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Step 4Sanitation
If the yeast are the most important part in this instructable, then sanitation is the most important step. If not done thoroughly and properly, your "wine" will just turn out to be a giant jug of vinegar and be hardly palatable at all! You can tell if this occurred by the stench of vinegar.
You are making a batch of basically acidic sugar water that any mold or bacteria would love to set up shop in. Even though you cannot see them, those spoilers are lying all over your equipment, in every microscopic cranny and nook. Before making wine or any fermented beverage, you need to get rid of them.
Using your chosen sanitizer, make sure your container, stirrer, funnel, air lock parts, measuring spoons and work area are sanitized. You will need to have a contact time(being wet) of usually 30 seconds. Also make sure your hands are cleaned before beginning or at any step of dealing with the wine.
If you are using bleach, you will need to follow with a rinse to get any standing solution off, which means you need clean water. I suggest distilled water, but I also suggest not using bleach.
Why not sterilize?
Sterilize means to kill all life off a surface. Nothing survives. Sanitation means to reduce the amount of bacteria, wild yeasts, etc. to negligible levels. You will be hard pressed to sterilize unless you can fit all of your equipment into a boiling pot or can autoclave it.
Yeast do not need a sterilized surface. Just one that is sanitized so they set up shop and crowd out any invaders.
You are making a batch of basically acidic sugar water that any mold or bacteria would love to set up shop in. Even though you cannot see them, those spoilers are lying all over your equipment, in every microscopic cranny and nook. Before making wine or any fermented beverage, you need to get rid of them.
Using your chosen sanitizer, make sure your container, stirrer, funnel, air lock parts, measuring spoons and work area are sanitized. You will need to have a contact time(being wet) of usually 30 seconds. Also make sure your hands are cleaned before beginning or at any step of dealing with the wine.
If you are using bleach, you will need to follow with a rinse to get any standing solution off, which means you need clean water. I suggest distilled water, but I also suggest not using bleach.
Why not sterilize?
Sterilize means to kill all life off a surface. Nothing survives. Sanitation means to reduce the amount of bacteria, wild yeasts, etc. to negligible levels. You will be hard pressed to sterilize unless you can fit all of your equipment into a boiling pot or can autoclave it.
Yeast do not need a sterilized surface. Just one that is sanitized so they set up shop and crowd out any invaders.
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Jul 3, 2009. 12:24 AMvandal1138
says:
microscopic nannies and crooks? I'd avoid microscopic crannies and nooks but hey, thats just me. Sorry. Its 0330 and i'm half awake. I feel the need to nitpick. Ignore it. Great instructable you've got here
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