Sanitizer in Starter

I was careless when shaking up my starter this morning and caused a little bit of diluted StarSan to backwash from the airlock into the starter wort (I'd estimate it was maybe half an ounce...about 1/4 of the volume of a 3-piece airlock). Can my yeasties live through this or will the sanitizer basically act as poison for them?

 

it will have no effect.

 

Your DOOMED! As we speak, the yeasties are being choked to death by your foolish mistake. Or not.

 

its hard to wrap my head around, but starsan is actually good for the yeast, and will not negatively affect your starter or beer.

 

You'll probably be okay.

BTW, there's a video floating around somewhere of the founder of 5-Star drinking Star-San. You can probably find it with a search.

 

I think star-san just lowers the PH of the water to a level that kills bacteria but it doesn't affect yeast including wild yeast

 

The acidic solution of StarSan is specifically tailored to break down the cell walls of prokaryotic organisms like bacteria and viruses but it's weak enough to have no effect on a eukaryote like yeast. Acids are also good for inhibiting mold spores as well.

 

On top of all that, as you add wort it dilutes the Star San even more and raises the pH.