StarSan or vodka in airlock?

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Starsan, Voldka, Other in your airlocks

  • Starsan

  • Vodka

  • Other

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fosta

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So I see a mixture of people on here that use Starsan or Vodka in their airlocks. I have been using Starsan in my airlocks and sometimes when prying off the lids I think a little gets sucked in or I tilt the lid sideways over the bucket and some spills out. I know a little Starsan will not hurt the beer but is one better then the other? Why in your opinion?

Thanks

Fosta
 
Star San. Cheaper and if it does happen to get sucked in, which has happened to me, it won't do anything to your beer.


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I like vodka because during heavy fermentation, star tends to bubble and dissipate. I have come home many a time to an empty airloc due too the star foaming out. I don't drink liqueur very often, and never vodka, so I don't mind. As far as it being cheaper, I can get a locally made vodka for 6$ a bottle. Enough to fill an airloc hundreds of times. I see no cost diff. And I use the vodka for soaking fruit in for ciders, so always have it on hand
 
Starsan leaves bubbles in the airlock as indication of past bubbling so I don't have to sit there waiting for the next bubble. Other than that, water works just fine.
 
Terek said:
I like vodka because during heavy fermentation, star tends to bubble and dissipate. I have come home many a time to an empty airloc due too the star foaming out. I don't drink liqueur very often, and never vodka, so I don't mind. As far as it being cheaper, I can get a locally made vodka for 6$ a bottle. Enough to fill an airloc hundreds of times. I see no cost diff. And I use the vodka for soaking fruit in for ciders, so always have it on hand
Click to expand...

Seriously? No difference in cost? My 5 gallons of StarSan cost me 75 cents.

HOWEVER, I amend my earlier post: I know why I still need to get some vodka: the last lager I did, the freezer took a while to get the beer down to 40F, and the StarSan in the airlock froze before the beer was cooled. I'll use vodka next time, even though 5 gallons would cost $151.42 at $6 a bottle.
 
I use the cheapest vodka the liquor store caries. I try to stay away from chemicals where I can. I've had my airlocks sucked dry a couple times when cooling. Also the foaming issue when a very active fermentation mentioned previously.
 
Black Island Brewer said:
Seriously? No difference in cost? My 5 gallons of StarSan cost me 75 cents.

HOWEVER, I amend my earlier post: I know why I still need to get some vodka: the last lager I did, the freezer took a while to get the beer down to 40F, and the StarSan in the airlock froze before the beer was cooled. I'll use vodka next time, even though 5 gallons would cost $151.42 at $6 a bottle.
Click to expand...

Man, how much liquid do you put in your airloc? Me it's a spoon full. I'm not comparing costs but when it comes to using for airlocs, a 6$ bottle of vodka would fill mine for years, and I can "set it and forget it" no freezing, no foaming, no disapating, doesn't loose it's ph after a month. This is just a personal preference though. I don't like coming home to a empty lock and possible o2 exposure. If you like star, use it. No need to draw pistols over it :p
 
Starsan! I already have it and would have to make a special trip to buy vodka. I can't imagine the cheapest vodka would cost less than Starsan...

I would also rather drink the Vodka!!!
 
Cheap vodka.

It's cheap, sanitary, and if it gets sucked back into the fermenter or spills into it, no harm done.

I find it funny that people are worried about "wasting" a couple tablespoons of vodka. I'm not going sweat a shot of something I wouldn't drink anyway.


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hunter_la5 said:
Cheap vodka.

It's cheap, sanitary, and if it gets sucked back into the fermenter or spills into it, no harm done.

I find it funny that people are worried about "wasting" a couple tablespoons of vodka. I'm not going sweat a shot of something I wouldn't drink anyway.


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Click to expand...

So true :) people are debating there hearts out over a few cents of something nasty
 
Starsan for me. It's already out from prepping my primary so it's already been used too. I don't cold crash so never had an issue with sucking dry.
 
Over the short term, it really doesn't matter. I usually use star-san, bc I have it around, but I'll use water or vodka in a pinch too. For bulk aging, it depends on the conditions, but I usually use vodka because it doesn't lose its potency over time. Same if cold crashing, bc id rather vodka get in than star san. But really, 1 oz of anything (0.1% of a 5 gal batch), provided its sterile, wont affect flavor and, generally, is fine.
 
Black Island Brewer said:
Not pistols, pencils. Virtually free vs. not at all free. It's cool that cost is no matter to you, but kindly understand that there really is a difference in cost, and it matters to some.
Click to expand...

So I did the math, tablespoon to fill airloc, 15 milliliters to a tablespoon, 750 milliliters to a bottle, 750 divided by 15 is 50, 50 divided by 6$ is 14 cents, so it costs me 14 cents to fill my airloc with vodka. Now cost does matter to me, a lot. But 14 cents for piece of mind, common now. Having something that WILL NOT loose it's sanitation properties, or foam out and leave my airloc dry, is worth 14 cents to me.

Now, starsan after the end of brew day is free. But what if you come home and it's dry? Now you have to blend up another batch. I used to keep it pre mixed, and a lot of people do, but I'm a perinoid freak, and don't trust it. So I don't keep it pre mixed any more.

Once again, it comes down to personal preference. I prefer vodka, you prefer starsan. Now, if I really wanted to, I could drive half a block to my mother in laws (or walk) and fill my airloc from her VERY big liqueur cabinet for free, and she would not care. Now it's free :D but, I always have vodka on hand, because I use it to soak fruit in before pitching into my ciders (I always have a cider going) so I wouldn't go over there because I'm somewhat lazy. So I guess I could fill my airloc from my soaked fruit jar if I really needed to as well.
 
dbcbrews said:
What is wrong with using plain water? Assuming of course that you don't have to worry about it getting sucked into the beer due to temperature swings.


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Click to expand...

The problem with plain water is that it is sitting there during the bulk of fermentation collecting anything that falls in. Standing water is a great place for bacteria to hang out. Then you lift up your bucket or the temp drops and it sucks in that infected water. Most of the time you won't have a problem, but the reason most people use starsan or vodka is that it will remain sanitary while it's in there.
 
I use water, never had a problem.

I try to stay away from drinking chemicals, regardless if it is advertised as ok to drink/no rinse.
 
I bought a bunch of cheap vodka many, many years ago by the gallon. I've had it in multiple houses over the years, and started using it when I re-started brewing a few years ago. I will never drink it as my body is a temple (so I only drink Grey Goose or Chiroc or a few other vokda's straight/on ice :) ). Since I usually wash then clean the airlock with Starsan, I usually spray some Starsan inside before I put vodka in it...so I still get some of the Star San bubbles.
 
Really! Just use water. Boil the water first If you are concerned about contamination. You could use a hose and stick it in a jar of any liquid of your choosing.

I have never had an issues with water getting sucked back into the fermentation bucket or carboy.


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Using plain water in a blow off jug isn't the same as in an airlock where the water has less distance to travel in an airlock vs a hose in a jug. You can boil it all you want before adding it,but as it sits & cools,nasties can get through the holes in the airlock cap. One suck back & you could be infected. I can get a pint of cheap vodka at BP for $2.58. No foam,no live nasties,no evaporation.
 
Vodka is useless; I had my boss chew my hiney out about alcohols for sanitizing. The alcohol must be 70% with the remainder water. Don't know why, I'm not a biologist. She is.
Water alone is a swimming pool for filth. I back my bubblers up with a cotton-filled filter downstream of the bubbler. Then place the whole thing in a poly bag( a Shake & Bake bag is good). Keep it snug around the neck of the 'boy with a couple of fat rubber bands. This allows CO2 pressure to leak out.
So, now you got an air-lock, a bacteria filter and a backup bag full of CO2.
 
Idk about the 70% thing,but the cheap stuff works well the last couple years I've been using it. But keep in mind it will do ok with microbes or sporatazoans that typically infect beer. Any higher life forms,& it's just an antistetic. I've also been thinking about trying cheap grain alcohol from the liquor store as well,just as an experiment.
**OK,looked at this page; http://askville.amazon.com/40%25-alcohol-called-80-proof/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=6103145,& the 42 proof cheap vodka I use would be 21% alcohol by volume. So 180 proof grain alcohol (Moon) would be 90%. guess grain alcohol would be better in light of this information.
 
I've done both, but usually use Star San. The bucket of Star San is sitting right there, and I'm going to have to sanitize the airlock anyway. So why not just sanitize and fill it in one step?
 

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