# Brewshield



## Nearly (19/10/03)

I have been using a Brewiser product called Brew-Shield Sanitiser lately. I love it. I was wondering what others think of it. The reason I am asking is it seems too good to be true. It claims to be an instant sanitiser and it claims (and appears) to be odorless and tasteless.

It has saved me heaps of time, effort, and grief because it is so easy to use. I just clean the fermenter with cold water (I use Brewers detergent immediately after brewing and then some days/weeks later do another brew). Then I put a capfull or two of Brewsield in about 500ml of water and splash it around inside the fermenter then simply run it out the tap or pour it out and dont worry about the droplets left inside. I have a simlar solution in a spray pack that I just spray on the work area and spoon etc any time I think it may have become unsanitised to resanitise... so easy during a brew.

It claims to be 3% Hydrogen-peroxide and Silver ions and distilled water. At $4.90 per 250ml it is cheap to use too. Easy, fast, cheap.... sounds too good to be true. B) So far I havent got any infections (as far as I can tell). Any experience or thoughts?


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## Gough (19/10/03)

Nearly,

I've been using it for a while too, but only use it as a 'final rinse' sanitiser. I'm probably just paranoid but tend to wash my fermenter etc. in hot water and pink stain remover and just spray with Brewshield as a final cover after rinsing the bleach out. Where it saves me time is with my bottle washing. I rinse my bottles 3 times in hot water immediately after emptying/drinking them and then just rinse once in hot water and brewshield before bottling. Like you it has worked really well for me so far. I'm keen to try Grumpy's 'One Shot' which I've heard is even better, but the freight has stopped me ordering it from Adelaide yet. Maybe once I get a bigger order together?

My 2 cents,

Shawn.


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## Linz (19/10/03)

Just don't keep spay botttles of the made up solution hanging around.Apparently the hyd-perox breaks down fairly quickly(hours)and becomes ineffective


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## davester (20/10/03)

Hi Nearly,

I have been using it for years, no problems, go for it.

Dave...


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## Gout (20/10/03)

thats interesting that it may brake down... i never thought of that and i normally have it pre made up in a spray bottle.... maybe i better look in to this


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## Murray (20/10/03)

Definitely. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down in water to water after a period of time (reason why brewshield is harmless). Exposure to light speeds the process up to a few hours.


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## Jazman (20/10/03)

I have used it before but im unsure of how it will be with yeast i have heard in the wine industry that they are not aoud to use and silver irons in the wine and they would not be alowed to export it it as for beer i have no idea .



But i can vouch for one shot is is great sanitizer and a great cleaner it is ortho poroshiric acid and Jovial Monk sells it under the name terminator so try the monk and see what he can do


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## Linz (23/10/03)

Here is an article that was written on the craftbrewers forum by a very knowledgable and respected brewer, Phillipa, and recovered by Mr Lamotte(admin of the site) on the enquiry of Ben....and unashamedly RIPPED


From: "Phillipa" 
Date: Sun Mar 9, 2003 10:04 am
Subject: re:brewshield



Greetings,

I also wondered about brewshield. The claims on the website appear to make it
the best thing for craftbrewers since sliced bread.

Silver ions are very good at killing bacteria. I did research years ago on
sanitising swimming pools and discovered then that silver ions work but is a
very expensive method compared to chlorine. For people infected with the nasties
such as golden staph that refuse to respond to antibiotcs, silver ions are the
last defence, this was a comment from my sister in law who is a nurse.

There are no concentrations quoted on the brewshield for the silver content. And
as David Lamotte says, there is no data for contact times, concentrations, gram
positive or gram negative bacteria killed etc.

Hydrogen peroxide, the other active ingredient is also effective at sanitising.
It does break down into water and oxygen fairly quickly. After diluting, use it
in that day and discard any unused solution. I have not seen contact times and
suggested concentrations, if anyone has them, perhaps they could publish them
here. Hydrogen peroxide is easily obtainable, and the by products, air and water
are not going to effect the flavour of your beer, so make it a good sanitiser.
Unless, if you use it in bottles and racking containers and the liberated oxygen
is enough to worry about oxygenation of finished beer.

I did email them some time ago, maybe 1-2 years ago, asking about contact times
and concentrations of silver ions but recieved no reply.

Many brewers I have spoken to, swear by the stuff, but, I think they may be very
rigorous with their cleaning and rinsing with water from town water supplies
that is already at a high level of sanitation.

So, if you use brewshield, don't store the unused diluted solution.

If any one out there has any sanitation data on silver ions or hydrogen
peroxide, could they please send it to me. Contact times, concentrations and
effectiveness against gram positive and gram negative bacteria. Also, how long
can diluted solutions of hydrogen peroxide be effective for before discarding.

Cheers
Phillipa


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## Nearly (27/10/03)

Thanks for that Linz and everyone else, It makes sense out of it for me.... I am going to continue to use brewshield until/unless it lets me down.

The big news from what you guys have told me is that it breaks down.. I was under the impression that the spray bottle would be good for months.... I will top it up with new brewshield at each usage from now on. Thanks fellas.


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## Linz (28/10/03)

Dude,
It's not to say that brewsheild is no good, but just don't hang on to it for too long (longer than a day or two) once it has been mixed.
I use Terminator(orthophosporic acid???) and I still change the spray bottle every time.


I just see it as Eliminating every risk.


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