Incorrect info from LHBS?

[M4car223]

Ok, in a little bit of a panic...

I typically use Star-San to sanitize. Stopped by my LHBS and was the person who was working there was telling me about how he prefers using b-brite over Star-San. Goes on and on about how he can use b-brite to clean AND sanitize. He said it works better for him and is cheaper, AND it is a no rinse.

I happened to catch something on a thread on here referring to b-brite as an oxyclean style cleanser. Confused I did some research. Here is the panic.....

I was looking at it right before I was going to get my bottles and equipment to bottle. I used the b-brite to sanitize my primary, secondary, and all equipment in between...including my thief and hydrometer a few times over the last week.

How much trouble will I be in with this batch? I already have noticed some off tastes in secondary and posted about them here a week ago. I am not very happy right now, with myself for not staying with what I know and with the disinformation from the gentleman at the LHBS.

Thanks
Dan

 

[Justdrumin]

Ok, in a little bit of a panic...

I typically use Star-San to sanitize. Stopped by my LHBS and was the person who was working there was telling me about how he prefers using b-brite over Star-San. Goes on and on about how he can use b-brite to clean AND sanitize. He said it works better for him and is cheaper, AND it is a no rinse.

I happened to catch something on a thread on here referring to b-brite as an oxyclean style cleanser. Confused I did some research. Here is the panic.....

I was looking at it right before I was going to get my bottles and equipment to bottle. I used the b-brite to sanitize my primary, secondary, and all equipment in between...including my thief and hydrometer a few times over the last week.

How much trouble will I be in with this batch? I already have noticed some off tastes in secondary and posted about them here a week ago. I am not very happy right now, with myself for not staying with what I know and with the disinformation from the gentleman at the LHBS.

Thanks
Dan

From my experience, my kit came with b-brite and I FOR SURE got an infection on my first batch. From that point on I used star san and three batches later I have yet to have an infection again. I won't use anything but star san anymore.

 

[M4car223]

Ok. I bailed on bottling today. Will get some Star-San and bottle next weekend and hope for the best. Nothing visible on the top in secondary now, but did detect an off, bitter taste when it check earlier this week.

 

[BigEd]

IMO your LHBS guy is either under-informed or would rather sell B-Brite than Star-San. The combination cleaners are not true sanitizers, they are cleaners. Can you get away with them sometimes? Perhaps, but to insure that your equipment is properly sanitized with a true sanitizing agent costs only pennies per batch. Unless a homebrewer is mainly interested in making beer for the absolute lowest possible cost or with the absolute least amount of time why would you do otherwise?

 

[gdbrewer]

Ok, in a little bit of a panic...

I typically use Star-San to sanitize. Stopped by my LHBS and was the person who was working there was telling me about how he prefers using b-brite over Star-San. Goes on and on about how he can use b-brite to clean AND sanitize. He said it works better for him and is cheaper, AND it is a no rinse.

I happened to catch something on a thread on here referring to b-brite as an oxyclean style cleanser. Confused I did some research. Here is the panic.....

I was looking at it right before I was going to get my bottles and equipment to bottle. I used the b-brite to sanitize my primary, secondary, and all equipment in between...including my thief and hydrometer a few times over the last week.

How much trouble will I be in with this batch? I already have noticed some off tastes in secondary and posted about them here a week ago. I am not very happy right now, with myself for not staying with what I know and with the disinformation from the gentleman at the LHBS.

Thanks
Dan

So did he say star san is not a no rinse? If so, he is wrong.

 

[gdbrewer]

Also, don't fear the foam!! (unless of course it's a massive amount)

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

Ok, in a little bit of a panic...

I typically use Star-San to sanitize. Stopped by my LHBS and was the person who was working there was telling me about how he prefers using b-brite over Star-San. Goes on and on about how he can use b-brite to clean AND sanitize. He said it works better for him and is cheaper, AND it is a no rinse.

I happened to catch something on a thread on here referring to b-brite as an oxyclean style cleanser. Confused I did some research. Here is the panic.....

I was looking at it right before I was going to get my bottles and equipment to bottle. I used the b-brite to sanitize my primary, secondary, and all equipment in between...including my thief and hydrometer a few times over the last week.

How much trouble will I be in with this batch? I already have noticed some off tastes in secondary and posted about them here a week ago. I am not very happy right now, with myself for not staying with what I know and with the disinformation from the gentleman at the LHBS.

Thanks
Dan

I used B-Brite that came with my kit and had no isses.

That said I switched to Starsan for a reason. I use B-Brite as my cleaner but then star san to sanitize. Or I've used odorless all natural free dish soap.

The issue with B-Brite vs Star San primarily is contact time. Star San is 30 seconds to a minute B-Brite is like 20 minutes to sanitize.

 

[stpug]

M4car223, I think you've just reinforced the cardinal rule of:

Trust Your Instincts

Good job on holding off another week for bottling. You'll even have a better idea if there's anything wrong in another week. "Off, bitter tastes" might be okay for a young beer. Beers can be extra bitter prior to the yeast flocculating, and some "off" characters can mature out of the beer. No need to worry over beer. Worst case scenario: you dump it, lose a few bucks, and try again. Anything better than that and you're drinking beer that you made!!!

 

[Clonefan94]

In the LHBS guy's defense, he's not totally off the wall for saying this. B-Brite is sold that way in new kits and maybe he really has had no issues. I think if you really go all out and do impeccable cleaning on everything, every time you touch it, chances are you aren't going to get an infection.

That being said, why chance it? I mix up 5 gallons of star san at a time, using a bottle of distilled water and just keep it in that container. I always check the PH and also look for things floating around in it. If I find any, I dump the batch. Even so, after 2 months, I just dump it and start fresh for my own personal peace of mind. But I've barely touched the bottle of star-san I bought last year. That's money well spent using about 6 ounces a year.


In the end, there are always ways to cut corners and save a buck. I just value my time making my beer too much to trust it to anything other than what is known to be the best product for the job.

Good call on waiting.

 

[davefleck]

So did he say star san is not a no rinse? If so, he is wrong.

Star San is no rinse.

 

[Hello]

I thought my b-brite had instructions on the bag to rinse. I moved to Star San.

 

[kh54s10]

So did he say star san is not a no rinse? If so, he is wrong.

No, Sorry, you are wrong. If you rinse Starsan it is no longer effective!

 

[gdbrewer]

Star San is no rinse.

No, Sorry, you are wrong. If you rinse Starsan it is no longer effective!

Uhhh..read my post again. That's what I said. I guess the double negative is confusing. :cross:

 

[M4car223]

Thanks to everyone for their rapid responses. I have always used Star-San but always feared the foam until this site. Learned something valuable from here. As for why I listened to this guy, got me...probably the excitement of brewing for the first time in almost a year. Never herd of b-brite before this brew. Live an learn.

More exciting about my last batch in another post.

 

[govner1]

Ok, in a little bit of a panic... I typically use Star-San to sanitize. Stopped by my LHBS and was the person who was working there was telling me about how he prefers using b-brite over Star-San. Goes on and on about how he can use b-brite to clean AND sanitize. He said it works better for him and is cheaper, AND it is a no rinse. I happened to catch something on a thread on here referring to b-brite as an oxyclean style cleanser. Confused I did some research. Here is the panic..... I was looking at it right before I was going to get my bottles and equipment to bottle. I used the b-brite to sanitize my primary, secondary, and all equipment in between...including my thief and hydrometer a few times over the last week. How much trouble will I be in with this batch? I already have noticed some off tastes in secondary and posted about them here a week ago. I am not very happy right now, with myself for not staying with what I know and with the disinformation from the gentleman at the LHBS. Thanks Dan

Two of the most important keys I've found to success in my brewing since I began a few years back are being absolutely anal about cleaning my equipment and sanitizing my equipment. These are TWO different tasks. Cleaning involves removing particulate matter from the surfaces of your equipment. I use B-Brite for cleaning dissolved in hot water and then thoroughly rinsed with clean warm water. I have tries other "cheaper".& supposedly no rinse cleaners but they proved less effective so I'm back to BBrite.
Now, we get to sanitation. This eliminates most unwanted organisms that would otherwise infect your wort/beer. I've found StarSan to be easy to use and effective & keep a spray bottle full on hand at all times. It is effective when mixed with cold water & requires no rinsing. If you get too much foam let it sit a bit and you can pour most of it off. If properly used it will not affect the flavor if your beer.

 

[BigFloyd]

The accuracy of advice from an LHBS is entirely dependent on which LHBS you are getting it from.

I'm blessed to have a good one here owned and operated by a capable brewer. On the other hand, I've been inside a store in another town where I've overheard advice being given that was downright ignorant.