oops...was my sanitizer effective enough?

[rhythm]

Just brewed my very first batch of beer a couple of weeks ago, and I'm now wondering about the sanitizer that I used. I had mixed up some Star San in a 1 gallon glass carboy, and noticed that it was a bit cloudy right from the get-go (I used tap water through our refrigerator's filter). I figured that since it was a brand new batch, the sanitizer must be OK, so I just proceeded.

Yesterday I decided to buy some pH test strips (Wine Range - 2.8 to 4.4) to check the remaining Star San that I had mixed up. It looks like the Star San is right around 3.2, which I guess is a bit too high. The strips don't have a color swatch for 3.0, but judging from the 2.8 and 3.2 colors it definitely appears to be over 3.0.

So is it likely that I didn't sanitize properly? I guess if the beer looks and smells OK there's no issue? Just wanted to hear some feedback...I'm new! I guess our tap water pH is too high. I'll use distilled next time.

Thanks,
Greg

 

[hunter_le five]

You're probably fine. If it ends up tasting/smelling good, then you are definitely in the clear.

I went a couple years when I first started brewing without ever sanitizing properly. I cleaned my equipment/bottles/etc thoroughly, but never used a sanitizer. I never had an infection. Turns out beer is kind of hard to screw up. Just be more careful next time.

 

[unionrdr]

It seems to me Five Star Chemical says 3.5 PH or lower is good. It doesn't say on the bottle. But it does say it's good against E. Coli & Staphylococcus aureus.