Non-diluted StarSan in fermenter bucket

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He said he drained the StarSan out leaving just residue, which I would imagine would total around 5ml. Since the dilution ratio is 6ml to a gallon of water, I would say 5 gallons of beer would safely diluted the residue IMO.
I totally disagree. When draining a working solution from a vessel what you leave behind is maybe one tenth of a thousandth of the total volume, possibly even less, that will then get diluted by the full volume of beer. That is infinitely less than the amount he would drink just by drinking a pint of his contaminated beer. That beer is unfit for human consumption and should be dumped right away, no further questions asked.
 
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I like the idea, but up till now many of us have considered that any amount of concentrated StarSan should be regarded as "unsafe" if mixed with the wort. Independent of what I would get as an answer, would it help me in any way to know if it is safe or not? What would be considered as safe?

I can test this, but will also buy paper to measure the pH. It may be too low.
The LD50 dose for rats is 650 mg/kg, meaning there is a 50% chance a rat will die after ingesting 650 mg of pure dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid times its own body weight in kilograms. It's unlikely that you would be ingesting that much considering that you probably weigh a lot more than the average lab rat and you didn't pour the whole bottle in your beer but still LD50 tells us nothing about how sick lower dosages might make you or whether you might sustain irreversible damage. Personally I would never try to find that out myself...
 
it will also be interesting for me to see how much gas builds up after some days (used carbonation drops).
It takes about 2-3 weeks to fully carbonate a bottle. Many factors involved.

You could probably try some of that batch to evaluate. I expect it to taste slightly tart.
Maybe keep a bottle behind to compare with your next batch.

Let me clarify, trying to give a perspective on consumption of your tainted batch:
The Phosphoric acid content is less than in a soda (cola), not a problem.
But the biggest factor is the surfactant. Did it get broken down into harmless components during the boil and/or fermentation? Or has it remained, and is it harmful when ingesting significantly more than a mere trace of it over a few weeks or months?

In that light I don't think drinking a bottle or pint of your "Starsan Enhanced" beer will be harmful, given the guy at Five Star drank a whole pint (or quart?) to show off. But when drinking the whole batch over a few weeks, even at 1 pint or bottle a week, could it be a potential cause of health problems now or later? That's the reason you should dump it!
 
The LD50 dose for rats is 650 mg/kg, meaning there is a 50% chance a rat will die after ingesting 650 mg of pure dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid times its own body weight in kilograms. It's unlikely that you would be ingesting that much considering that you probably weigh a lot more than the average lab rat and you didn't pour the whole bottle in your beer but still LD50 tells us nothing about how sick lower dosages might make you or whether you might sustain irreversible damage. Personally I would never try to find that out myself...
Glad you stepped on board!
 
By the way, the rats that did shed the mortal coil did so through severe diarrhea so we can assume dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid is irritant to the colon. I personally wouldn't risk irritating my bowel just to save a batch of beer but as they say, "Your colon, your rules".
 
Hi,

Just bottled my first batch of a Juicy IPA recipe. For sanitizing my fermenter I used non-diluted StarSan (30-60 ml I reckon) and used rubber gloves to distribute it in the bottom and sides of the bucket. I have later realized that this was a mistake and that the StarSan should be diluted with water. Bought my equipment used and the StarSan bottle did not have a label, but should definately have checked this.
After filling the Starsan and distributing it around the bucket, I put the lid on the let it stand upside down to drain most of it out. However, since I did not flush it, there was definately some residue left in it when I poured the wort in the fermenter.

My question is if I have to be concerned about having some residue of undiluted starsan in my fermenter with the wort? I have also asked Five Star about this, and waiting for their reply.
I have read that some claim that the StarSan breaks down to something that the yeast can feed on, and this gives me some comfort. Anyway, I have to ask - should I be concerned?

Br,
Haakon
Hey man, sorry if I gave you bad advice. My original thought was that it will be fine, but a lot of valid points were made as to why it might not be. I think we learned a lot from this thread. Good luck with your next batch.
 
That sour taste is probably from the PH being too high. Just read a post where someone was adding baking soda to his beer to lower the PH and reduce the sour taste. His issue was the water source.
Just a note, PH works the opposite way. Low PH = More sour.
 
That is really out of range for beer! Looks like a lot of the undiluted starsan did make it into the beer. I'm surprised the yeast handled it so well.
 
I hear you, @dwhite60!

To those that may be interested; @IslandLizard
Just measured the pH in this beer. pH = 2.4
Well below pH = 4-5 (the range it should be).
That is really low!
It's in the "Coke soda" range.

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Wort_Souring
[...] a final pH between 3.0 and 3.7 is the general target range for the soured wort and also the finished sour beer

Are you sure that pH meter is calibrated properly and giving correct readings?
pH meters should be calibrated, or at least checked, before each metering session.
Our Brew Science forum contains much info on pH meters, quality, accuracy, dependability, calibration, etc.
 
That is really low!
It's in the "Coke soda" range.

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Wort_Souring

Are you sure that pH meter is calibrated properly and giving correct readings?
pH meters should be calibrated, or at least checked, before each metering session.
Our Brew Science forum contains much info on pH meters, quality, accuracy, dependability, calibration, etc.
The pH-meter was fresh out of the box and I used it straight away. Didn't calibrate it before. You think it could give so erroneous readings that I should calibrate it before I test?
 
The pH-meter was fresh out of the box and I used it straight away. Didn't calibrate it before. You think it could give so erroneous readings that I should calibrate it before I test?
It may work fine straight out of the box, but how would you know, unless you check it against a known pH? Such as a buffer solution.

Calibrating, or at least verifying accuracy, before taking serious measurements is generally needed.
For example, if you get a pH 4.0 reading in a pH 4.0 buffer solution, it's OK to take readings in a small range around that 4.0 pH, say from 3.0 to 5.0, or even 2.0-6.0 depending on the meter. If it reads anything else, it probably benefits from re-calibration, depending on how much precision you desire.

Once you stray away from that narrow region (+/- 1 pH) around a single calibration point, best is to do a full 2 point calibration, one at 7.0 and one at 4.0, so then the slope will be known too. That should give you accurate readings between say 1.0 and 10.0, but it depends largely on your meter and probe.

Readings are becoming more imprecise the farther out they are from the calibration points or range, due to extrapolation.
 
The pH-meter was fresh out of the box and I used it straight away. Didn't calibrate it before. You think it could give so erroneous readings that I should calibrate it before I test?
I wouldn't trust a PH meter to give accurate readings on the day following calibration, a fresh-out-of-the-box brand new meter might have spent up to a year in a warehouse and/or in transit and I wouldn't trust it to give me the time of day... 🤕
 
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