How do you mix your Starsan? Do you use in your airlock?

[Nkliph]

It seems very viscous to be super accurate with when mixing at smaller quantities. How do you dilute and mix your Starsan?

Also, I used an estimated mixture in my airlock. I read this is common, but I don't know. I'm afraid a bit dripped into the fermenter, doesn't this run the risk of ruining things? How will a starsan dilution affect the flavor?

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Unless you let a LOT (talking cups) of StarSan into the beer, the it will be neutralized and you have nothing to worry about.

I eyeball it mostly for quantities smaller than 2.5 gallons, but most people seems to do a full dilution into 5 gallons during brew day and then save some in a spray bottle. The stuff doesn't go bad.

 

[unionrdr]

I mixe Starsan 3/4's of the way up to the 1/4oz mark on the measure on top of the bottle. I dump it into 1 gallon of water & let it sit to diffuse into the water. I also keep my spray bottle topped of with the new batch. I use a 50-50 mix of starsan & grain alcohol or high-proof vodka or the like in the airlock as well. The liquor helps keep the Starsan from foaming so much.

 

[Ike]

I have used (and occasionally still do) use StarSan in airlocks. Following a suggestion from someone here, though (was it edwort?), I've started using cheap (and I mean cheap) vodka. The alcohol content is high enough to discourage anything from surviving in the airlock, and if there is any suck-back then I've just managed to boost ABV a wee bit.

EDIT: just saw uniondr's post above mine. Glad I'm not the only one!

 

[BigFloyd]

Simple. I mix it by the gallon (using distilled agua from Wally World) and store it in my bottling bucket. Lots of items get tossed in there for a few minutes as needed. A funnel, turkey baster (great for the inside of tubing and siphons) and extra airlocks get stored in that bucket.

To put some in the airlock (using s-airlocks), just dip it in the bucket.

Like uniondr, I keep a spray bottle of StarSan handy. It's one of the most useful overall pieces of brew gear you can have.

 

[microbusbrewery]

The stuff doesn't go bad.

Just to clarify, the concentrate doesn't go bad, but if you dilute it in tap water, it can lose its ability to sanitize pretty quickly. The problem is the minerals in most tap water will raise the pH above 3.0. Most people will mix it with distilled water or RO water if they're planning on reusing it.

I usually mix 5 gallons at a time, but on the rare occasion where I've mixed less, I use an oral syringe to measure the dose. Never had a problem getting it to mix in water.

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Just to clarify, the concentrate doesn't go bad, but if you dilute it in tap water, it can lose its ability to sanitize pretty quickly. The problem is the minerals in most tap water will raise the pH above 3.0. Most people will mix it with distilled water or RO water if they're planning on reusing it.

I usually mix 5 gallons at a time, but on the rare occasion where I've mixed less, I use an oral syringe to measure the dose. Never had a problem getting it to mix in water.

Never considered that but I suppose you are right; makes sense. Damn it you made me learn on a Saturday :cross:

 

[JonM]

I mix it by the half-gallon with distilled water. Eyeball a little concentrate, shake it up, check pH. If it's too high, (above 3ish) add more concentrate and repeat.

 

[unionrdr]

I found out about using cheap vodka in the airlocks a few years ago from a member named Gary who used to do Home Brewer TV. So I started mentioning it on here. I've since started mixing it 50/50 with Starsan solution. It keeps the foam off the Starsan way down.

 

[NTXBrauer]

I always have a couple gallons of Starsan mixed up, per the amounts recommended, and ready to use in an empty keg. Also, keep a full spray bottle handy as mentioned above to use when needed.

When fermenting, I normally use a blow-off and put the end of the hose in a container with Starsan. After fermentation has slowed, I may add an airlock, and only use vodka. Cheers!

 

[Clonefan94]

We have a water cooler at home, so we always have 5 gallon jugs of pure water on hand. I usually measure out 5 gallons exactly from one of those (they almost always have about 5.25 gallons in them) and then mix my star san in that and keep it for a couple of months. I test the ph every time I use it and have never had it go out of range, but I still swap them out every couple of months, just to be safe.

It's nice having that much on hand, especially as a kegger, I just autosiphon starsan from the main jug, to the keg, seal, shake, then just autosiphon the stuff back to it's jug. This way I'm killing two birds with one stone and feel pretty good about the sanitation of my equipment.

I do also keep an extra gallon or so from the previous batch, to put in a bowl and sanitize the small parts of the keg and I also have a spray bottle filled that I use on brew days mostly.

 

[petey_c]

I eyeball enough Starsan for about a gallon. When I sanitize my bottles and caps, I usually have some leftover, I add it to the previous mix. I haven't made five gallons of Starsan in years. I have been using a Rubbermaid spray bottle that's been holding up pretty well so far. Cheap vodka for the airlock.

 

[AlCophile]

You folks are just lucky:
Once you make StarSan sol'n. up to its recommended strength, further dilution, i.e. 50/50, etc. will make it less effective.
It's not necessary to prepare it by the poolful; make a quart or two. Use an eyedropper of known volume and calculate how much for one quart: it's about 1.66 cc(or ml).
If you find the person who started the 'vodka-in- the- airlock' rumor, please throw him/her in jail. Why do you think that the strength of Isopropyl Alcohol for cleaning wounds is 70%? Do you really think that 40% vodka will do?

 

[petey_c]

I think that given the environment where I brew, I don't have to worry about the type of pathogens that a 70% ispropyl alcohol will dispatch. For the germs (and other baddies)that might be in the air in my house and the fact that pathogens probably won't get past my airlock, I feel pretty confident that 40% is sufficient.

 

[bondra76]

I use 100% vodka in my airlock

Never get any foam. Maybe since we're rolling into summer I'll use rum instead.

 

[Lbm]

I sometimes use Starsan in the airlock, but mostly Vodka. You can drink it when you're done...just make sure it's not Starsan! LOL

 

[divrguy]

6 CC per gallon for mixing up a small batch. Always use starsan in my airlock

 

[MaxStout]

On brew day I usually make up 2.5 gallons so the dispenser works well. But if I just want to make up a little for spray bottles, etc., I have some cheap 3ml plastic pipettes from the local science/education store. Draw just what I need and mix. 1.5ml/quart.

I use Starsan in airlocks.

 

[fuelish]

Would not the alcohol in a vodka filled airlock lock evaporate over time????..perhaps not in an issue for the few weeks that beer takes, but mead takes quite a while...I use Starsan for sanitization, and still use plain ol' H2O in the airlock...yeah, I'm a cretin

 

[passedpawn]

If you already use starsan for sanitizing, why use vodka in your airlock?

The vodka probably does kill bacteria, but I'm not sure about that. It would not be instant, that I'd bet on. Maybe I'll get the microscope out and do a little study on this.

In non-beer activities, I use IPA 70% (isopropyl alcohol). IPA kills by dehydrating the cell, drying it out. To kill with IPA, you must let it dry (it dries quickly). The IPA displaces the fluid in the cell, then dehydrates when it flashes.

 

[Singletrack]

Well duh. IPA is an abbreviation for something else entirely.

 

[beerbaker]

I found this chart on here when I started brewing.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=290467

I mix in a 1L measuring cup and a 1L spray bottle and I measure using a syringe. (well, I did, Starsan will destroy the seal in the syringes after a while). I found it way less wasteful to do it this way. instead of soaking things in a bucket, I spray them down before use. I bought an 8oz bottle of Starsan in November 2013, and after 15 or 16 batches, samples, and bottlings, I still have almost 2oz left. I simply find it easier to do it this way instead of filling a bucket. Especially since I have no space to store it after and I'd just end up dumping it,

 

[petey_c]

Would not the alcohol in a vodka filled airlock lock evaporate over time????..perhaps not in an issue for the few weeks that beer takes, but mead takes quite a while...I use Starsan for sanitization, and still use plain ol' H2O in the airlock...yeah, I'm a cretin

I haven't found evaporation to be a big problem with the vodka. I'd think that the isopropyl would evaporate faster.

 

[MaxStout]

If you already use starsan for sanitizing, why use vodka in your airlock?

The vodka probably does kill bacteria, but I'm not sure about that. It would not be instant, that I'd bet on. Maybe I'll get the microscope out and do a little study on this.

In non-beer activities, I use IPA 70% (isopropyl alcohol). IPA kills by dehydrating the cell, drying it out. To kill with IPA, you must let it dry (it dries quickly). The IPA displaces the fluid in the cell, then dehydrates when it flashes.

Interesting piece on chemical disinfectants. It states that 60-90% concentration is optimal for both isopropanol and ethanol, and that the disinfectant qualities drop when diluted below 50%.

For those who prefer alcohol in airlocks, maybe use Everclear instead of vodka?

 

[max384]

I don't understand using vodka in the airlock either. I use the same Star San that I used for sanitizing in the airlock, and I've never had an infection, nor do I see a reason why the sanitizing solution just used for sanitizing the equipment would somehow have deleterious effects in the airlock.

Vodka sounds like a waste of time and money when there is a readily available supply of Star San solution available during brew time.

Interesting piece on chemical disinfectants. It states that 60-90% concentration is optimal for both isopropanol and ethanol, and that the disinfectant qualities drop when diluted below 50%.

For those who prefer alcohol in airlocks, maybe use Everclear instead of vodka?

That article is about surface sanitation, not microbes surviving in the alcohol solution. While it is conceivable that some microbes could survive in 40% alcohol, it's highly unlikely. When is the last time that you heard of a bottle of vodka getting an infection?

 

[MaxStout]

When is the last time that you heard of a bottle of vodka getting an infection?

I haven't.

But then again, I haven't heard of bottles of Gatorade getting an infection, either. Perhaps I should fill my airlocks with Gatorade from now on.

If it's any consolation, you had me up until that last sentence.

 

[max384]

I haven't.

But then again, I haven't heard of bottles of Gatorade getting an infection, either. Perhaps I should fill my airlocks with Gatorade from now on.

If it's any consolation, you had me up until that last sentence.

The difference is, when was the last time that you opened a bottle of Gatorade, poured a couple of shots, and then let it sit at room temperature for months or even years at a time (depending on your vodka drinking proclivity)?

 

[MaxStout]

The difference is, when was the last time that you opened a bottle of Gatorade, poured a couple of shots, and then let it sit at room temperature for months or even years at a time (depending on your vodka drinking proclivity)?

Never.

If I pour a shot, it's gone in minutes. That's my vodka drinking proclivity.

Cheers.

 

[cyberbrew]

I mix up a 5 gallon batch (tap water, and starsan per instructions), throw it in my fermentor (7 gallon conical) slosh it around a bit, put some in the carboy I use (I generally split a 10 gallon batch between the conical and the carboy) and then it all goes into a 5 gal bucket with a lid. That batch lasts a few months, used for other batches of beer, the odd refill of my spray bottle, and airlocks. No vodka here...

 

[bacgabe]

Like uniondr, I keep a spray bottle of StarSan handy. It's one of the most useful overall pieces of brew gear you can have.

Absolutely. The biggest time saver and simplification of my process came when I started saving starsan in a spray bottle, now I just spritze everything, saves so much headache.

 

[Daveyg]

I only do one gallon batches, but I mix 2.5 gallons in the morning of my brew day in a 5 gallon bucket and that makes enough for me to sanitize everything I need for the day, including topping off my spray bottle, some for the jar that I run my blow off tube into and then I save a small amount for sanitizing airlock a few days later.

 

[Minky]

It seems very viscous to be super accurate with when mixing at smaller quantities. How do you dilute and mix your Starsan?

Starsan is supposed to be mixed at the ratio of 1 fluid ounce in 5 gallons of water. A fluid ounce is 29.6 milliliters (ml), so about 6 ml per gallon.

You're right that it is a small quantity and, being as viscous as it is, can be difficult to measure accurately due to the fact that so much of remains as a coating on the surface of your measuring implement. I use a dropper that's intended for giving liquid medications to children. They are generally marked in teaspoons and milliliters, and are available in the drug store in either dropper or syringe style. I prefer the dropper style because the acidic Starsan eats up the o-ring in the syringe after awhile. For larger quantities I also use a small graduate cylinder left over from my photo lab days.

 

[xcfgj]

Simple. I mix it by the gallon (using distilled agua from Wally World) and store it in my bottling bucket. Lots of items get tossed in there for a few minutes as needed. A funnel, turkey baster (great for the inside of tubing and siphons) and extra airlocks get stored in that bucket.

 

[Singletrack]

I buy the mondo 32 oz bottle of Star San with built in measuring reservoir. The cost per oz is less for a big bottle, though I have to eat ramen for a month to afford it. (But I have delicious craft beer with my ramen.)

I make up 1.25 gal of solution on brew day. That's roughly 1/4 of 5 gal, so I measure out 1/4 of an oz using the built in reservoir. 1/4 oz is not marked on the reservoir, so I added a mark halfway between 0 and 1/2 oz.

I use a long planter liner and a spray bottle to sanitize stuff, and 1.25 gal is plenty. Use it in the blow off bottle and airlock too. At the end of the day, I fill the spray bottle and dump the rest.

I do not adjust the dosage for alkalinity, but with my water, i think it's better to dump than save -- unless I use RO water, but that tends to be a water waster.

No syringes or droppers or vodka or RO water for mixing. The waste seems minimal and payback good. Now eating a chopped hot dog in my ramen.

Fascinating story, huh?