first time use of star san

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roofman70

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i have decided to use star san for my sanitation

mixed as directed and diluted bottles in bucket.

drained bottles and turned them upside down on towel on counter

waited one hour for drying time

when looking through bottles there was a web like haze

is this ok

or was it wise to boil 3 gallons of tap water and rince a second time
 
There is no need to wait an hour to dry...30 sec contact and it is sanitized (but it is OK to wait).

That was the (probably dried) foam. It is a good thing. No need to rinse.

8361-100_2609_2.JPG
 
roofman70 said:
looked like dried soap to me

did i over react
Click to expand...

It is dried soap. But at the concentrations of soap in the foam after diluted with the beer will have very little impact on the beer. I think everything will work out fine.
 
When I use StarSan for bottles, I use a 16 oz. measuring cup and pour in about 8 ounces of solution. I pour about 3/4 of it in the bottle and then place my thumb over the mouth of the bottle (I wear a rubber glove for this) and then rotate the bottle while it is in a horizontal position. After coating all the inside surface, I gently pour the solution back into the measuring cup and then dip the bottle mouth in the solution. Next is placing it on a sanitized bottling tree to dry. Repeat.

It sounds a bit much, but actually it is very easy and a very efficient use of starsan. The outsides of the bottle remain clean and dry.
 
I brewed with a buddy on Friday who used Star San to clean out his 6.5 gal carboy. I've only used OneStep, so I was freaking shocked when I saw how much foam Star San produced.

Folks that have used Star San before would know if the bubble residue has any impact on beer or not, but after seeing that once - I'll never use it.
 
ohiobrewtus said:
Folks that have used Star San before would know if the bubble residue has any impact on beer or not, but after seeing that once - I'll never use it.
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That's a shame, it's good stuff that really makes brewing and kegging SO MUCH easier.

I can't comment on dried residue, as I never let it dry. I merely rack onto the bubbles (most of which end up oozing out the top of the carboy or keg) and RDWHAHB. Works great.
 
The foam is normal and perfectly fine. Star San is neutralized by the wort and will have zero impact on flavor, mouthfeel or head retention. It foams for a reason -- it is designed to get into nooks and crannies that liquid solution generally won't reach. It keeps working as the contact surface dries, leaving the surface with a low PH that inhibits contamination. Rinsing screws that up. Don't rinse.

Chad
 
Star San rocks. If it dries, it looks like a hard water stain, but it washes off much easier. With regard to consuming it - it's nothing that isn't already in a can of Coke.
 
I use only two quarts of star san to sanitize a carboy. Put in a solid stopper, gently swirl to coat all the surface, then pour it out and let drain. Takes a few minutes and it's ready. No need to make 5 gallons of it and soak.
 
I make a 2 gallon solution. Put it in a drywall or wallpaper tray. Drop in 6-8 bottles sideways and caps. Roll the bottle as I am removing it and turn upside down. Lay out the 6-8 bottles, fill and cap. No drying, no rinsing, no worrying. If you taste the foam you will notice it has zero flavor. In larger amounts, it turns into your beer.
 
I started with OneStep because it was easier, didn't have all of that foam and looked generally nicer to work with.

After using an entire bottle of the stuff just doing two batches I decided anything would have to be better than that so I switched to Star-San. :)

I have to say I like it better thus far simply because the bottle is self-measuring which is kind of nifty and $20 of Star-San seems to last a LOT longer than the same $$ worth of One Step.

I don't mind the foam all that much. :)
 
The really great thing about Star San is that you can keep using it over and over. I've been brewing for a year and have only gone through around 10 ounces of the stuff. I originally would use it and then dispose of it, but since I started kegging I keep a batch mixed up in an extra keg. One 5 gallon batch (using 1 ounce of concentrate) can last months.
 
Kevin Dean said:
I have to say I like it better thus far simply because the bottle is self-measuring which is kind of nifty
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If you need them for other liquids, shop the net. You can find those self measuring bottles empty in many sizes/measures.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone.

i feel much better about using star san now, next batch i will not use a second rince and see how we do.

thanks agian for the support all..
 
I just used it for the first time yesterday and was impressed with how it dissolved painted labels on bottles after sanitizing my kegs and carboys.

Wild
 
ohiobrewtus said:
Folks that have used Star San before would know if the bubble residue has any impact on beer or not, but after seeing that once - I'll never use it.
Click to expand...


Dude, DON'T FEAR THE FOAM! it indeed has NO impact on the beer's flavor or head retention.

Fact: Beer likes an acidic environment, and Star-San is an acid sanitizer
Fact: The detergent in Star-san is a phosphate based 'soap', which breaks down into phosphate, which yeast LOVE to use as a phosphorus nutrient source


Feel free to keep using what you like, but Star-San is used in large commercial breweries and home breweries because its great stuff.
 
I use Star San and it's the bee's knees. I don't worry about any sort of drying. When I first started I was worried about racking into the foam. But, it hasn't affected anything. I even tasted the solution once...it tasted just like water and, unlike Bud Light, didn't give me the ****s either.
 
+1 again on the foam being ok....I freaked the first time using it, but am all good about it now. I too keep a full 5 gallon bucket of it....so great!
 
wild said:
I just used it for the first time yesterday and was impressed with how it dissolved painted labels on bottles after sanitizing my kegs and carboys.

Wild
Click to expand...

When you say painted bottles - do you mean like screenprinted bottles? I've had a case of Arrogant Bastard bottles lying around for a while and been wishing I could get the 'paint' off them. Will Star-san do the trick? Please tell me it will! :ban:
 
Here's a dumb question or two.

I'm switching over to Star-san from Iodophor soon, I like that it will stay stable potentially for months, so I can keep a batch around and not have to make fresh every time I need to sanitize an airlock or whatever.

It's OK to keep it kegged, right? I know it's an acid-based sanitizer; will it eat away the stainless eventually? Now that I'm finally getting all the kegging setup re-finalized, the plan is to split the CO2 (tank is outside) and keep a keg of Star-san under pressure outside the fridge. Since it'll be out of the light and at a moderate temperaure (60°-75° through the year), will that helo keep the PH where it needs to be? I'll have a short length of hose with a picnic tap to dispense when I need it, and then I'll be able to hook my other taps and lines right up to sanitize them.

Any holes in my plan?
 
I keep a plastic spray bottle of the stuff that has been full for about a year. Can't be too acidic! Go for it, bird. Or you can do what Yuri suggested with the yard sprayer. I like that idea, too.
 
I just moved my brewery and the water here turns the star san cloudy instantly. I have tried searching but i know there is a reason this happens and ether is a way to fix it so i can keep it longer, i think adding gypsum or something. Does anyone now how i should treat the water to keep it stable? I think this means i should be treating my water for brewing too.
 
98EXL said:
Yuri = Overkill
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That's my middle name!

However, I have found that thing to be pretty damn handy, especially when sanitizing large surfaces like the inside of my big fermenter. I also used it to sanitize some bottles recently, and it worked out quite nicely. It's nice to have a couple of gallons of sanitizer always ready to go in a sprayer for impromptu tasks (like rinsing off the sample port after a hydrometer reading).
 
the_bird said:
Here's a dumb question or two.

I'm switching over to Star-san from Iodophor soon, I like that it will stay stable potentially for months, so I can keep a batch around and not have to make fresh every time I need to sanitize an airlock or whatever.

It's OK to keep it kegged, right? I know it's an acid-based sanitizer; will it eat away the stainless eventually? Now that I'm finally getting all the kegging setup re-finalized, the plan is to split the CO2 (tank is outside) and keep a keg of Star-san under pressure outside the fridge. Since it'll be out of the light and at a moderate temperaure (60°-75° through the year), will that helo keep the PH where it needs to be? I'll have a short length of hose with a picnic tap to dispense when I need it, and then I'll be able to hook my other taps and lines right up to sanitize them.

Any holes in my plan?
Click to expand...

I think Five Star says it is OK on stainless and to be careful on 'soft' metals. I have never done it and would probably hesitate to store it for long periods of time in a keg.

I don't think the temperature or light will change its effectiveness. The tips I have heard for prolonging its life are to use water with little to no hardness (RO, distiled, etc.) and limit its exposure to heavy organic loads (i.e. clean the equipment well first).

I mix mine right in the jug of distilled water I get from the store and fill an old Windex bottle as needed. If I were looking to upgrade, I would probably get a yard sprayer and put beer in the keg;)
 
tbulger said:
I just moved my brewery and the water here turns the star san cloudy instantly. I have tried searching but i know there is a reason this happens and ether is a way to fix it so i can keep it longer, i think adding gypsum or something. Does anyone now how i should treat the water to keep it stable? I think this means i should be treating my water for brewing too.
Click to expand...
It's high mineral content in the water; most like a metallic oxide. Mine does the same thing and I just buy distilled water to mix up my Star San. Figure it's worth the $4.50 to get 5 gallons of water so I can keep my StarSan around for a month instead of having to toss it after each use.
 
Beerrific said:
I think Five Star says it is OK on stainless and to be careful on 'soft' metals. I have never done it and would probably hesitate to store it for long periods of time in a keg.
Click to expand...

I keep 4-5 oz each keg while they are stored empty. No ill effects, and the metal, dip tubes, etc show no signs of etching.
 
SilkkyBrew said:
When you say painted bottles - do you mean like screenprinted bottles? I've had a case of Arrogant Bastard bottles lying around for a while and been wishing I could get the 'paint' off them. Will Star-san do the trick? Please tell me it will! :ban:
Click to expand...
Yes it will.

Wild
 

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