What are the ingredients of Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) ?

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Just like KFC's secret herbs and spices, the exact ingredients of Powdered Brewery Wash are kept a closely guarded secret. But having eaten KFC, you know there are spices so you can kind of work it out...


PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash) is a SUPER popular cleaning agent used by homebrewers and commercial breweries to clean their brewing equipment. T

The actual ingredients of PBW are not disclosed by the manufacturer, Five Star Chemicals.

According to Five Star Chemicals, PBW is a mixture of alkaline cleaners and a proprietary blend of surfactants. Alkaline cleaners are chemical compounds that are capable of breaking down oils, fats, and proteins, which are common contaminants found in brewing equipment. 

Surfactants are surface-active agents that help to reduce the surface tension of water and break down dirt and grime. By combining these two types of compounds, PBW is able to effectively remove tough stains and residues from brewing equipment.

While the specific ingredients of PBW are not disclosed, some homebrewers have speculated that PBW contains a number of different chemicals, including sodium metasilicate, sodium carbonate, sodium percarbonate, and sodium tripolyphosphate (known as TSP).

ingredients of PBW brewery wash

Sodium metasilicate is an alkaline cleaner that is commonly used in cleaning products due to its ability to break down grease and oil. It is a water-soluble compound that forms a basic solution when dissolved in water. Sodium carbonate, also known as washing soda, is another alkaline cleaner that is commonly used in cleaning products. It has a high pH and is effective at removing stains and residues from a variety of surfaces.

Sodium percarbonate is a compound that is formed by combining sodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide. When dissolved in water, it releases oxygen, which helps to break down stains and residues. Sodium tripolyphosphate is a compound that is used as a water softener in cleaning products. 

It helps to prevent the buildup of mineral deposits and other residues on surfaces - you can avoid getting beer stone for example. 

In combination, these ingredients work to break down oils, fats, proteins, and other contaminants that can accumulate on brewing equipment. The alkaline cleaners help to dissolve and emulsify these contaminants, while the surfactants help to lift them away from the surface of the equipment. 

Additionally, the oxygen released by sodium percarbonate can help to sanitize the equipment by breaking down harmful microorganisms.

So, while the specific chemical ingredients of PBW are not disclosed, it is likely that the product contains a mixture of alkaline cleaners and surfactants, as well as other compounds such as sodium percarbonate and sodium tripolyphosphate. 

These compounds work together to effectively clean and sanitize brewing equipment, making PBW a popular choice for homebrewers and commercial breweries alike.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Powered by Blogger.

Tags

absorption caps abv acetaldehyde acid adjuncts advice about beer brewing aeration aeration kit aging air lock alcohol alcohol poisoning ale ale beer kits alkaline alkaline brewery wash all grain american amylase apera apples attenuation autolysis automatic temperature compensation bacteria baker's yeast baking yeast ball lock ball valve bar keepers friend barley batch prime beer brewing beer capper beer dispenser beer filtration kit system beer gushers beer kit beer kit review beer kits beer lines beer salt beer taps beerstone best brewing equipment biotin bittering BKF black rock bleach blichmann blow off tubing bluelab bohemian pilsner boil in a bag boil over boneface bottle cap bottle caps bottle conditioning bottling bottling beer bottling spigot bourbon brettanomyces brew and review brew day brewing beer guide brewing salts brewing spoon brewing sugar brewing thermostat brewzilla british thermal unit brix brix scale BTU budvar buffer buffer solution burton snatch buyer's guide calcium chloride calcium sulphate calibration calibration probe calibration solution campden tablets capping carbon dioxide carbonation carbonation drops carboy cascade caustic soda cherry wine chinook chlorine christmas chronicle cider clarity cleaning your equipment clear beer clone recipe cloudy beer cold crashing coldbreak conditioning tablets conductivity conical fermenter contamination coopers copper tun corn sugar cornelius corny keg craft beer creamy beer crown cryo hops cubes danstar nottingham demijohn dextrose distilation DIY DME dopplebock draught dry hopping dry malt extract edelmetall brĂ¼ burner eisbock ekuanot electrode enhancer enzyme equipment ester ethanol experiments in beer making faucet fermcap-s fermentables fermentation fermenter fermentis fermentor final gravity finings five star flat beer floccing foam inhibitor force carbonation french fresh wort pack fridge fruit fusel alchohol garage project gas burners gelatin gift and present ideas gin ginger beer glucose golden ale golden syrup goldings gose grain grain mill green bullet grist guinness gypsum hach hacks hallertauer heat mat heat pad heat wrap home brew honey hop schedule hops hops spider how not to brew beer how to brew that first beer how to brew with a beer kit how to grow hops how to make a hop tea how to wash yeast hydrated layer hydrogen sulfide hydrometer IBU ideas idophor infection inkbird instruments isoamyl acetate jelly beans jockey box john palmer juniper keezer keg cooler keg regulators kegco kegerator kegging kegs kettle kombucha krausen lactic acid lager lagering lauter lion brown liquid malt extract litmus LME lupulin lupulin powder lupuLN2 making beer malic acid malt malt mill maltodextrin mangrove jack's maple syrup mash mash paddle mash tun mccashins mead methanol micro brewing milling milwaukee MW102 mistakes mixing instructions moa mouth feel muntons must nano brewing New Zealand Brewer's Series no rinse nut brown ale oak oak wood chips off flavors original gravity oxygen pacific gem palaeo water pale ale panhead parsnip PBW pear pectine pectolase perlick ph levels ph meter ph pen pH strips ph tester pico brewing pilsner pitching yeast plastic drum poppet valve pot powdered brewing wash ppm precipitated chalk pressure relief valve priming prison hooch probe problem solving propane and propane accessories pruno pump system purity law radler re-using yeast recipe record keeping reddit refractometer reinheitsgebot removing beer labels from bottles review rice hulls riwaka rotten eggs saaz saccharomyces cerevisiae salt sanitization secondary regulator sediment seltzer session beer silicon simple tricks for brewing siphon site glass skunked beer small batch brewing soda soda ash soda stream sodium carbonate sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate sodium hydroxide sodium metasilicate sodium percarbonate sour beer sparge spigot spirals spirits spoon spraymalt star san starch STC-1000 steinlager steralisation sterilisation sterilization sterliization still stoke storage solution stout sucrose sugar supercharger tannins temperature temperature controller therminator thermometer tips for beginners tri-sodium phopsphate tricks and tips trub tubing tui turkey vodka infused gin vorlauf water water testing wet cardboard taste wet hopping weta whirlfloc tablets white claw williamswarn wine winter brewing wood wort wort chiller yeast yeast energizer yeast nutrient yeast rafts yeast starter yeast traps zinc
Back to Top