Sanitizing your gear the night before

Would there be any negative consequence letting your hoses,ball valves,fermenter etc soak in star san over night?

 

Stainless should be fine, but your hoses will discolor, I'd expect, as well as develop a white film (which in my experience comes off pretty easily - ask me how I know). I believe you'll also shorten the life of the Star San if it's left open to the air.

Since it needs only a short contact time, is there any reason you're doing it the night before, Matty?

 

yeah i'm just a lazy bastard and want to shorten brew day tomorrow and thought i can clean/sanitize today and brew tomorrow..i use silicone hoses they should not discolor but probably will get a film

 

Hear you completely. I'm sure it will be fine. Have a good brew!

 

Thank you bro, you have a great day too Cheers

 

It’ll be fine. I do it all the time including right now.

 

How much “gear” do you need to sanitize the night before?

The only things that need to be sanitized are those that contact the wort after the boil. A spray bottle of starsan makes quick work of this.

 

Mostly fermenter parts, siphon. Sometimes I might be kegging another beer on brew day. Stuff needed for that might also be taking a soak along with Conical fermenter, valves, dip tubes etc. During a break on brew day I’ll assemble the fermenter, and fill with star San until right before I transfer wort to it. Always something to be sanitized.

 

So, how do you know?

 

A guy who knew a guy who knew a guy told me a guy who knew a guy once did it.

 

I opted not to be a lazy bastard, and sanitized on brew day..thats what you call grabbing life by the p$$$y

 

Bad things happen if you leave chrome plated taps in starsan overnight. Anything stainless or silicone seems fine to be left there indefinitely IMO. I change my starsan bucket every 1-2 weeks, as soon as it starts looking cloudy or grubby.

 

I've soaked bottles in star san overnight prior to bottling (it was unplanned, I discovered a leaky spigot in my bottling bucket) and they ended up with a nasty, slimy film all over that was hard to rinse out. I know they say "don't fear the foam" but this slime would definitely have affected the beer. I love star san but only for short contact times. I would just sanitize when you're ready to go, you only need a couple of minutes of contact time.