Star San

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

johnsonbrew

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2012
Messages
172
Reaction score
0
Location
mead
Question about Star San. I know its supposed to be a non rinse sanitizer, but I think my concentration may not have been diluted quite enough. It foamed up significantly so I rinsed the carboy a few times to try to get the foam to settle a bit. It does not feel "soapy" or anything like that, so I am wondering if I should rinse my blow off tub before using it or just shake it out a bit to get any excess water off of it like I usually do.
 
Rinsing it out is undoing all that the Star San did to sanitize the carboy... As already posted, DON'T FEAR THE FOAM!!!

It's highly unlikely that you could have mixed it strong enough to do any harm. Maybe using a full ounce in a 1 gallon batch, but even that is debatable.
 
I use a gallon jug of water,& open the side with the lil measuring cube thing. Squeeze till it fills 3/4 of the way up to the 1/4oz mark. Pour that into the gallon of water & allow to settle. That's the proper dilution for a 1 gallon batch. The foam won't hurt anything,& rising it off is counter-productive.
 
I just make 2.5 gallons at a time, when needed. I store it in a bucket (with a lid) until it's either gone, or doesn't look right. Usually, I just mix up more on brew day (sometimes I can go more than one brew day between making batches).

BTW, the yeast LOVES the foam. :rockin:
 
I just make 2.5 gallons at a time, when needed. I store it in a bucket (with a lid) until it's either gone, or doesn't look right. Usually, I just mix up more on brew day (sometimes I can go more than one brew day between making batches).

BTW, the yeast LOVES the foam. :rockin:

I do the exact same thing with Star-san.

Gary
 
don't yeast like a slightly acidic environment? Since star san is an acid sanitizer it seems like they'd dig it.
 
don't yeast like a slightly acidic environment? Since star san is an acid sanitizer it seems like they'd dig it.

The amount that the residue could bring to a brew is so tiny I doubt it could be measured in even a 3 gallon batch. Provided, you don't leave any in the bottom of the fermenter (like 2-4 quarts). Just drain it out and don't worry about it...
 
I use a gallon jug of water,& open the side with the lil measuring cube thing. Squeeze till it fills 3/4 of the way up to the 1/4oz mark. Pour that into the gallon of water & allow to settle. That's the proper dilution for a 1 gallon batch. The foam won't hurt anything,& rising it off is counter-productive.

It's probably close enough but, 1 oz. in 5 gallons does not equal 1/4 oz. in 1 gallon.
This is what I came up with:


1 OZ 0R 2 TBSPNS IN 5 GALLONS
1/2 OZ OR 1 TBSPN IN 2.5 GALLONS
0.166 oz OR 1 tspn IN 3 qrts +1 1/3 cup
0.083 OZ OR 1/2 tsp IN 6 2/3 cups
0.041 oz OR 1/4 tsp IN 3 1/3 cup
 
It's probably close enough but, 1 oz. in 5 gallons does not equal 1/4 oz. in 1 gallon.
This is what I came up with:


1 OZ 0R 2 TBSPNS IN 5 GALLONS
1/2 OZ OR 1 TBSPN IN 2.5 GALLONS
0.166 oz OR 1 tspn IN 3 qrts +1 1/3 cup
0.083 OZ OR 1/2 tsp IN 6 2/3 cups
0.041 oz OR 1/4 tsp IN 3 1/3 cup

Read my post again. I SAID 3/4'S OF THE WAY UP TO THE 1/4OZ LINE. 3/4 of 1.4oz X 5 IS 1 OUNCE.
 
Read my post again. I SAID 3/4'S OF THE WAY UP TO THE 1/4OZ LINE. 3/4 of 1.4oz X 5 IS 1 OUNCE.

Not to mess with you, but 3/4 of 1/4 is .1875, or 18.75% which is shy of 20% (1/5). 80% of the 1/4oz amount would get you dilution per directions. Yes, it's probably splitting hairs, and you're probably getting about that anyway, but your numbers didn't jive.

BTW, the 16oz and 32oz bottles only have 1/2oz and 1oz measurements on them, so the method you use only works for the smallest bottles.

I would aim to go a bit heavier than 3/4 of 1/4, or just mix up 1-1/4 gallons and use the 1/4oz measurement.

BTW, I never liked math much, so it pains me a bit to use it here. :fro:
 
My last brew I left about an ounce of the stuff in a bottle and topped it off with beer without realizing it until it was time to cap it. Rather than dump it I capped it and shrugged it off. I thought it would sanitize my yeast and I'd be left with a flat beer, but I couldn't even tell the difference.
 
I inadvertently .left a couple of inches of starsan In bottom of two liter flask dumped starter wort and yeast on top of it. Everything worked out fine.
 
Well,eyeballing the lil measurement cube I figured I'm really close to exact without a more accurate measurement system. It's close enough that I never have problems. Truth be known thinking back,I've actually got it closer to the 1/4oz line than 3/4's,but still under. It just sort of came to mind about what 1/5th of an ounce would be on the scale thing on the measuring side of the bottle. I just tried to describe it...
 
Back
Top