Safety of Star San in beer?

[e lo]

So, I'm finally going to post a "did I ruin my beer?" thread. Never thought I'd see the day. I brewed an ESB last weekend, and it turned out beautifully. My gravity sample was fantastic; probably the best beer I've made yet. I fermented in a dorm-style fridge for temp control purposes; it works well, but I have to use a blow-off tube, because a 6.5 gallon carbory + airlock is too tall. Fine, no problem. However -- I crash cooled it last night. Before I did, I replaced the Star San in my blow-off container (an old apple juice bottle from a batch of Apfelwein) with about 8 oz of fresh Star San.

I just checked it with the intention of racking it into a keg, and I discovered that, much to my chagrin, the star san had been sucked all the way up the blowoff tube and into my carboy! The beer had stratified, and there was a layer of milky-white liquid on the top, about 1/8" thick. It looked very much like cloudy Star San, and I'm sure that's what it was. I should have foreseen this, obviously, and feel like a *******. I racked it anyway, being careful to leave the milky layer behind, as it remained stratified as I siphoned.


I'm not worried about infection here; the beer was done fermenting, and what was drawn in was not only sanitized, but sanitizer. I'm worried about whether or not ~8oz of Star San in 5 gal of beer is enough to be concerned about. It can't have changed the pH much at all, and the phosphoric acid shouldn't be that much of a concern -- hell, I drink diet soda sometimes, and that'd got enough phosphoric acid to clean a penny, so...

Any thoughts?

 

[mr x]

Somebody else here had raised some concerns about some of stan san in their keg. I think the company response was over a reasonable amount of time it will decompose and be of no harm to you.

 

[teu1003]

I can't imagine this would be a problem. I am assuming the starsan was pretty diluted to begin with in the container. If I am not mistaken, the active acids in starsan are phosphoric (which is cola) and the stuff they put in toothpaste. Both are palatable in small doses and unless you really think about it as you're drinking the beer, I doubt you'll be able to taste it. Be a good host and don't tell anyone though ... suggestion is powerful.

 

[Revvy]

Take a listen to basicbrewing radio's interview with Chuck Talley, the inventor of Starsan. http://cdn.libsyn.com/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3

He's even drank diluted starsan with no ill affects. He says in the interview that any excess starsan becomes yeastfood and is actually good for fermentation. So you are safe.

 

[Dr_Deathweed]

I have racked into a keg that I had fogotten to pour the starsan out of (20oz or so...) turned out just fine! I believe someone else here has done that as well, I remember reading about it, so thats why I wasn't worried.

RDWHAHB!

 

[Jesse17]

If you racked the 8 oz. layer of Star San with your beer, that would only be 1.25% Star San (assuming you have 5 gal. of beer)

Since you said you left most of that layer in the carboy, then let's say you only left 2 oz. in your beer. That would only be 0.3 % Star San.

I think you'd be fine with the entire 8 oz. mixed in. I probably leave 2 oz. in the form of foam when I rack from my primary to secondary.

RDWHAHB

https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/data/1/14323-StarSanFoam3.jpg

 

[Orpheus]

+1 to absolutely no worries as you're golden!

Star San is the holy water of homebrew. Not only is it completely safe to drink when properly diluted, it sanitizes AND acts as yeast nutrient!

Next up, Star San Pale Ale!

 

[e lo]

Thanks, gents. That was pretty much what I had thought. I probably leave ~2 oz worth of foam every time I rack anyway. But, you know, I had to ask.

 

[Revvy]

Next up, Star San Pale Ale!

I want the recipe!

What hops would go with starsan?

 

[Orpheus]

I want the recipe!

What hops would go with starsan?

Why "San"tennial of course!

 

[RogerMcAllen]

+1 to absolutely no worries as you're golden!

Star San is the holy water of homebrew. Not only is it completely safe to drink when properly diluted, it sanitizes AND acts as yeast nutrient!

Next up, Star San Pale Ale!

This is great news. I was about to start a thread about inoculating my first keged beer with a diptube full of Star San when I found this thread. I'm glad to see that my 1/2 oz or so is nowhere near the worst that's ever happened.