Where's the foam?

Ok, after reading all about the wonders of Star San, I went out and bought myself some, and did my sanitation for this week's batch with Star San.

BUT....I was so expecting to see this foaming action I've been reading about (and being told not to fear)....and really didn't get much foam at all.

I made two batches:

1) 3 days ago when I made my yeast starter, I made 1 gallon w/ just under 1/2 oz Star San. Soaked some stuff, and filled spray bottle.

2) Last night, on brew night, I made 2 1/2 gallons with 1/2 oz. Star San.

Neither times did I experience this "foaming" of which I read about. I used it anyway. Sprayed with the spray bottle, and cross my fingers, hope I don't have an infection.

Was I doing something wrong????????

You're not trying hard enough! j/k

Or maybe your expectations of StarSan "foam" is different than what it really is. After significant agitation, StarSan will generate lots of bubbles and create a fairly sturdy foam-- think dishwashing soap type foam but longer lasting.

-Steve

Bwahaha, this is the first "I wanna see the foam" thread I have ever come upon. Are you 100% positive that your bottle indeed says "Starsan" and not "sani-clean" sani-clean is basically starsan without the foaming agent (sort of)....IIRC the bottles look identical...or perhaps Five Star Chemicals mis-labeled the batch...

It really is hard to mis starsan foaming...



Or maybe you have extremely hard/mineral laden water and it prevented the foaming action? I dunno....

Try putting 1/2 to 1 gallon is your carboy and swirling and shaking it. That usually evokes the foam demon. If you still don't see foam you may have very hard water. If you make your Starsan from distilled water which can be had for about $1 a bottle at the drug store you are assured of good water and your mix will last several months.

Keep an eye on your dilution amount. It should be 1/4 ounce for 1.25 gallons of water. More is NOT better. It's a no-rinse sanitizer at proper dilution.

Revvy said:

Bwahaha, this is the first "I wanna see the foam" thread I have ever come upon. Are you 100% positive that your bottle indeed says "Starsan" and not "sani-clean" sani-clean is basically starsan without the foaming agent (sort of)....IIRC the bottles look identical...or perhaps Five Star Chemicals mis-labeled the batch...

It really is hard to mis starsan foaming...

Or maybe you have extremely hard/mineral laden water and it prevented the foaming action? I dunno....

Click to expand...

Now see?! That picture is what I'm talking about....that's exactly the vision I painted in my head after reading about it.

It's definitely Star San: 8oz Bottle of Five Star San Acid Sanitizer for Surface Sanitation.

And I don't think the problem is hard water either...we don't get the tell-tale deposits and working up a lather when washing dishes and what-not is a breeze.

Maybe it is that my expectations were too high. Both times I mixed it up, I did it open 5 gallon buckets, so maybe that was it.

I'll give it a shot when I get ready to do my secondary racking in the 5gal carboy and see if I can get that cool volcano action going like in Revvy's picture....

Nothing exciting ever happens to me.....

Revvy said:

Click to expand...

Hmm... where have I seen something like that before?

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXcug7RqPgs]YouTube - Mythbusters - Soapy water + methane[/ame]

-Steve

YooperBrew said:

Keep an eye on your dilution amount. It should be 1/4 ounce for 1.25 gallons of water. More is NOT better. It's a no-rinse sanitizer at proper dilution.

Click to expand...

That was a typo above...first batch I did just under 1/4 oz for 1 gallon....

I do, however, have a real bad habit of squeezing out way too much detergent when doing the dishes....maybe I need to put the household supplies under "beer budget" then I'll start being more conscious across the board

Yeah, maybe you just have hard water.

Here's my carboy after making a concerted effort to not stir up too much StarSan foam.

dude, I use 1 oz. per 5 gallons of star san, correct me if i'm using too much but i'm zero out of three for infections.

WatereeBrew said:

dude, I use 1 oz. per 5 gallons of star san, correct me if i'm using too much but i'm zero out of three for infections.

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That's the same amount. 1/4 ounce for 1.25 gallons = 1 ounce for 5 gallons.

I just never make up more than a gallon at a time. There isn't any reason for me to do that. I can't keep it very long, since I have very hard water and it turns cloudy very soon. So, I mix up a gallon on brewday or kegging day, and keep it only a week or so.

It's a crappy cellphone pic, but the foam actually coiled itself up the hose of the autosiphon.



It was sweet!

I also wondered about the foam the first couple of times I used it, but last time I bought a 2.5 G jug of distilled water so that I could keep reusing the stuff and after some vigorous agitation there was NO doubt about the foam! I mean there was always a bit before, but when you splash it around a bit it really kicks in.

I just pour the 2.5 (well, a little less cause I fill the spray bottle up with it and ther eis some loss) back in the jug and put back in closet. I doubt I'll ever run out!

Homercidal said:

I also wondered about the foam the first couple of times I used it, but last time I bought a 2.5 G jug of distilled water so that I could keep reusing the stuff and after some vigorous agitation there was NO doubt about the foam! I mean there was always a bit before, but when you splash it around a bit it really kicks in.

I just pour the 2.5 (well, a little less cause I fill the spray bottle up with it and ther eis some loss) back in the jug and put back in closet. I doubt I'll ever run out!

Click to expand...

It sounds like my mixes were just too passive to expect the big foam I thought I was going to get.

I pretty much just filled a 5gal bucket with either 1gal or 2.5 gal water and poured (just under 1/4oz to 1gal) and (1/2 oz to 2.5gal) Star San, respectively, and stirred.

For some reason, I guess I thought pouring the Star San into the water would get me a reaction like dropping a chunk of potassium into water :rockin:

When I took some of the 1gal mix, and filled my spray bottle and shook a bit, I did get suds, but it was pretty the same thing you get when you shake a bottle of dish detergent, not the foom foam in Revvy's picture. But of course, I had the bottle lid screwed on, so what did I expect? Maybe some surface foaming when I sprayed it? Guess that's not how it works.

Bottom line: I don't really care, as long as it's killing the nasties. (But still would be amused by a cool volcano foam action....

YooperBrew said:

I just never make up more than a gallon at a time. There isn't any reason for me to do that. I can't keep it very long, since I have very hard water and it turns cloudy very soon. So, I mix up a gallon on brewday or kegging day, and keep it only a week or so.

Click to expand...

My experience with Starsan is the same.

The actual amount of concentrate to use can vary a little with your water chemistry, so it's always a good idea to check the pH with your meter or test strips to make sure you are mixing at the correct strength. If you're at or below 3 you're good to go.

If you have some mixed that's been around for awhile, check the pH. If it's above 3, toss it and make more.