How long will sanitized vessel 'stay' sanitized?

[Carrfred]

Hi, We have conical plastic fermenters. I Usually hot PBW, hot water, then sanitize with star-san 12-48 hours before brewing. Our brew day got bumped this week, so now there will be a full 3 1/2 days between the time I cleaned and sanitized and when we will pump beer into it. Is that too long? do I need to do the whole cycle again or just re-sanitize? Our fermenters are fairly well sealed, we have silicone gasketed the lid and we've got a blow off tube with the end sitting in sanitizer, but if the fermentation is really vigorous, we sometimes get seepage between the lid and the collar it screws into....how long does sanitization last? We store the cleaned fermentors in our fermentation space. Thanks-Alex

[gitchegumee]

Sanitize again.

I mean really, why not? The extra sanitizer isn't going to break the bank, and you'll sleep better. Especially if you do not perform an acidified rinse after the PBW. It's difficult to be too careful. Go the extra mile and do it as best you can.

[Junkyard]

when your dealing with plastic, your going to want to sanitize it every chance you get.

[Carrfred]

Thank you!

I will sanitize, sanitize sanitize and keep saving pennies for stainless! Thanks for the input

[gbrower]

We use a 3 hour window. You wouldn't believe all the microbes that are just floating in the air. Plus think about the sides of the butterfly valves and sample ports that will be touching beer once you fill.

[indyGold]

In addition to brewing, I'm a process engineer for a large pharmaceutical company. At the pharma plant there's a "perfect" scenario of great stainless, CIP skids and in-line monitoring of discharge liquids for conductivity and pH. On top of that they swab sample final discharge liquid and surfaces to verify "clean". Under those extreme standards 48 hours is the maximum between a CIP/Sani cycle.

There's a lot of variables in how long a tank can be held after a CIP/Sani cycle. Without a lab to validate a specific cleaning protocol, I think most people will say "before use" is the best option. The max I'd go after that is the chemical suppliers instructions. In the case of Star San, that's 12 hrs.

[Carrfred]

Thanks for the info!

We use a 3 hour window. You wouldn't believe all the microbes that are just floating in the air. Plus think about the sides of the butterfly valves and sample ports that will be touching beer once you fill.

I appreciate all the replies-

[CharlosCarlies]

Glad someone else asked this as I was curious as well. I've always just assumed sooner = better, so we leave our CIP loop setup from the night before and run sanitizer after mashing in.

[liammckenna]

I appreciate all the replies-

I always sanitize a vessel/lines/HX immediately before going into it/through them.


Pax.


Liam

[UrbanPoison]

We will leave a sealed, sterilised, stainless steel fermenter for a maximum of 12 hours before re-sanitising. With plastic, I would personally sanitise immediately before use. I only really feel comfortable when I sanitise within a few hours of using a vessel. The cost of sanitising is miniscule compared to the cost of sending out a bad batch of beer.

[d_striker]

What are the opinions if the vessel is kept in a cold room less than 40F after sanitizing? Things like a bbt or kegs?

[gitchegumee]

Same difference...

If the vessel is kept cold, you reduce your possible contamination a bit. If you resanitize, you reduce your possible contamination a lot. And why would you try to sanitize ahead of the time that you need it sanitary? Cleaning kegs more than a few hours before they are filled is not acceptable in my book. Those valves will get gunk in them before you put beer through them. There is a better way to do it--immediately before filling. That's my take, anyway.

[beerguy1]

Thats nice to clean kegs just hours before you fill them but at least for myself. I cant clean kegs quick enough to keep up with filling so I have no choice. I cant say I have never had a problem but in the 13 + years of doing this it comes down to less than 5 per year. And I cant attribute a bad keg to the length of time from filling. I flip the kegs upside down after cleaning. It seems to keep the gunk out of the fill port.

[Thirsty_Monk]

These are all good points. I sanitize my HX and fermenter about 12-18 hours before brew (day before) and never had a problem.

Once you clean and sanitize there is not any food source for the bugs. As long as you do not have new bugs coming in, it should be OK.

[d_striker]

If the vessel is kept cold, you reduce your possible contamination a bit. If you resanitize, you reduce your possible contamination a lot. And why would you try to sanitize ahead of the time that you need it sanitary? Cleaning kegs more than a few hours before they are filled is not acceptable in my book. Those valves will get gunk in them before you put beer through them. There is a better way to do it--immediately before filling. That's my take, anyway.

I typically clean/sanitize kegs and then put them in the cooler. Then I keg from the brites the next morning.

Clean kegs get a few sprays of saniclean on the coupler head and then covered with a keg cap. We don't have any issues with them getting dirty overnight.