Starsan question

I know " DON'T FEAR THE FOAM" but does this hold true for bottling also? I use a vinator and I am getting a bit of starsan foam in the bottles. Any issue with this?

Nope, not at all.

I just bottled one of my first batches a couple of days ago, and with a bottling wand, the foam lifted up out of the bottle for the most part. =] Yet another reason I love StarSan, no rinse!

OHIOSTEVE said:

I know " DON'T FEAR THE FOAM" but does this hold true for bottling also? I use a vinator and I am getting a bit of starsan foam in the bottles. Any issue with this?

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I went through the same concerns early on. To test it out, I put maybe an ounce of starsan in a bottle, labeled it and processed with the rest of the batch. Testing time, I could tell no difference.

I always rinse StarSan because I'm paranoid. I know the general consensus is to not fear the foam, but sipping on phosphoric acid doesn't sound like fun.

BlueSunshine said:

I always rinse StarSan because I'm paranoid.

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What if you rinse the sanitizer off, but the rinse water has some sort of nasty bacteria or other bug in it, couldnt that contaminate the just-recently sanitized items?? I know its highly unlikely, but my paranoia goes the other direction than yours

I once forgot to disconnect my blow off tube and change it out for an airlock and when I cooled to lager about a quart of starsan got sucked in on top of my Vienna. I let it sit there on top (there was a whitish hazy layer) for about 6 weeks and then just siphoned out from under it. It cost me a half gallon or so of beer but the rest of the beer was fine.

Just an example that you shouldn't fear the foam. Think about how much of every bubble is really just air. In each bit of foam there is very little of the diluted starsan solution.

BlueSunshine said:

I always rinse StarSan because I'm paranoid. I know the general consensus is to not fear the foam, but sipping on phosphoric acid doesn't sound like fun.

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I don't fear the foam and it has never harmed me.
never harmed me.
never harmed me.
never harmed me.
never harmed me.
never harmed me.
never harmed me.

Can you see that flying monkey?

Use the vinator for your bottles and store your bottles on a bottle tree to let them drain. Removes all paranoia too.

BlueSunshine said:

I always rinse StarSan because I'm paranoid. I know the general consensus is to not fear the foam, but sipping on phosphoric acid doesn't sound like fun.

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The concentration of phosphoric acid once the foam is mixed with the wort/wine/beer is probably less than what is present in Coke/Pepsi products. In my mind, it's better to have the sanitizer than to risk infecting a whole batch of beer.

Obelisk said:

Use the vinator for your bottles and store your bottles on a bottle tree to let them drain. Removes all paranoia too.

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doesn't letting the starsan dry ,defeat the purpose?

This is interesting to me.

You totally don't have to worry about StarSan for chemical, contaminant reasons. If you drain those bottles, whatever's on the surface is going to be very diluted by your beer.

I rinse StarSan too though! I give it several minutes to work--then I rinse it with fresh water coming out of the tap. Then I run the bottles through the dishwasher without any soap, but with high heat. It's kind of a long process... but I do it because I think StarSan affects head retention.

I've never had an infected batch or bottle.