Before the wife kills me. Storing

[Brewing1976]

After brewing what the best way to store equipment? Should it be sanitized before storing?

 

[grampamark]

My hot side equipment gets washed and dried after use. Cold side stuff gets washed and sanitized, then sanitized again on the next brew day.

I have the luxury of a dedicated brewing space so my stuff doesn't actually get stored, just put back in place so it's ready to use whenever I decide to brew.

 

[geoffm33]

You can definitely sanitize before you put away but it's not really effective. If you sanitize your racking cane and tubing then put it away, it will not be sanitized for very long. I clean everything then put it away. Then I sanitize cold side equipment prior to use.

 

[mongoose33]

Hot side stuff doesn't need to be sanitized; it'll be sanitized during the boil, or whatever might have made it into the wort will be killed off during the boil. Clean is enough for hot-side stuff.

Cold side is somewhat another matter. If it's clean, put it away; sanitize before use. But I'm a little....focused on cleanliness and sanitizing, I guess you'd say, and I might sanitize something before putting it away, just on general principles. I have this sense of wanting things to be ready to brew, even if I'm not brewing, so I will often sanitize.

Example: my bigmouth bubbler fermenters. I clean 'em, rinse them well, then I'll probably swish some star-san through them just before letting dry. Same with the stopper, lid, and so on. They get a swish in the star-san after cleaning.

Overkill? Probably. Maybe even likely. But it makes me feel better.

BTW: I have star-san in spray bottles, and use it liberally. Part of my "sanitizing is next to Godliness" mantra.

 

[Brewing1976]

Hot side stuff doesn't need to be sanitized; it'll be sanitized during the boil, or whatever might have made it into the wort will be killed off during the boil. Clean is enough for hot-side stuff.

Cold side is somewhat another matter. If it's clean, put it away; sanitize before use. But I'm a little....focused on cleanliness and sanitizing, I guess you'd say, and I might sanitize something before putting it away, just on general principles. I have this sense of wanting things to be ready to brew, even if I'm not brewing, so I will often sanitize.

Example: my bigmouth bubbler fermenters. I clean 'em, rinse them well, then I'll probably swish some star-san through them just before letting dry. Same with the stopper, lid, and so on. They get a swish in the star-san after cleaning.

Overkill? Probably. Maybe even likely. But it makes me feel better.

BTW: I have star-san in spray bottles, and use it liberally. Part of my "sanitizing is next to Godliness" mantra.

How long do you keep the star-San in the spray bottle for

 

[mongoose33]

How long do you keep the star-San in the spray bottle for

Well, I don't know. I just keep refilling it, so I've never "timed" it. I guess "indefinitely" would be the accurate answer.

Star san will last months. I have a friend who kept a 5-gallon bucket of star-san for a year. I took a sample to see what it had for pH--it's the low pH that kills microbiological nasties--and it was STILL under 3.0, which is the threshold you want.

That's too long for my comfort level. I keep a bucket of star-san and I'll swap for new every 3-4-5 months.

One issue has to do with what kind of water you use. If it's hard water--and water-softener water is not what you want--you'll find the star-san gets cloudy. It will still work, but that's a side effect of such water. Hard water and star san will, in my experience, cause plastic to gum up and with vinyl, get slimy. But I don't notice that when the star-san is made with RO (reverse osmosis) water. Distilled would work as well.

 

[kh54s10]

IMO, any sanitizing then storing, is just a waste of sanitizer and time. The items only stay sanitized for a short time. Clean well and store.

For Starsan, if the pH stays at 3.0 or lower and is not full of debris it is still good. I had great water where I used to live and the Starsan never got cloudy. I have a 5 gallon water jug. I would just top it up with 2 or 3 gallons when it got low. It was never fully empty for over 6 years. I filled my spray bottle from there. Any Starsan left over after brewing or bottling, was poured back into the jug. (unless it was really dirty).

 

[Jag75]

I never Star San after I clean with PBW. It's a waste of sanitizer because the stuff gets sanitized right before I use it . Once the sanitizer drys it's gone and doesnt do anything .

 

[IslandLizard]

I'm with @mongoose33 on cleaning, then sanitizing cold side stuff before putting it away.

I too think it's best to let it air dry before storing away for longer times to prevent mold from growing. It won't happen in a week, but a month in a hot humid area will do it.

If you only brew incidentally, yup dry off or let air dry before putting it away.

I've kept Starsan for several months in a bucket, but even though my water isn't particularly hard, it still gets cloudy quickly, a few hours after mixing already. It seems to keep working fine, even when cloudy. I never had unintended infections due to using cloudy Starsan.

I only mix 3 gallons at a time, some stuff gets submerged and soaked. But for incidental brewing a gallon or even half a gallon in a small bucket and using a small washcloth to mop with should work fine. Use a syringe to dispense 6 ml per gallon.

I also keep a spray bottle filled with Starsan around.
My wife discovered that bottle is a marvel for killing flies. Once they're wet they don't fly so well anymore. Just mop 'em up with a piece of paper towel. And the surface is sanitized!

 

[ABI Brewery]

All of the smaller parts I throw in a bucket of PBW to clean and while I am waiting for them I scrub what ever mash tun or boil kettle I decided to use that day and rinse that out good and then recirc some PBW with my CFC for a while and then rinse everything really well before putting away, but like most are saying let everything dry before storing.

 

[mongoose33]

I've kept Starsan for several months in a bucket, but even though my water isn't particularly hard, it still gets cloudy quickly, after a few hours after mixing already. It seems to keep working fine, even when cloudy. I never had unintended infections due to using cloudy Starsan.

The star-san will remain effective even if cloudy.

The issue I discovered the hard way is that using hard water (and water-softener water doesn't change much, just the content of the minerals) doesn't work with plastics so well. It would gum up my spray bottles.

If I make star-san with RO water--and maybe making a small batch just for this purpose would work for those who have to buy their RO water--I don't have those difficulties.

Not sure exactly what's going on chemically with that, but it is what it is.

 

[IslandLizard]

The star-san will remain effective even if cloudy.

Not sure exactly what's going on chemically with that, but it is what it is.

I've been 'observing' Starsan since 2008 when I started brewing. This is what I found out:

• A bucket with Starsan that gets cloudy during the day keeps working fine.
• Let it sit for a day (or 2) it's still fine.
• Let it sit for a few days longer to a week, it remains cloudy, and a white dusty precipitate settles on everything in the bucket. However, the top of the solution is getting clearer with extended time. It feels a little slick, soapy. Any vinyl hoses left in there start to feel slick too, while some precipitate will have settled inside them too.
• Let it sit for a few weeks or months, the top of the solution has become crystal clear, with the white powdery residue on the bottom. Decant the clear Starsan off slowly and carefully it into another bucket and stop before the precipitate starts to transfer. Instead, you could siphon the clear solution off the top, not disturbing the precipitate on the bottom. The pH of this clear 'Starsan' is still at a pH of 2.5-3.0, and why wouldn't it, it's dissolved Phosphoric Acid. But it must be missing something...
  • It doesn't feel slick anymore.
  • It will still foam but not as much.
  • It may still sanitize, maybe not as fast or as thoroughly, I haven't tested that.
  • I use it to 100% liquid pre-purge my already clean and sanitized kegs. Haven't had any issues using it that way.

 

[madscientist451]

I'm a pretty lazy and time-constrained brewer, but I always sanitize my fermenters, siphons, kegs and related gear before putting them away. Cleaning doesn't get rid of all yeast and bacteria and I don't want any surprises when I eventually get the equipment out again.
I don't bottle all that much anymore, but when I do I don't sanitize the bottles before storing them, so you can add inconsistent to my litany of faults.....
I don't sanitize the brew pot and only sanitize the mash tun when I forget about the grain I left in there and it turns nasty...

 

[Jayjay1976]

I don't like the film that starsan leaves on my equipment when it dries so I only ever use it on brew day. Bottles especially look grubby with the film which seems a little greasy/smeary when I try to wipe it off.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I'm a washer, storer, rinser, santizer, brewer.

 

[Veets]

+1 to sanitizing cold-side stuff before storing and again before use.

 

[mongoose33]

I don't like the film that starsan leaves on my equipment when it dries so I only ever use it on brew day. Bottles especially look grubby with the film which seems a little greasy/smeary when I try to wipe it off.

Do you use RO or similar water, or tap water that's pretty hard?

I'm guessing that the film is minerals from the water.

 

[balrog]

Wash rinse dry hot side here
Wash rinse run StarSan through cold side and again before using- why? Because it takes time to dry and I'd rather have sanitizer drying in my racking cane & tubing than plain water. I feel it's more sanitary. No data suggests I need to do this. It works, and I have only ever had an infection, when on batch #5 I had issues and traced it to a bottling bucket spigot I did not know came apart to reveal hella-ick hiding therein. Simply disassembling and cleaning solved that. I performed and hella-ick-ectomy.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Do you use RO or similar water, or tap water that's pretty hard?

I'm guessing that the film is minerals from the water.

I only ever use RO water. Try it yourself, spray down or dunk some clean bottles and let them dry then inspect.

 

[IslandLizard]

I don't like the film that starsan leaves on my equipment when it dries so I only ever use it on brew day. Bottles especially look grubby with the film which seems a little greasy/smeary when I try to wipe it off.

Me neither. You can see/feel it especially on glasswork. Inside hoses too, a greasy film.
I think it gets worse the older the Starsan solution gets, until it's in its clear stage a month or 2 later, with everything precipitated.

I'm guessing that the film is minerals from the water.

No, it's definitely greasy, not hard mineral deposits.

 

[kh54s10]

For those of you that sanitize then store. Isn't there plenty of yeast and bacteria, just in the air?

Once the Starsan has dried those are not affected by having done a sanitizing before storage.

So, IMO a waste of sanitizer and time. Clean, Rinse, Dry, store - rinse, sanitize, use. Repeat. 1 infected bottle in 7 3/4 years. About 525 gallons. And another 96 gallons of wine and 6 gallons of cider.

 

[bleme]

For those of you that sanitize then store. Isn't there plenty of yeast and bacteria, just in the air?

Once the Starsan has dried those are not affected by having done a sanitizing before storage.

So, IMO a waste of sanitizer and time. Clean, Rinse, Dry, store - rinse, sanitize, use. Repeat. 1 infected bottle in 7 3/4 years. About 525 gallons. And another 96 gallons of wine and 6 gallons of cider.

I sanitize before I store just in case something doesn't dry out completely. I hate the idea of finding mold in there when I go to use it.

 

[specialkayme]

For those of you that sanitize then store. Isn't there plenty of yeast and bacteria, just in the air?

I'm more worried about the yeast and bacteria in the water I'm using to rinse it out.

I rinsed with water once, and I guess I didn't dry it out all the way. Came back to mold. I'm not interested in repeating.

Maybe it is a waste of starsan. But how much am I really wasting? A few ml of solution? Seems like a cheap cost to sleep better at night. If I was mixing up 5 or 7 gallons of starsan and dumping it after, that would be a total waste. But I take the starsan I have sitting in a 5 gal bucket for the last few months, rinse, then put it back in the bucket. I lost almost nothing.

I don't have any problems using starsan mixed with tap water in a 5 gal bucket for months on end, but I can't store it in a spray bottle. It gunks it up after a few weeks and won't work anymore. I have to use RO or Distilled water for the spray bottle.

 

[Mic Carp]

Hot side stuff doesn't need to be sanitized; it'll be sanitized during the boil, or whatever might have made it into the wort will be killed off during the boil. Clean is enough for hot-side stuff.

Cold side is somewhat another matter. If it's clean, put it away; sanitize before use. But I'm a little....focused on cleanliness and sanitizing, I guess you'd say, and I might sanitize something before putting it away, just on general principles. I have this sense of wanting things to be ready to brew, even if I'm not brewing, so I will often sanitize.

Example: my bigmouth bubbler fermenters. I clean 'em, rinse them well, then I'll probably swish some star-san through them just before letting dry. Same with the stopper, lid, and so on. They get a swish in the star-san after cleaning.

Overkill? Probably. Maybe even likely. But it makes me feel better.

BTW: I have star-san in spray bottles, and use it liberally. Part of my "sanitizing is next to Godliness" mantra.

I’m the same way. I recently overhauled all my empty kegs, new rings, brushed pbw soaked connectors etc. then sanitized and pressurized for storage.

Question for you? How often do you change out the starsan in your squirt bottle. Mine is about 4 weeks old. I’ve never let it sit that long before?

 

[Mic Carp]

After brewing what the best way to store equipment? Should it be sanitized before storing?

I’m lucky i have space on my patio where i brew. I made cabinets out of shipping crates.
There’s a little overflow right now cz I need to do some reorganization

 

[mongoose33]

I’m the same way. I recently overhauled all my empty kegs, new rings, brushed pbw soaked connectors etc. then sanitized and pressurized for storage.

Question for you? How often do you change out the starsan in your squirt bottle. Mine is about 4 weeks old. I’ve never let it sit that long before?

I don't think I've ever changed it out.....I just keep refilling it those bottles.

Star-San doesn't really go bad, at least not in the time frames I've used it. I make mine with RO water as hard water creates a certain set of issues after a while. I taught a friend to brew, including the use of a 5-gallon bucket of star-san. Never thought to ask him whether he rotated it out every once in a while (I do mine every 4-6 months after enough crap settles in the bottom). So at one point I ask him, and it had been over a year that he'd had this bucket of star san.

Well. Had to be bad, didn't it? I took a sample from his bucket and ran a pH test on it, and it was well below 3.0. Still effective.

 

[kh54s10]

I kept Starsan in a 5 gallon water jug. When it got below 1/4 left I would add a couple gallons. I topped it up for about 6 years without running it out. I poured back any leftovers that were not visibly dirty. I filled my spray bottles from it.

I used tap water in RI and it stayed clear. Here in Florida it is a little cloudy, but the pH is OK.

 

[Mic Carp]

Wow cool! I see some cost savings in my future!