In article >,
"bobdrob" > wrote:

> Greetings to all! Since I'm both a homebrewer and a home vintner I'd only
> ever used iodophor in the brewery & PotMetaBi-etc. in the winery, can one
> use either interchangably? mostly, I'd prefer to use the PotMBetc in both
> applications, but I'm curious how beer reacts with the chemical. If they're
> mutually exclusive applications, so be it. Thoughts? regards bob
>
>

Iodophor is a disinfectant, which is to say it is bactericidal.
SO2 is bacteriostatic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bacteriostatic_agent

The difference is the iodophor kills bacteria, and SO2 will make them
dormant. Iodophor is used in wineries to disinfect tanks and hoses, and
SO2, with citric, is used for rinsing equipment to remove metalic ions,
and halogens. Citric is a chelating agent that binds to halogens (like
iodine, fluorine, chlorine, ect.).

As you can see, iodophor and SO2 have different functions. If SO2 was
bactericidal, you would only have to make one addition to your wines.
Additionally, SO2 prevents wine pigments from browning, at least in
young wines.

Beer has a higher pH than wines and is less able to withstand microbes,
therefore with beer you really need to sanitize scrupulously to avoid
contamination. Wine, with its' lower pH, is more resistant to microbial
damage.
--
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

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