forgot to pour out the sanitizer

[Diver165]

I am such an idiot.

I was bottling my amber ale and forgot to pour out the sanitizer I put in the bottling bucket!!!!!

I was sanitizing everything in preparation for bottling. I put about about a quart of starsan in the bottling bucket to slosh around and sanitize it. I started to siphon the beer into the bottling bucket and forgot to pour out the excess star san.

The SWMBO said, "ooo that's awfully foamy..." I was like what? Then I remembered... "****!"

I've ruined my beer right? I can't imagine that much star san being OK. (5gal batch).

 

[Revvy]

It turns into yeast food, it will be fine. A quart's really nothing. People have done it with a gallon or more and it's been ok.

 

[superjunior]

It turns into yeast food, it will be fine. A quart's really nothing. People have done it with a gallon or more and it's been ok.

is this the case for 1 step also?

 

[Revvy]

is this the case for 1 step also?

DOn't think so, onestep is really more of a soap than a true sanitizer, and I don't think it breaks down into phosphoric acid like starsan does.

 

[breez7]

Don't sweat it. I put my black IPA on top of about .5 - .75 gal. of star san in the primary ferm. Beer turned out great. I did call the company though and the chemist there said not to worry about it either.

 

[Ohio-Ed]

I put a "spray" of starsan in a bottle before bottling for a test. I don't know the volume of a spray from a spray bottle maybe 1/4" in the bottom of the bottle? After bottle conditioning, I couldn't detect the starsan.

 

[CortexBomb]

IIRC it's not only not a big deal, the folks at StarSan specifically note that actually trying to get all of the foam out will render it less effective. I always sanitize my primary, then dump it out just before putting the wort in, but that leaves a decent foamy layer in the bucket. No problems at all.

 

[Diver165]

IIRC it's not only not a big deal, the folks at StarSan specifically note that actually trying to get all of the foam out will render it less effective. I always sanitize my primary, then dump it out just before putting the wort in, but that leaves a decent foamy layer in the bucket. No problems at all.

That's usually what I do, only I kinda skipped the whole "dumping it out just before putting the beer into the bottling bucket" thing...

We'll find out! I went ahead and bottled it up. I'll let ya'll know in 2-3 weeks.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Good thing it wasn't something else.

Band aid beer SUCKS.

 

[malkore]

is this the case for 1 step also?

Definitely NOT the case for one-step, which is technically a cleanser, not a sanitizer...but if you soak it 5 minutes it should be sanitary. But you definitely don't want to drink any more than a thin residue (since it's no-rinse...but tends not to dissolve well, and may leave a film like oxy-clean)

As a former one-step user, I suggest star-san when you need to get more sanitizer. its worth ordering online if you have to.

 

[TheWeeb]

Good thing it wasn't something else.

Band aid beer SUCKS.

From using Iodine? Or?

 

[Walker]

From using Iodine? Or?

he's referring to using bleach as a sanitizer. the cholrine in the bleach can result in cholrophenols, which will taste like a bandaid.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I racked 10Gallons of beer on 2.5G of starsan once. Didn't even notice it in the final beer.

 

[TheWeeb]

he's referring to using bleach as a sanitizer. the cholrine in the bleach can result in cholrophenols, which will taste like a bandaid.

Thanks, that explains a bit of something long, long ago.. favorite brewpub in Longmont, favorite beer, the Kiltlifter Scottish Ale. One time I went in and had one and it tasted like bandaids, like bandaids smell. They took it back and poured me a stout to replace it, but for several weeks the Kiltlifter tasted like bandaids. Your post has expalined why.

 

[Walker]

Thanks, that explains a bit of something long, long ago.. favorite brewpub in Longmont, favorite beer, the Kiltlifter Scottish Ale. One time I went in and had one and it tasted like bandaids, like bandaids smell. They took it back and poured me a stout to replace it, but for several weeks the Kiltlifter tasted like bandaids. Your post has expalined why.

There is more than one thing that can lead to chlorophenols if I recall correctly, but a very common one is the use of bleach and insufficient rinsing.

 

[Diver165]

I racked 10Gallons of beer on 2.5G of starsan once. Didn't even notice it in the final beer.

Wow 2.5gal? Impressive that you couldn't even tell. This has pretty much sold me on StarSan.

Thanks for everyone's responses and reassurance that everything will be OK.

And thanks for such a quick response Revvy. That's what makes a great forum.

 

[cheezydemon3]

There is more than one thing that can lead to chlorophenols if I recall correctly, but a very common one is the use of bleach and insufficient rinsing.

I am pretty sure that it was dish soap in my band aid beer.

Either way, insufficient rinsing of most anything other than star san is a risk. (I am not sure about no rinse or 1 step)

 

[motobrewer]

I racked 10Gallons of beer on 2.5G of starsan once. Didn't even notice it in the final beer.

how....what did....but....how.....

 

[cheezydemon3]

how....what did....but....how.....

I KNOW!!!!!!!!!!

He ended up with 12.5 gallons of good beer!!

I plan on using 3 gallons of starsan in my next 8 gallon batch (5 gallons of wort)

Must be a big damn fermenter.

 

[TheWeeb]

so stupid question time, if StarSan sanitizes, that is, kills the bugs that can cause infections, bugs as in living organisms, how is it that you can rack wort on top of so much and it does NOT kill the little yeastie bugs?

 

[cheezydemon3]

Yeasts are tough. Hard to kill.

 

[fatmoose]

StarSan works by being strongly acidic, I think when mixed according to the instructions it produces a solution of about ph 3 (that's acidic if I remember my chemistry right). When you dilute it to smaller proportions the acidity is decreased and it becomes a non-issue. Also over time the acid will break down and become less acidic which is why there's a shelf life on your StarSan solution. If I remember the other threads right it's a phosphoric acid and breaks down into phosphorous compounds which can actually be consumed by the yeast.