Just how bad ass is Star San?

I was cleaning old bottles last night. I found several unopened beers from 2005 or older. The three beers I've opened and tasted weren't actually all that bad considering they were 6 years or older. There was a Belgian Double which was actually OK (close to style at least), and 2 APAs which were single hop test brews (one with Amarillo and another with Simcoe which were both "new" to the homeberw scene back then). They all had oxidation, but were drinkable.

However, the inside of the bottles is cloudy with what I'm assuming is a very fine layer of yeast that didn't come clean with the typical kitchen sink rinse and shake.

I'm currently cleaning bottles for a bottle day on Saturday and am wondering if the a 2 minute soak in Star San before hanging on the bottle tree is adequate or if I should brush them out. I'm asking as I've noticed a lot of my bottles have this haze at the liquid level that I don't recall from the past....I also haven't bottled in over three years and can't find my bottle brush and my LHBS is not on the way anywhere I'm heading tomorrow.

Starsan is the Chuck Norris of sanitizers.

Chuck Norris is the Star San of B movies.

...and you can't really sanitize a dirty bottle. Get it squeaky, sparkling clean, then apply Star San.

I just read one of those darn "Chuck Norris is so bad he....." websites and couldn't find one that I could easily replace his name with starsan and have it make any sense.

There is no chin behind star sans beard. There is only another fist.

Star San is a sanitizer - not a cleaner. You need a cleaner to get out the gunk. PBW, Oxyclean and others

Soak in Oxyclean or PBW for a few days. That will clear up any gunk. then rinse well and use star-san to sanitize.

sidboswell said:

However, the inside of the bottles is cloudy with what I'm assuming is a very fine layer of yeast that didn't come clean with the typical kitchen sink rinse and shake.

I'm currently cleaning bottles for a bottle day on Saturday and am wondering if the a 2 minute soak in Star San before hanging on the bottle tree is adequate or if I should brush them out. I'm asking as I've noticed a lot of my bottles have this haze at the liquid level that I don't recall from the past....I also haven't bottled in over three years and can't find my bottle brush and my LHBS is not on the way anywhere I'm heading tomorrow.

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We call it scale, it's really common, it's just residue from the oxyclean as the water it's soaking in evaporates or reacting with minerals in the water. Usually a weak acid solution like vinegar and water, lemon juice and water, even a dillution of starsan and water usually breaks it down. Or lots of rinsing. It's really fine.
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Seems like I'm the only one here who still uses iodophor...is star-san much better than that? I haven't had any sanitization issues to date using the iodine but am always willing to change if it produces better results.

Reidman said:

Seems like I'm the only one here who still uses iodophor...is star-san much better than that? I haven't had any sanitization issues to date using the iodine but am always willing to change if it produces better results.

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Not sure if it's better from a sanitization stand point. But super easy to use and won't stain the clothes.

StarSan is the plutonium nyborg of sanitizers. :rockin:

Am I right that StarSan can be kept and reused multiple times to sanitize tubing, etc? If so, that might prompt me to switch from iodophor.

What's StarSan made of, BTW? Pretty gnarly stuff?

tonyolympia said:

Am I right that StarSan can be kept and reused multiple times to sanitize tubing, etc? If so, that might prompt me to switch from iodophor.

What's StarSan made of, BTW? Pretty gnarly stuff?

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Actually, totally un-gnarly - that's how they get a GRAS ("generally recognized as safe") food grade rating: "Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid - 300ppm and Phosphoric Acid - 780ppm (When diluted according to manufactures specifications)"

I keep a labelled spray bottle of it handy...

Cheers!

StarSan is...

15% Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid
50% Phosphoric Acid
35% Inert ingredients

As for continuing to use it... Many of us keep a bucket mixed up on hand. We also keep some in a spray bottle for quick hits. As long as it's kept sealed up (covered) it will last. You can test with PH strips to see how viable it is (not sure what the PH threshold is for it). I just make sure it continues to foam up. Or, I change it after enough time has passed (for me) or when I won't need any for a few weeks. During brewing/bottling days, we often just mix up a batch and toss it when done. It's so easy to make, and you use so little, we don't feel bad about doing this. Normal concentration is 1oz in 5 gallons of water.

day_trippr said:

Actually, totally un-gnarly - that's how they get a GRAS ("generally recognized as safe") food grade rating: "Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid - 300ppm and Phosphoric Acid - 780ppm (When diluted according to manufactures specifications)"

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I'm pretty sure I've seen a story on here of a guy buying starsan and it leaked on the floor of his new truck and disintegrated the carpet causing a lot of $ worth of damage.

Someone should search for it (I'm on a phone so too much hassle for me)

But that wasn't diluted solution.

dallasdb said:

I'm pretty sure I've seen a story on here of a guy buying starsan and it leaked on the floor of his new truck and disintegrated the carpet causing a lot of $ worth of damage.

Someone should search for it (I'm on a phone so too much hassle for me)

But that wasn't diluted solution.

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Right. Undiluted bleach or Iodophor leaking in your new pick'em'up truck would likely do a bit of damage as well.

"When used as directed" aren't just random words...

Cheers!

Starsan is the 1.21 jigawatts of flux capacitors.

day_trippr said:

Right. Undiluted bleach or Iodophor leaking in your new pick'em'up truck would likely do a bit of damage as well.

"When used as directed" aren't just random words...

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I just wanted to make sure tonyolympia didn't make the mistake of buying a bottle and having it leak undiluted on something and ruin it.

I also saw someone post that they set the bottle on their countertop and it burned a ring into the counter where the bottle sat!

dallasdb said:

I just wanted to make sure tonyolympia didn't make the mistake of buying a bottle and having it leak undiluted on something and ruin it.

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I appreciate the warning. Cheers!

dallasdb said:

I just wanted to make sure tonyolympia didn't make the mistake of buying a bottle and having it leak undiluted on something and ruin it.

I also saw someone post that they set the bottle on their countertop and it burned a ring into the counter where the bottle sat!

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All those stories have one thing in common. Human error. Star San is completely safe. I have left a bottle of it on my counter for months. The difference is that I make sure the outside of the bottle is free of undiluted solution before I walk away from it. It really is an awesome product. As long as you use it like any other cleaning product (with care) it is the perfect sanitizer.

Mix with distilled water for the longest lasting (months) product. Hard or mineral rich water will cause it to go weak sooner.