Membership questions? Log in issues? Email info@brewersassociation.org

Author Topic: Cleaning your bottling gun  (Read 1652 times)

Offline James K

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Flagstaff, AZ
Cleaning your bottling gun
« on: December 02, 2017, 01:09:08 pm »
My friend bottled a Brett beer with the last straw bottling gun and never really cleaned the gun after the fact. I am using the gun to bottle three different beers and wanted some input in cleaning to avoid Brett contamination. I plan to run hot water with pbw through the gun and then starsan. I am hoping that 3 gallons of both pbw and starsan will be enough to kill the Brett.

Does anybody have any input for cleaning Brett out of a bottling gun?
I have cleaned carboys I used Brett in and have not had a problem with newer beers being contaminated after long soaks.
Vice President of Flagstaff Mountain-Top Mashers
2017 Homebrewer of the year
"One mouth doesn't taste the beer."

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Re: Cleaning your bottling gun
« Reply #1 on: December 02, 2017, 01:16:08 pm »
I would run iodaphor solution through it, after the PBW.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!

Offline James K

  • Brewer
  • ****
  • Posts: 443
  • Flagstaff, AZ
Re: Cleaning your bottling gun
« Reply #2 on: December 03, 2017, 11:35:45 am »
I would run iodaphor solution through it, after the PBW.

Why IO star instead of starsan? I cannot find much information on iodophor other than it doesn’t foam as much and can tint your lines after heavy use.

Is Starsan sufficient? It’s cleaned my carboy just fine.
Vice President of Flagstaff Mountain-Top Mashers
2017 Homebrewer of the year
"One mouth doesn't taste the beer."

Offline jeffy

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4222
  • Tampa, Fl
Re: Cleaning your bottling gun
« Reply #3 on: December 03, 2017, 11:42:09 am »
I would run iodaphor solution through it, after the PBW.

Why IO star instead of starsan? I cannot find much information on iodophor other than it doesn’t foam as much and can tint your lines after heavy use.

Is Starsan sufficient? It’s cleaned my carboy just fine.
Starsan is more selective while iodophors kills everything.  I prefer it even though it does tend to stain things if left for a while.
Jeff Gladish, Tampa (989.3, 175.1 Apparent Rennarian)
Homebrewing since 1990
AHA member since 1991, now a lifetime member
BJCP judge since 1995

Offline a10t2

  • Official Poobah of No Life. (I Got Ban Hammered by Drew)
  • *********
  • Posts: 4696
  • Ask me why I don't like Chico!
    • SeanTerrill.com
Re: Cleaning your bottling gun
« Reply #4 on: December 03, 2017, 02:07:47 pm »
Particularly for Brett, which is notoriously acid-tolerant, I wouldn't rely on an acid sanitizer.

I would also boil anything that can handle the temperature (which is hopefully all the parts that touch beer).
Sent from my Microsoft Bob

Beer is like porn. You can buy it, but it's more fun to make your own.
Refractometer Calculator | Batch Sparging Calculator | Two Mile Brewing Co.

Offline hopfenundmalz

  • Global Moderator
  • I must live here
  • *****
  • Posts: 10678
  • Milford, MI
Re: Cleaning your bottling gun
« Reply #5 on: December 03, 2017, 05:39:16 pm »
I would run iodaphor solution through it, after the PBW.

Why IO star instead of starsan? I cannot find much information on iodophor other than it doesn’t foam as much and can tint your lines after heavy use.

Is Starsan sufficient? It’s cleaned my carboy just fine.
It was already answered by a couple of my friends, but Star San is good at killing bacteria, not so good on Yeast, Brett (wild yeast), or mold. You can do internet searches and find guys who wash their yeast with Star San, doesn’t kill the yeast. That is why I said use Iodophor for sanitizing, after cleaning with PBW.

I had some kegs that went To a Brett taste and lots of pressure and foam. Star San didn’t do the job. Iodophor did. Oh, and I boiled the posts and poppets to be sure that Brett was dead in the nooks and crannies. The bugs and critters can’t take the heat.
Jeff Rankert
AHA Lifetime Member
BJCP National
Ann Arbor Brewers Guild
Home-brewing, not just a hobby, it is a lifestyle!