1,000th Starsan thread...

[Brewskii]

Ok, is it me or is the smell that starsan leaves on your hands in my beer?

I have a house flavor/aroma and I swear it's the same thing.

I usually ferment in glass carboys with 1 gal fresh starsan stored in them mixed to lable instructions or slightly stronger. On brew day I shake the carboy to get foam and pour as much of the liquid out into a bath that I rinse all my airlocks and hose/ siphon materials in.

I usually have a carboy half filled with foam that yields no liquid when dumped just prior to filling. I do the same for those times I secondary( dry hops or big beers/lagers).

Anyone else notice this?

 

[Pappers_]

Its you

While you don't need to fear the foam, I wouldn't shake your carboy to create lots of foam, I don't get that. Per the suggestion of the manufacturer of Star San (on a Brew Strong podcast), I fill the carboy with water first then add the Star San so that less foam is made.

But to answer your question, no I don't smell Star San or Iodophor in my beer.

 

[aiptasia]

I use idophor and don't notice any issues with smell or off flavors. Idophor is an iodine solution that was developed for the dairy industry. It works very well for sanitizing but be careful with it because it can stain clothing and other fabrics.

 

[Brewskii]

Pappers; I heard or read that the foam of starsan has the same sanitizing effectiveness of the liquid so I shake to foam and decant the liquid, to increase the contact time on the upper portions of the carboy.
I think I'm gonna start rinsing and see if I notice a difference. Realizing it's a no rinse product. I'm fairly certian my water is clean enough to not cause me issues.

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

If you are going to rinse the starsan then there really is no point in using it in the first place... your water may be clean, but I would bet your faucet aerator is not. Just something to think about.

 

[Brewskii]

Its you

While you don't need to fear the foam, I wouldn't shake your carboy to create lots of foam, I don't get that. Per the suggestion of the manufacturer of Star San (on a Brew Strong podcast), I fill the carboy with water first then add the Star San so that less foam is made.

But to answer your question, no I don't smell Star San or Iodophor in my beer.

I will have to look that episode up... I think I missed it. Filling a 6.5 gal carboy seems like a lot of water ( and consequently and not so mysteriously; a lot of StarSan) so I'm not surprised that's 5stars preferred method, but, it would get me the same sanitizing while leaving less in the carboy at filling.
This may just turn into one of those things that I can't believe I ever did. I care more about the flavor my beer than using a little more sanitizer.

I'll have so much starsan around I'll have to start watering my lawn with it! 

 

[Pappers_]

The foam does sanitize, by affecting the ph of the carboy just as the liquid does. I was just suggesting that if you think your beer's flavor is being impacted by the star san, not purposefully filling the carboy with foam might help. I get a lot of foam even without trying to make foam.

I wouldn't rinse after using sanitizer.

Perhaps you should try using Iodophor and see if you are still perceiving the off flavor. Or share your beer with an experienced judge or enter it in a competition to get their feedback on the off flavor.

 

[Pappers_]

Also, are you using the recommended dilution? 1 oz per five gallons, if I recall correctly.

 

[BrewKnurd]

So I would recommend you do an experiment. This might be a good use for a light american lager.

Take 3 glasses, labeled a, b, c, or whatever. in one of them, add 1/2 tsp of starsan. in the other two, add 1/2 tsp of water (this is probably totally unnecessary, i'm only suggesting it in case there's any slight lightening of color due to adding the starsan). Split a beer 3 ways between the 3 glasses.

Then do a triangle test and see if you can pick out the star-san doctored one. If you can, maybe you're on to something. If not, its in your head.

Obviously, you want to do this without knowing ahead of time which is which, so have someone else set the experiment up for you. Or you could doctor the glasses and just have someone else fill them with the beer and label them. I chose 1/2 tsp because that's the volume in 4 oz that would correspond to 2 cups of starsan in a 5 gallon batch.

 

[Brewskii]

Also, are you using the recommended dilution? 1 oz per five gallons, if I recall correctly.

I mix a gallon at a time and usually I'm at around 1/4 oz. so... No, I'm mixing it a little on the strong side.
I'm currently waiting for score sheets from 3 entries in my first BJCP sanctioned event over a month ago. ( can you tell I'm a little impatient?)

 

[Brewskii]

So I would recommend you do an experiment. This might be a good use for a light american lager.

Take 3 glasses, labeled a, b, c, or whatever. in one of them, add 1/2 tsp of starsan. in the other two, add 1/2 tsp of water (this is probably totally unnecessary, i'm only suggesting it in case there's any slight lightening of color due to adding the starsan). Split a beer 3 ways between the 3 glasses.

Then do a triangle test and see if you can pick out the star-san doctored one. If you can, maybe you're on to something. If not, its in your head.

Obviously, you want to do this without knowing ahead of time which is which, so have someone else set the experiment up for you. Or you could doctor the glasses and just have someone else fill them with the beer and label them. I chose 1/2 tsp because that's the volume in 4 oz that would correspond to 2 cups of starsan in a 5 gallon batch.

Excellent idea! Thanks for that. I'm gonna do that very thing this afternoon.

Don't know why this didn't occur to me before... It's just what I needed.

 

[mpcluever]

There's no need to fill a carboy with Star San. Simply pour a little in, swirl it around getting everything wet, pour back out. Very little foam left inside which also drains out if you leave it upside down for a few minutes. Thousands and thousands of people use Star San with no indications of off flavors (not that just because everyone else does it makes it OK). Just try to minimize how much gets in your beer and you'll be just fine.