Storing Star San

I am making up some of Ed Wort's famous Apfelwein tonight :rockin: and I have to mix up some Star San to make sure everything is sanitized. My question is I am going to be making some AHS Saaz Pale Ale :rockin: on Sunday. Can I just make say 2.5 gallons of Star San up and leave it in my Primary fermenter (Its a 6.5 gallon glass carboy)?

Will this hurt anything? I am assuming not, but I will put a cap and airlock on it so that hopefully it will stay fresh to use again on Sunday.

Thanks everyone in advance.

It's absolutely fine, it won't hurt a thing. Starsan keeps very well, feel free to use it for several weeks. I typically mix up 2.5 gallons, use a half gallon or so on a brewing/bottling/kegging day, then save the rest in gallon jugs until next time. Keep a spray bottle filled too, it's unbelievably handy.

I've heard if you have hard water, it might not last as long. I think if it is no longer clear, it isn't good anymore.

Mix it in a gallon jug of distilled water and it will last for months. My tap water is hard and crappy so Star San doesn't last very long in it.

Excellent. My water is on the hard side, but it's only until Sunday. If it gets cloudy I will toss it out. Yes a spray bottle sounds like a great idea. I will have to make sure and get one. Thanks everyone

The "cloudy" thing has really been debunked. So long as the pH remains below 3.0, your Starsan is still effective, cloudy or not.

My Starsan goes slightly cloudy quite quickly after mixing it up. However, I've tested it a month later and found the pH to still be well below 3.0.

BlindLemonLars said:

The "cloudy" thing has really been debunked. So long as the pH remains below 3.0, your Starsan is still effective, cloudy or not.

My Starsan goes slightly cloudy quite quickly after mixing it up. However, I've tested it a month later and found the pH to still be well below 3.0.

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Too true! I always use my pH test strips even with the distilled version. Using my tap water does make my Star San go south fairly rapidly.