Quick Tip: Change Out Those Hoses

Let's face it. Homebrewing involves a lot of tubes and hoses, mostly to siphon beer from one container to another. They are used to rack from boil kettle to carboy, carboy to carboy, carboy to keg, keg to glass, and so on. These hoses need to be clean and sanitary. Therein is the problem. You cannot scrub out a vinyl hose without fear of scratching it up, creating areas where bacteria can deposit. As a result, changing out the hoses often is the best way to prevent infections. Hoses are cheap, so changing them out should not be a big cost issue.