Beerstone removal

[Spauld]

Now that I am finished brewing for the season, I wanted to get my equipment cleaned up real good before autumn. Has anyone developed a tried and true system for removing beerstone from stainless? I’d like to do all of my conicals.b

[chasjs]

Jim:

No first hand experience but Five Star makes a beer stone remover that gets good reviews. Sounds like nasty stuff. Keep us updated.

[colterw]

Funny you ask. My last Podcast episode was an interview with Five Star and we talked about beer stone. https://homebrewingdiy.beer/index.php/2020/05/07/episode-36-cleaning-and-sanitizing-your-brewery-with-emily-lavato-or-five-star-chemicals/

She talks about pasivacation of your stainless. She said once a year you want to build an oxygen layer so you get less buildup in general. You can take straight undeluted starsan and rub it straight into your stainless to build of an oxygen layer. Listen to the show it’s all in there.

Cheers

Serving: Brooks Irish Red 4.8% ABV
Serving: Robert's IPA
Fermenting: We Are The Dreamer of Dreams (NEIPA)

[Spauld]

Yep, Five Star makes all sorts of stuff Chuck. I love Five Star products and have used Acid 5 (carefully). Nate Meister turned me on to it as he has used it on his equipment for some time. Now THAT is nasty stuff and you really need to wear PPE when using it!

I purchased some beerstone remover (B.S. Remover from Five Star). But it only comes in 8 oz. bottles (at least that’s all I have found). Wasn’t sure how well it would work since I wanted to mix up about 3G for each conical, then recirculate it through my CIP system. So that would be 12 fl. oz. of product for all four of my fermenters. Probably need another bottle.

Colter – I’ll be listening to your podcast with Five Star this week. Good move to host them for one of your sessions! THANKS.

[chasjs]

Jim:

Yes it is only in 8 oz bottles.

But there is an alternative – Tractor Supply sells a Milk Stone remover – which is the same thing as beer stone (calcium oxalate) – It is $15 per gallon at tractor supply. If it is good enough for the dairy industry it is probably okay for the brew industry.

Milkstone remover

It is about 50% phosphoric acid so it is may be aggressive.

Sounds like a subject where there is little information on. I wonder what the breweries do to clean the equipment.

[Spauld]

Hey Chuck, great find on the Sterosol Milkstone product. I plan to listen to Colter’s podcast this week with the Five Star rep, but at first glance, this looks like it would certainly do the trick. From what I’ve found online, the commercial brewing industry do all kinds of different stuff to clean, sanitize and re-passivate their stainless equipment; some of it involves caustic cleaners. I’ll do a bit more reading on the Milkstone Remover, but at $15 per gallon, this is a MUCH more affordable price than the B.S. Remover from Five Star (8 times cheaper to be exact!).

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