Meet Matt Dailey of Oil Creek Brewing
Using SAFECID as a Homebrew Cleaner for Equipment & Beer Tap Cleaning
SAFECID helps Matt keep his brewery clean and make some of the finest award-winning beers in Pennsylvania
Award-winning Home Brewer Matt Dailey of Oil Creek Brewing in Titusville, PA is an inspiring, dedicated brewmaster who uses SAFECID’s Alkaline Cleaner to clean his kegs, brewing equipment, taps, and beer lines. A high school teacher who brewed his first beer on a weekend whim with a good friend, Matt got hooked on trying to make great beers at home – and then began Oil Creek Brewing about 5 years ago as a passion project that shows no signs of fading.
His thriving home brew operation is now a regional success story in Pennsylvania, and Oil Creek Brewing has become something of an internet sensation. A few years ago, Matt started an Instagram account where he posts photos of his beautiful beers, documents his brewing process, and shares his knowledge and experience with his growing legion of over 3,000 followers. His growing reputation, success in making great beers, and serious devotion to his craft has also led to an exciting sponsorship with the highly-esteemed folks at Yakima Valley Hops whose excellent hops are known to discriminating brewers worldwide.
Matt believes in using the finest ingredients, and the best practices to keep his brewery clean and safe. As a source of inspiration and brewing education to Home Brewers across the world, Matt knows that beer quality depends upon exceptional cleanliness. That’s why he is sharing information on his cleaning process – and the chemicals he uses to keep his brewery operating at the highest level of quality and efficiency he can achieve.
A Passion For Craft, Innovation and Cleanliness
As a brewer dedicated to trying new styles of beer to further perfect his craft and fine-tune his operation, one of Matt’s recent projects has been to try and brew a great Lager at home. As any serious home brewer knows, making a tasty Lager is a “next level brewing” challenge – and you have to be working at a very high level of craft and cleanliness to make a great Lager. That’s one reason he takes his cleaning chemicals seriously. “Cleaning is the name of the game” he says, and adds with a laugh that “a good brewer is basically a glorified Janitor; you mostly wait around for your beer to ferment while you clean, clean, clean.” In fact, he says, “running a home brewery is about 10 percent brewing – and 90 percent cleaning.”
His quest for excellence is one reason Matt stopped using the most widely-used powdered cleaner, and why he’s now made SAFECID Alkaline Cleaner the primary cleaning product in his operation. He believes in the extraordinary cleaning power, safety, and ecological purity of SAFECID, and that’s why he has been generous enough to share the story of why he chose SAFECID with brewers like you.
“The truth is that Brewing is 10% Making Beer – and 90% Cleaning! Safecid alkaline cleaner does such a good job cleaning my kegs, lines and equipment, that after I’ve taken the parts off and inspected them, I find that there is no residue, no yeast, not dirt, no grime. That to me is pretty mind-blowing!”
Why Matt Chose To Replace The Leading Powdered Cleaner With SAFECID Alkaline Brewery Cleaner
Because absolute cleanliness is essential to making a great tasting beer, Matt knows that the chemicals he uses to clean his fermenters, kegs, beer lines and brewing equipment are critical to his success. Like a lot of Home Brewers, Matt started out using the most widely-used powdered cleaner to clean his kegs, draft lines and brewing equipment; but even though this particular powdered cleaner is a well-known industry standard, Matt felt it was falling short as a cleaner. He was always frustrated with the fact that the powder never dissolved completely, and always left a residue on his equipment. After Matt was given a free trial offer to try SAFECID instead of the powdered cleaner he’d been using, he said he was amazed with the results. “The cleaning performance of SAFECID is second to none. It just cleans so well.”
“My problem with the powdered cleaner was that it wouldn’t dissolve all the way. I used to always find the undissolved residue in the bottom of the keg, and it was just annoying to me – because I was doing more cleaning than I thought was necessary. The problem was that I put it in, mixed it, and then when I dumped it out, what I saw coming out of the bottom were these clumps of powder that hadn’t dissolved. So that meant it just wasn’t doing as good a job of cleaning as I thought it was doing. I thought dealing with that reside was just the way it was supposed to be – until I got SAFECID and then I was like ‘WOW THIS IS HOW IT IS ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO WORK’. With SAFECID, it’s already starting out AS A LIQUID, so there is no POWDER to deal with.”
SAFECID ALKALINE BREWERY CLEANER
SERIOUS BREWING CLEANING BENEFITS FOR HOME BREWERS
- Powerful cleaning performance is second to none
- SAFECID is a liquid, not a powder and requires no pre-mixing
- Rinses very easily and does not leave a powder residue
- Patented Chemicals do not burn or harm your skin or your eyes
- SAFECID chemicals are rated 0-0-0 on the hazardous materials scale
- Environmentally-friendly and safe for wastewater discharge
- SAFECID will not harm your kids or your pets
Would You Like To Try Safecid In Your Home Brewery for Free?
We believe so strongly in the power and safety of our products that we’d like to offer you a free trial – fill out a simple form and tell us about your operation and we will reach out to you to arrange free delivery of the right product for your application.
Matt’s Recipe For New England IPA
- 11 lbs American 2 Row
- 2 lbs Flaked Oats
Step 1
- Mash at 152°f for 60 minutes
- Boil for 60 minutes.
Hop Additions
- 25mls of Mass Hops Citra extract at 180°F and whirlpool for 30 minutes
Yeast
- Imperial A38 Juice or
- White Labs London Fog 066 or
- Wyeast London Ale III
Step 2
- Dry Hop 2 oz Mosaic Lupomax Pellets (22AA) directly after high krausen
- Finish fermentation in about 10-14 days. Chill and package.
- 5 gallon batch/25 IBUs/ OG 1.064/ FG 1.012 / ABV 6.8%
Insider Tip
For best results do not bottle condition this beer. Will not withstand the conditioning process. If you really want to up your game, make your chloride:sulfate ratio 150ppm:50ppm. This will enhance the body and mouthfeel of the beer.
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Beer Line Cleaning Best Practices
Beer line cleaning is a critical process in the operation of any bar, restaurant, or brewery. Clean your beer lines regularly to minimize the growth of bugs and bacteria and protect the health and safety of your patrons. Clean beer lines keep your beer fresh and tasting as the brewer intended. Fresh, true-tasting beer is key to attracting new customers and retaining your valued old ones.
Safety Education for Beerline Cleaners
As the hospitality/service industry begins to reopen its door and COVID-19 social restrictions are gradually lifted, the health and safety of employees and patrons are of the highest priority. With a return to “the new normal,” there is an increased focus on cleanliness while giving beer lovers what they’ve been craving – great tasting tap beer.
How to Detect Dirty Beer Lines
The best test of clean beer lines is the clean, pure taste of beer. If anything tastes off or funky, raise an eyebrow. Without regular maintenance and cleaning, beer lines get dirty fast. If the beer tastes stale or sour, this is a sign of dirty beer lines. Another taste, or “mouth feel” is that of butter or a fatty, slippery buttery feeling in the mouth. This indicates the presence of diacetyl.