equipment, you can sometimes get the metallic flavors if the workmanship is not good. All equipment needs to be treated for pickling or Passivation. This removes any free ions and unbonded iron from the surface of the containers. Welding, drilling, bending or any metalworking creates free unbonded ions, sharp edges, and micro-fissures from which metallic ion can be leached. Treating the equipment with full concentration (without dilution) of Anphossan will leach out any unbonded metal ions. It will also remove any stains, rust (yes freshly welded stainless steel can rust if not pickled) and bring back the shiny luster in your equipment
• From Malt: Commercial breweries install a powerful magnet at the end of their grain mill to pull out any metallic shavings from the grain and keep these flavors at bay.
• From Special Ingredients: Some fruits, especially the beetroot has a prominent metallic flavor and should be avoided.
• Groundwater: In Eastern India (especially near mines), this could be an indication of groundwater contamination. Using RO water and monitoring the wort chemistry would help. New stainless steel equipment also gives these flavors, probably because of micro-scratches and free ions on the metallic body. A strong acid wash, followed by alkaline neutralization helps to remove it from the brand new equipment.

You can use any food-grade sanitizer to sanitize your fermenter. StarSan or Hydrogen Peroxide good sanitizers that are available easily in the local chemist shop. Also, be mindful of cleaning/buffing any scratches, blindspots (areas which tend to blacken over time because they were hard to reach or clean). Remember to clean the insides of holes and dismantle joints and fittings before sanitizing. For more details refer to this blog post.

One needs to understand the difference between cleanness, sanitation and sterilization.

Scrubbing and washing with hot water cleans the surfaces. It will remove any sticky residue from malt, grape, fruit or yeast. However it cannot sanitize the equipment.

Sanitizer will eliminate any bacteria or microbes sticking on the surface, however it cannot clean and scrub the equipment.

For a successful home brew beer, wine or kombucha one needs to perform both the tasks. First we need to clean all surfaces so that all sticky residue or soiling is removed. Then second we use the sanitizer to ensure that the surface is free from microbes.

Please note that don’t scratch the surface of the equipment during a through scrubbing. Also clean all brewing equipment before and after each use.

Traditionally people have been using potassium permangnate, strong acid and Lye (sodium hydroxide) and bleach for sanitizing. These are strong chemicals and impart a off flavor to the food. As a result one would need to rinse the equipment with water after the application of these rinse free sanitizer. This is oxymoron because when we wash them again with normal water, fresh contaminants gets introduced into the solution.

Rinse free food grade sanitizer means that on a clean surface, one needs to just create a 60-90 seconds contact. After sanitization we just need to drain off excess water and let it air-dry. This sanitizer will not leave any toxic residue which will harm the health or change the flavors of your home brew. Also it is good for the environment because the sanitizer will easily break-down into non-toxic components and not harm the environment.

Yes, one of the biggest advantages of Anphossan is its long shelf life. After you are done with the brew day, you can use the the same solution to wash the equipment again. Since most brewers wash their equipment before and after every use, this means that one can reuse the sanitizer and hence use only 1/2 the quantity needed. If you are planning to store the diluted sanitizer for a long time, do check its pH level frequently. The potency of the sanitizer can be easily maintained by ensuring pH is below 3.0.

Iodophor, Bleach, and other cheaper sanitizer generate a lot of volatile fumes. Through these fumes chlorine, iodine, ammonia and other sanitizer chemicals dissipate into the atmosphere. This would reduce the strength of the sanitizer and also the toxic fumes are not healthy for the workers. Prolong exposure to Chorine, Iodine, and Ammonia can perforate the lungs and cause respiratory damages.

Yes mold and bacteria can easily be eliminated using Anphossan. The low pH anionic sanitizer is best for defending against infection because the acid attacks the greasy slimy sticky layer coating on your equipment. By eliminating this layer, the sanitizer can penetrate deeper and kill the mold and bacteria that are hiding behind.

Washing and scrubbing your equipment before application of sanitizer is recommended. Also please clean your equipment before and after every use. This will prevent any home brewing infection, contamination and growth of unwanted microbes.

This sanitizer is a multipurpose sanitizer which can be applied to multiple surfaces. You can use Anphossan on Glass, Stainless Steel, Plastic and Rubber. For copper, you can spray or wipe to sanitize and eliminate the greenish black spots. However Don’t soak the copper for long duration.

Almost all Beer, Wine, Kombucha and Dairy Cheese equipment can be cleaned with this acidic sanitizer. It is food grade, does not give any toxic fumes and rinse free. Hence it makes cleaning and handling very easy. Added advantage is that one does not need to wash or rinse the sanitizer after use. This saves labor and chances of contamination from the washing water.

It takes 30-90 seconds to sanitize using Starsan, Anphossan, StellarSan, and other similar phosphoric acid-based sanitizers. There are multiple ways to apply the sanitizer:

1. Conventional submerging way. Take a big tub of sanitizer solution and submerge/rinse your equipment there. The acidity of the sanitizer will also help remove the calcium deposits or the white strains that gather on the equipment.
2. Container method. Often brewers use the fermenter as the big tub. They will fill it with the sanitizer and then clean all the other equipment (especially hydrometer and airlock) inside it.
3. Tilt-Rolling method: Rather than making a lot of sanitizer solution, one can make a small quantity (1-2 liters) and put it in the fermenter. Then you can splash clean the fermenter with your hands to clean the remaining surface. Another option is to tilt the fermenter on the side and roll it on the ground slowly. This allows the solution to get contact with all the inner surfaces of your fermenter and disinfect it.
4. Brewing Sanitizer can be sprayed onto the surface requiring cleaning. This is the most effective way because one bottle of spray can last multiple brew days. However, note that bleach and iodophor should not be sprayed.

Remember to drain the excess liquid and airdry your equipment before brewing. Also, the Anphossan can be reused. Fill any empty bottle with the residual sanitizer and use it for your next brew day. Just ensure that the pH is below 3 for the sanitizer to be effective.