Do you need to rinse your fermenter & bottles after they are sanitized?

For first-time brewers this a very common question. I think the term sanitization can imply that it's dangerous or somehow can be harmful to you if it is ingested.

Now before we get too far along you don’t want to just drink sanitizer, that is not good for you. We are just talking about that little bit of liquid that is left in your fermenter or bottles after you sanitize them.

A lot of people will want to rinse this out, and that is something that you do not want to do. Adding tap water at this time to rinse the fermenter or bottles can lead to the risk of introducing bacteria that can cause an infection.

So by using any type of brewing sanitizers like our No-Rinse and StarSan you don’t need to worry about getting it all of your fermenter or bottles. When mixed with water it turns into a type of Hydrogen peroxide and kills off the bacteria on the surface that it comes in contact with.

Now if you are sanitizing your equipment with something other than a brewing sanitizer and using bleach or Oxy clean free you will want to rinse it out. These you will rinse out until the smell is gone. Since these are much more powerful chemicals you do not want those lingering around in your beer.

 

Cheers,

Robert