bubbles with starsan, should I rinse?

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ToddPacker69

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Should I fear the bubbles left from the starsan sanitizer? I really don't like the idea of putting my beer in with this stuff. I am really looking for a more organic sanitizer. If anyone could help me out with this ,that would be great..
 
Iodophor sanitizer doesn't foam but does stain. I used it for about a year and am now using star san. I agree I don't like the bubbles so I'll probably move back to Iodophor. Really no difference other than foam vs stain.
 
Don't rinse. Then it is no longer sanitized.
Don't fear the foam. it kills bacteria and NOT yeast. There are dozens of stories about people brewing with GALLONS of sanistar in their primaries.
I've brewed a dozen or more beers with tons of foam in the carboy and no issues and no problems with fermentation.
 
I drain out whatever free liquid/foam I can, then rack onto what's left ... No off flavors whatsoever. I've heard of folks accidentially racking onto several cups of Starsan solution with no noticable off flavors ...
 
I like the foam. Makes me feel like I did it right. If you go to an old (2007?) brewing network brew strong show about sanitizing they have a great interview with a chemist from five star who explains how it works. It's actually a very safe product.
 
Starsan is an acid based sanitizer with a surfectant(sp?) The bubbles are inert once dry. I used to use a chlorine based sanitizer but I hated the smell. Now I will never go back. If you really hate the foam 5 star makes a low foam version of starsan as well. Harder to find though.
 
Starsan and Iodaphor seem to be the most popular sanitizers. I like Starsan because it will not stain your equipment like Iodaphor will, it is Iodine based.

I wet everything with the Starsan solution then pour out as much as I can then proceed without worrying about the foam. If it does... oh well!

I have never noticed any ill effects at all concerning using Starsan. I also feel no reason to look for or try anything else.
 
+1 the foam is harmless. If anything, I like seeing bubbles in my kegs and carboys because I know they're sanitized.
 
Couple points:

As a newbie, I too feared the foam and would pour it out and rinse...never had an infection but I may have been lucky. I've also turned up my water heater and can get 140-180 degree water out of my faucet.

I submerge my carboys in starsan, and if you really dont like the foam, when you go to pour it out, make sure the water lever never gets higher than the opening, in otherwords, no "chugging" where air rushes in. This will leave you with almost no foam, just a few spiderwebs of starsan around the bottom
 
I REALLY need to get off my ass and record a video of myself mixing up a glass of star-san and then drinking it.

Seriously...all you people who are 'scared' of star-san really need to listen to the one hour podcast with its inventor. A little education really matters.

I also think the OP is confused about organic vs. inorganic. Star-san is an organic santizer. Its just acid and a phosphorus based surfactatant that breaks down into a nutrient the yeast will eat.

Also, YOU CAN DRINK IT and not die/throw up/go to the hospital.
Try that with a cup of Iodiphor, bleack, 1-step, etc.
;)
 
malkore said:
i really need to get off my ass and record a video of myself mixing up a glass of star-san and then drinking it.

Seriously...all you people who are 'scared' of star-san really need to listen to the one hour podcast with its inventor. A little education really matters.

I also think the op is confused about organic vs. Inorganic. Star-san is an organic santizer. Its just acid and a phosphorus based surfactatant that breaks down into a nutrient the yeast will eat.

Also, you can drink it and not die/throw up/go to the hospital.
Try that with a cup of iodiphor, bleack, 1-step, etc.
;)

+1
 
I really like the foam; after letting my carboys/bottles drain, the foam makes a seal at the top for a long while. When I fill the container, it slowly pushes the foam out; it gives me the assurance that there's no contamination during racking/bottling.
 
I like the foam, don't fear it. I keep my bottles submerged in a starsan solution right up to when I'm bottling. I drain, the foam stays, but when I bottle the beer pushes 95% of the foam out. And then I straight cap it, not fearing any bubbles left in the bottle. My beer tastes great!
 
As was pointed out, don't rinse - that negates the sanitizing effect of the starsan and pretty much defeats its purpose.
 
Star-San MSDS Solution of 75% Phosphoric Acid (50% of Star San) and Dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (15% of Star-San). Remainder a trade secret.

Guess what you drink in almost every soda? Phosphoric Acid, read the ingredients.

Dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid is used in biodegradable laundry detergent.

Now take into account when properly diluted, you put 6ml of Star-San per gallon of water. Now consider what remains as diluted residual foam which then gets diluted by beer.

Keep in mind that all the food products that you consume are produced on production lines that are sanitized with commercial products, lye, bleach etc. and there is a permitted residual amount in food.

Embrace the foam.
 
i heard if it wasn't for the phosphoric acid in pop we would instantly die from sugar poisoning or some crazy thing liek that.. anything with bubbles IMO shouldn't be ingested..

Doctor: sir you have a brain tumor. have you been drinking chemicals
me: ya i drink sanitizing solution
Doctor: why on earth would you do that
me: bunch of guys on the internet told me it was ok and the guy that invented it says its great!!

i usually dilute the foam with a bit of water to get as much as i can out, i don't rinse it all out but i'm not drinking bubbles.. i don't care what anybody tells me..
 
If you don't like the foam, use Saniclean instead of StarSan. Problem solved.
 
i heard if it wasn't for the phosphoric acid in pop we would instantly die from sugar poisoning or some crazy thing liek that..

Yep, that's why us Rednecks here in the South keep a big jug of phosphoric acid in the pantry, if we didn't add it to the gallons of sweet tea we drink, we'd be grave yard dead. :cross:

You can always use vinegar to sanitize, that's about as organic as you can get and it's very effective with no foam. Can't speak for any off tastes....
 
i heard if it wasn't for the phosphoric acid in pop we would instantly die from sugar poisoning or some crazy thing liek that.. anything with bubbles IMO shouldn't be ingested..

good thing you don't believe everything you read on the internet....

Doctor: sir you have a brain tumor. have you been drinking chemicals
me: ya i drink sanitizing solution
Doctor: why on earth would you do that
me: bunch of guys on the internet told me it was ok and the guy that invented it says its great!!

i usually dilute the foam with a bit of water to get as much as i can out, i don't rinse it all out but i'm not drinking bubbles.. i don't care what anybody tells me..

In addition to rinsing, it is also good to spit shine the ends of your bottles before capping them. as a matter of fact just rinse with water because that will be sufficient to sanitize your bottles. There's no such thing as bacteria!!! People get sick because they are possessed by the devil!

[/QUOTE]
John_Cromie to Greenbasterd; did you just say that anything with bubbles shouldn't be ingested...on a forum dedicated to beer?[/QUOTE]
LMAO
 
good thing you don't believe everything you read on the internet....



actually i didn't get that info from web, my friend has kidney disease and for a longest time had to watch his phos acid intake or he would die.. so he knows a little more about it then your average beer drinker.. but thanks..

i didn't even get that spit shine comment.. were you trying to be sarcastic over the internet?
 
Greenbasterd; did you just say that anything with bubbles shouldn't be ingested...on a forum dedicated to beer?

haha ya i knew this one was coming after i wrote that comment..

ok.. i'm not drinking anything with soap suds in it!!!!! love bubbles
 
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