Notes from the Charlie Talley on brewingnetwork.com’s Podcast on the Sunday Session.
PodcastOk, so I took some notes during the podcast so I could remember this stuff and thought I’d write them into a nice little overview of what I heard. They are my notes remember, so there is more information for what I use for my cleaning procedures. Charlie sure seems like a nice guy and smart when it comes to the best no-rinse sanitizer out there in my opinion.
First, we have Star-San. Star-San was Five-Star’s answer to Iodiphor. Star-San is an “acid rinse” when measured at 1oz. per 5 gallons of water. Its chemical composition is a typical soap, like that found in tooth paste called DDBSA (dodecylbenzyl sulfonic acid) + food grade phosphoric acid. It stops working when the pH gets above 3.5 and so if diluted in wort acts as a yeast nutrient/food. Star-San will “last forever” if RO or distilled water is used to mix it and it stays enclosed like in a spray bottle, but it lasts a long time anyway and can be used multiple times or up to about 3 months. The product will turn opaque in iron or manganese rich water. Star-San has a contact time of 3 minutes (EPA) or 30 seconds per Charlie. If plastic soaked in Star-San becomes cloudy, soak in PBW to turn the plated soap (film on the plastic) back into the detergent it is supposed to be. The remaining foam after use is ok and has no detrimental effects on your beer, such as head retention. Charlie recommends 30 seconds to 1 minute soak for copper and aluminum, and says they should never be left to soak any longer than 3-4 hours. In other words don’t soak overnight, it only hurts not helps. Star-San is different as a sanitizer than Iodine and bleach, because both of those contain halogens which are called “blind sanitizers.” These halogens will not kill in the presence of sugar and actually attack the sugar first before going after any bacteria. On an end note for this wonderful sanitizer, it will clear up toe-jam.
Next, is Sani-Clean. Sani-Clean is not an EPA recognized sanitizer due to tougher laws that dictate labeling it as such, but it is basically just Star-San without the foam. The other difference is that it is weaker so you have to use more, 1oz. per 3 gallons of water. There really isn’t much more to say about this product other than, if you don’t like the foam use this.
Last, he has PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash). This is a non-caustic cleaner that basically oxygenates proteins and then breaks them apart with meta-silicates, among other things. DO NOT CLEAN TEFLON COATED ITEMS!!!! PBW will get right underneath the Teflon coating and lift the coating right off a pan/whatever. Rubbers and plastics like Buna and Viton are fine but others will get destroyed over time. Charlie recommends 1-2oz. per 5 gallons of water for multiple cleaning uses, mostly relying on 1oz. per 5 gallons though. Great for cleaning carbon off cookware (grill, casserole dish, etc.).
Very interesting podcast I recommend everyone hear to get the whole story. I focused my attention on the Star-San and PBW. Hope you guys find it informative.
Here's another podcast about Charlie Talley. This one starts downloading to play immediately so you have to wait a minute after clicking the link.