starsan question

[Drunk Monkey]

I have the starsan that likes to foam a lot. When I use it for the carboy, it seems as though some of the bubbles will not go away. I got it sitting upside down to drain. Will those bubbles hurt anything? Can I pour the beer over it?

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Supposedly if you are using it in the correct concentration it is a no-rinse product and it does not hurt anything at all. I agree, though, it is disconcerting to see all that foam in there.

 

[RichBrewer]

Supposedly if you are using it in the correct concentration it is a no-rinse product and it does not hurt anything at all. I agree, though, it is disconcerting to see all that foam in there.

I am using StarSan for the first time today and boy does it ever foam! I just drained my carboy and there is still foam filling over half the carboy. I'm going to let it drain for a few and rack the beer in to it. We will see...

 

[Kaiser]

I started using Star San a while back and yes, there is lots of foam. I always drain the carboy for a while, but then I rack onto the remaining foam. The good thing is that as the foam comes out of the top, no microbes can get in?

I have not noticed any impact on the head retention of the beer.

Kai

 

[EdWort]

Rack right on top of Star San. It's OK and even good for your beer.

StarSan rocks in my book!

 

[Brewsmith]

The foam is a good thing. I try to get any excess liquid out of my fermenter/carboy, but the foam stays. As was said above, it gets pushed out by displacement.

 

[RichBrewer]

I just finished racking into the corny. I purged it with CO2 before I racked and the foam shot out of the keg and all over me! Think I'll use a bit less pressure next time.
All in all I love it. Very easy and I feel better using the StarSan as opposed to Iodophor.

 

[Kaiser]

I just finished racking into the corny. I purged it with CO2 before I racked and the foam shot out of the keg and all over me!

I noticed that the foam gets in the way of purging a keg or carboy since you don't get all of it out and the bubbles trap air. Next time I sanitize a keg, I'll be using Iodophor again for that reason.

Kai

 

[RichBrewer]

I noticed that the foam gets in the way of purging a keg or carboy since you don't get all of it out and the bubbles trap air. Next time I sanitize a keg, I'll be using Iodophor again for that reason.

Kai

I never thought of that. Good point.

 

[Brewsmith]

I just kegged my weizen and I sanitized with the starsan. I forgot to purge the keg first with co2, but didn't think much of it since I was going to be sure to purge it when it was filled, not to mention any co2 coming out of solution. I got so distracted by watching the foam climb up the racking cane and tubing, I let the corny overflow. I guess I had enough in the fermenter. And definately no worries about purging the keg!

 

[RichBrewer]

Hey!
I found one more positive attribute with StarSan. In the past, I've always had a tough time getting tubing off of racking canes. As a matter of fact, I've probably broken 3 or 4 of them through the years when the tubing just wouldn't break free. I sanitized my Auto Siphon with StarSan today and when I was cleaning up I couldn't believe how easy the tubing came off. Just a little twist and she broke free.