# alternative to acid washing-chlorine dioxide



## Toper (2/3/13)

Just been reading a thread on a small brew forum I'm on,the thread posters idea is to wash his yeast with chlorine dioxide,water purification tablets.Needing 20-40 ppm to kill bacteria but NOT yeast,each tablet gives 4ppm in 1 litre,he plans to decant his starter slurry down to 300ml then add 2 tablets to give approximately 25-30 ppm.Let sit for 15 minutes,then pitch. http://www.birkocorp.com/brewery/white-papers/coming-clean-a-new-method-of-washing-yeast-with-chlorine-dioxide/


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## Florian (2/3/13)

Might as well use MMS instead of the tablets if you have it handy. *Personally* I wouldn't bother, but each to their own.


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## dicko (3/3/13)

toper01 said:


> Just been reading a thread on a small brew forum I'm on,the thread posters idea is to wash his yeast with chlorine dioxide,water purification tablets.Needing 20-40 ppm to kill bacteria but NOT yeast,each tablet gives 4ppm in 1 litre,he plans to decant his starter slurry down to 300ml then add 2 tablets to give approximately 25-30 ppm.Let sit for 15 minutes,then pitch. http://www.birkocorp.com/brewery/white-papers/coming-clean-a-new-method-of-washing-yeast-with-chlorine-dioxide/


Interesting article toper01 thanks for the link.
It appears some positive results have been gained and would be of interest for those who may acid wash.

I have tried yeast washing in the past and I have come to the decision that for the cost of a yeast it is too time consuming for me in my situation. These days I divide a Wyeast into 4 and make 4 starters = $2,00 a brew.

Cheers


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## Bizier (3/3/13)

> The small breweries currently using chlorine dioxide for this purpose do so without any yeast performance problems. Most, however, do not have the means to check yeast viability and test contamination levels.


They are either brave or stupid to do it without lab support.

I have never used chlorine dioxide, but it does seem like a good substance for many applications. I would prefer to go back to fresh yeast or a master than wash though. If yeast is contaminated, turf it.


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