How to Decontaminate Homebrew Equipment

Now that our wort is cooling off, it is time to prepare the fermenter and equipment for the fermentation. This process will ensure that the yeast you add will be the only microorganisms fermenting in your beer. 

All items that can come into contact with cooled wort or beer will need to be decontaminated. This includes the fermenter, airlock and autosiphon/siphon tubing.

You can save the cleaner after decontamination to help clean equipment afterwards by storing it temporarily in the bottling bucket.

What is the difference between cleanser and sanitizer?

A sanitizer has gone through testing to show that it is effective at killing or irreversibly damages bacteria, fungi and viruses. This approval process can be quite costly, so a lot of cleansers that have sanitizing properties may not go through the process to become a sanitizer.

For your first batch, we include a cleanser. We have found that this works well on new equipment, so it will be perfect for your first batch (remember, we guarantee it)!