Cleaning considerations for 3 different cider operations - DYI, Farm Winery and Production with Stormalong Cider.

(l-r) Ben Roberts-Sano, Bright McConnell, Shannon Edgar

DIY - Home Cidermaking

It is soak and scrub for the DIYers.

Soak

• carboys
• parts
• nylon bags
• airlocks
• all threaded parts

Rinse with copious amounts of water thoroughly and sanitize. Boil with hot water, if possible.

Drainage and setup are a major consideration

• Due to the common lack of pumps/ floor drains.
• Effluent should not affect your septic, if you brew a batch or 2 per year.

Biggest maker hang ups

• Using low quality materials which can't stand the cleaning
• Not scrubbing enough
• Not disassembling/boiling threaded or other non sanitary parts

Farm winery set up

• Have some sort of floor drain, and some sort of pump capable of driving a spray ball.
• Rinse by pumping into a spray ball
• Drain to floor when rinsing tanks
• Always pump the water from a fully clean and neutralized tank, to the tank being cleaned
• Spray gross soils in the tanks out before starting to clean
• Tanks must be vented during cleaning, and all parts should be removed. Any areas under manways or probes that might obstruct the spray must manually be scrubbed.
• Take off and clean manway gaskets, and ensure sight lines are cleaned
• Clean and sanitize throughly racking arms and carb stones for best results

Biggest hangups for Farm Winery

• Not Enough hot water
• Not having adequate drainage and wastewater handling

Some small cideries with no wastewater handling will skip all of this in lieu of a steam or hot water pressure washer. They spray the tanks to remove soils, then partially close them up and allow the metal to reach 170-180 degrees to sanitize, then purge out any air with nitrogen argon or CO2.

Commercial scale Set Up

• Automation and verification, regular inspection and replacement of parts
• Rubber parts and hoses that become cracked can no longer be adequately cleaned and must be thrown out. Even steel parts can become too scratched to be cleaned properly.
• Chemicals are tested for potency to determine if they are depleted by cleaning, and to insure adequate rinsing
• The inside of the tank may be tested for microbial action by plating or ATP test

Commercial Plants at this scale invest in better

• Jet or rotating spray balls
• Dedicated cleaning tanks / pumps, caustic recovery, re heat, and re use
• More, and hotter water for cleaning

To sanitize commercial cider makers may use plant steam/ PAA with a dosatron or CLO2 to kill remaining microbes

Biggest hang ups for Commercial operators

• Not inspecting enough
• Not rinsing enough
• Trying to be too efficient

Mentions in this Chat

• Listen to initial Season 1 recording with Stormalong - 36 Shannon Edgar and Ben Roberts-Sano | Stormalong Cider, MA
• Cidermaking Series
  • Part 1 - How to Make Cider at Home
  • Part 2 - Maker Tips for Growth and Cleanliness
  • Part 3 - Cidery Sanitation Tips

Contact info for Stormalong

• Website https://www.stormalong.com/

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