Cleaning home brewing equipment is now my favorite aspect of home brewing, but I know that it is a critical part of creating good beer and keeping my home brewing rig functioning properly. My home brewery has grown to the point where it has gotten complicated to clean.  Home brewing equipment such as ball locks, hoses and pumps create pockets of space where bacteria can thrive. After a home brewing session, you have basically created the ideal environment for a bacterial incubator to form. It is a damp, dark environment that has a thin sugary syrup coating everything from the wort passing over it. If you do not clean properly, you are setting yourself up for possible beer contamination and off flavors.

I do not worry about my Hot Liquor Tank and the pump that drives it since it is only passing hot or cold water.  I just make sure that the pump, valves and hoses are kept free from moisture.  As far as my RIMS, Mash Tun, Boil Kettle, Valves, Hoses and Pump that feeds those system goes, I have a different process.  The primary aspect of that process is recirculating a warm / hot (120 F) bath of PBW over everything for 15 minutes. You can actually see the water change in color after it has recirculated for a few minutes. I then allow the equipment to soak over night, then heat the solution again and flush it with clean water.  I then break down my RIMS system and scrub out any lose debris, scrub my valves and reassemble.  Like I said, it is not fun, but cleaning is an important part of brewing.

If you are looking for a great home brewing cleaner, you should give PBW a shot. You can find it here:

PBW Home Brewing Cleaner

Now a cleaning cycle on the home brewing rig with some PBW #homebrew #homebrewing #homebrewer