Several oz of StarSan accidentally siphoned into carboy, plus other mistakes

[TVarmy]

Hi, I accidentally siphoned in about a cup or less of starsan into my Better Bottle. I also accidentally put my (clean) hands in the wort. I pitched the yeast and everything, as I remember hearing that starsan breaks down into nutrient when mixed with considerable water/wort (in Basic Brewing Podcast). I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have a freaky tasting brew, or that I've now got an infected batch.

This is my first beer brew, and the logistics of getting from pots to Better Bottle was a mess. I couldn't get the racking rod to work for love or money, so I ended up pouring it straight from the pot into a tiny (sanitized) funnel. I also didn't strain, because I couldn't get the cheesecloth to stay on the funnel, but it will work out in secondary, right?

I'm making Citrus Weissen from the Wheat and Rye recipes section.

I know I should RDWHAHB, but I need a little reassurance for the DW part. Thanks for the help.

 

[PolishLogic]

Your beer should be fine. I've read a few stories of people reaching into their fermenters, without causing problems. As for myself, I had a batch that spent its time fermenting with about a 3 inch piece of a spoon handle (unsanitized) and the batch tastes great, with no infection to speak of.

As for the Star-san, a few ounces shouldn't affect anything either. It's (for the most part) odorless and tasteless. I usually end up with a little in my batches every time I rack simply because it's impossible to get it all out. So a few ounces here and there shouldn't be a concern.

Easiest way to get from the kettle to the primary would be just to buy a nice large funnel, rather than the tiny one you used (I'm picturing you using one of those standard kitchen-sized ones...that would be quite a chore).

Definitely RDWHAHB...or in this case, since it's your first batch, any beer will do. Worst case scenario, the beer turns out less than spectacular. In which case you'll have a pretty good reason as to why it got that way. But, that being said, I don't think you really have anything to worry about.

 

[Walker]

Hi, I accidentally siphoned in about a cup or less of starsan into my Better Bottle.

Straight concentrated starsan or already diluted sanitizer solution? I assume you mean your starsan solution... Probably not a big deal.

I also accidentally put my (clean) hands in the wort. I pitched the yeast and everything, as I remember hearing that starsan breaks down into nutrient when mixed with considerable water/wort (in Basic Brewing Podcast). I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to have a freaky tasting brew, or that I've now got an infected batch.

This is my first beer brew, and the logistics of getting from pots to Better Bottle was a mess. I couldn't get the racking rod to work for love or money, so I ended up pouring it straight from the pot into a tiny (sanitized) funnel. I also didn't strain, because I couldn't get the cheesecloth to stay on the funnel, but it will work out in secondary, right?

I'm making Citrus Weissen from the Wheat and Rye recipes section.

I know I should RDWHAHB, but I need a little reassurance for the DW part. Thanks for the help.

Relax.

I never strain anything.

I also would not worry about your hands touching the wort. My first batch had me siphoning stuff with my mouth and I choked on trub and coughed it into the freaking bottling bucket along with all of the beer.

That beer came out fine.

 

[TVarmy]

The OG in the recipe was 1.055, and mine was 1.040. I think I may have overdilluted when adding water to the wort. It will be fine, but just slightly waterier than intended, right?

 

[Walker]

It will be fine, but just slightly waterier than intended, right?

1.055 and 1.040 are more than "slightly" different, but yes... the end result is that your beer will be more watery than intended.

Imagine taking a 12oz bottle of your favorite beer and adding 4 or 5 oz of water to it. It'll be about like that.

 

[Walker]

Just a thought. If the Starsan was in a large enough dose, could it affect (kill) the yeast?

Less than 1 cup in 5 gallons is probably not a big enough dose to cause any problems, but it's hard to say.

Hell, the makers of StarSan claim that the stuff is actually GOOD for your yeast.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I once accidently racked 11 Gallons of a Simcoe Blonde Ale onto 2.5G of starsan solution. Beer tasted great. That is all

 

[Dave258]

The OG in the recipe was 1.055, and mine was 1.040. I think I may have overdilluted when adding water to the wort. It will be fine, but just slightly waterier than intended, right?

Was this an extract batch? If you followed an extract recipe with the same ingredients and amounts, you should be very close to the OG. Did you mix it well? Extract is heavier then water.

 

[TVarmy]

Come to think of it, I didn't mix the match that well after pouring it in. I'll shake it or something when I have some free time and check it again.

I was testing right from the surface, too, because I use a turkey baster as wine thief.

That's a big relief if that's true. The recipe was written for 5.25 gallons of water, and I boiled 5 gals in two pots, and added roughly half a gallon more to account for evaporation.

 

[Dave258]

Come to think of it, I didn't mix the match that well after pouring it in. I'll shake it or something when I have some free time and check it again.

I was testing right from the surface, too, because I use a turkey baster as wine thief.

That's a big relief if that's true. The recipe was written for 5.25 gallons of water, and I boiled 5 gals in two pots, and added roughly half a gallon more to account for evaporation.

If you pitched the yeast already, I wouldn't shake it up now.
It sounds like you did a full boil, did you do anything for aeration? What kind of yeast did you use?

 

[TVarmy]

I've done nothing for aeration. I did as close to a full boil as I could (5 gals out of 5.25 in two pots). Will the fermentation mix it up? I can clearly see a line where the watery part is sitting on the concentrate.

 

[Dave258]

How long ago did you pitch? Some people stir after pitching, some don't.
You can also be seeing cold break settling out.
If you brewed it today, give it a stir with a sanitized spoon. Not too hard though.
Let me also say now, that I am no expert. What I am telling you is what I have learned. Many people do things different!
Your beer will be fine! Even if you don't stir it...

 

[Palefire]

Fermentation will mix it up fine (I promise). No need to stir.

 

[IceFisherChris]

First rule of infections: No one can ever tell you that your beer WILL get an infection. If anyone tries to tell you that you WILL, don't listen to them. Everything is based on chance. If you do something like stick your hand in the beer, the chances go up. If you spit in the beer, the chances go way up. YOU have to wait a few days/weeks before you can tell if there is an infection. WE can't tell you much of anything unless you're showing us a picture of a white/blue/black/brown fuzzy blob. Sorry for the capitalization of all these words, I just have to put emphasis on them.

As for the StarSan, its totally fine. As long as you don't dump in a lot of undiluted starsan, you should be fine. It's made to kill bacteria and yeast in the correct mixture. If you add a cup of prediluted Starsan to 5 gallons, you have just diluted it so far that it has no effectiveness. Now if you add a cup of pure StarSan, you very well might kill the yeast in your beer.

 

[Shooter]

I racked five gallons of dark ale on to two cups of Star San in a corny a little while back. I wondered why the transfer was foaming up so much at first. I haven't tried it yet, but am guessing it will probably be fine.

 

[TVarmy]

Well, it's bubbling along just fine, and it looks like it might make a krauzen in a few hours, so it looks like the starsan didn't hurt anything. And since there is such a clear break between the extract and water, I get the feeling my OG is close to right. Thanks so much everyone for putting me at ease!

 

[Walker]

I racked five gallons of dark ale on to two cups of Star San in a corny a little while back. I wondered why the transfer was foaming up so much at first. I haven't tried it yet, but am guessing it will probably be fine.

You'll definitely be fine. The concern in TVarmy's case was whether the starsan would kill his yeast. But, you were racking into a keg.... you had no further need for yeast anyway.

 

[JiveTurkey]

I believe StarSan loses its effectiveness as a sanitizer (meaning, it can't harm/kill microorganisms) if diluted into a solution of 3.0 pH or above.

Since wort/beer typically ranges in 4.0-6.0, when the wort was poured onto the StarSan it could no longer harm the yeast and effectively turns into yeast nutrients.

 

[Shooter]

You'll definitely be fine. The concern in TVarmy's case was whether the starsan would kill his yeast. But, you were racking into a keg.... you had no further need for yeast anyway.

Well, yes and no, I naturally prime my kegs. However, when I racked over, I new the Star San was only effective at a certain concentration. So, I didn't even worry about the keg not priming. My initial concern was if it would effect the taste, but my second thought when I did it was, "Too late now, RDWHAHB!"