Star San in Alaska

[user 34291]

Any of the Alaska brewers here know where i can get a bottle of star san? Im back from vacation and im ready to star brewing up again and i want to give it a whirl instead of C-brite and oxyclean (oxy clean free that is).

i've looked into the arctic brewing supply store's site but i couldnt find any listed, also what about fermcap? is this an internet order only find up here?

THANKS

 

[Zen_Brew]

Any of the Alaska brewers here know where i can get a bottle of star san? Im back from vacation and im ready to star brewing up again and i want to give it a whirl instead of C-brite and oxyclean (oxy clean free that is).

Starsan is just a sanitizer. You'll still need a cleaner to clean the equipment first such as Oxiclean Free or PBW.

 

[user 34291]

Starsan is just a sanitizer. You'll still need a cleaner to clean the equipment first such as Oxiclean Free or PBW.

yeah ill use oxiclean to clean things, but my equipment has been unused for a month or two. My carboys are filled with proper diluted oxiclean and have been capped. Its just sanitizing with oxiclean is bothersome because you gotta rinse out all of the foam were as you dont have to with star san.

 

[whalenutz]

ABS has it at the store...i just saw it there last week before i went to work...

 

[user 34291]

ABS has it at the store...i just saw it there last week before i went to work...

sweet! thanks whalenutz, do you know if they carry fermcap?

 

[whalenutz]

if i remember they had it in stock also, your welcome anytime

 

[user 34291]

if i remember they had it in stock also, your welcome anytime

omg youre the best. i guess i finally need to make the drive out and check out the store, never been before, only to the winery out in palmer

 

[Spludge]

I'm heading out to ABS tomorrow, I will double check on the fermcap for ya

 

[user 34291]

I'm heading out to ABS tomorrow, I will double check on the fermcap for ya

oh geez, thanks man i appreciate it!

 

[whalenutz]

You guys know they moved from the lake oits location right now they are located off dimond and new seward

 

[user 34291]

You guys know they moved from the lake oits location right now they are located off dimond and new seward

no i didnt, i've actually never been. But i just got news that i gotta go get a relative at the airport so a stop at the tobacco cache for some cigars and some pipe tobacco and a stop at the brew house sounds like an idea i like

 

[whalenutz]

if you want to make a stop by carrs on jewel lake and dimond they have a surprising selection of tobacco and cigars...fyi

 

[Spludge]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you about the Fermcap, I spaced it. But whats new!

They didn't have it in the store but he said he can order it and the price was pretty reasonable.

Ryan

 

[SPLASTiK]

Interesting. I remember about a year ago talking to someone that said ABS wouldn't order it because it wouldn't be cost effective with all the Haz-Mat stuff they had to go through. Thought it was interesting that my small LHBS in Juneau got it and Anchorage didn't have it...

How much are they charging for a bottle?

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Its just sanitizing with oxiclean is bothersome because you gotta rinse out all of the foam were as you dont have to with star san.

Oxiclean is NOT a sanitizer at all. It is a cleaning agent. Have you brewed with it as a sanitizer? It would reduce the bacterial/yeast contamination levels by simply washing them out but it by NO means will approach the effectiveness of a proper sanitation agent like Starsan.

 

[Cheaton]

Oxiclean is NOT a sanitizer at all. It is a cleaning agent. Have you brewed with it as a sanitizer? It would reduce the bacterial/yeast contamination levels by simply washing them out but it by NO means will approach the effectiveness of a proper sanitation agent like Starsan.

Actually, I don't think that's entirely correct. Sodium precarbonate (oxiclean) gives off hydrogen peroxide when hydrated. Hydrogen peroxide is a pretty darn good sanitizer... It is, after all, used to clean wounds and prevent infection. However, its definitely not a no rinse sanitizer intended for food production and may screw up your beer. So, yes, you can use oxiclean to sanitize but once you rinse it out you've probably undone all of that.

P.S. I'm fairly certain that "one step" no rinse is actually sodium precarbonate, the same thing as Oxiclean "Free".

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Actually, I don't think that's entirely correct. Sodium precarbonate (oxiclean) gives off hydrogen peroxide when hydrated. Hydrogen peroxide is a pretty darn good sanitizer... It is, after all, used to clean wounds and prevent infection. However, its definitely not a no rinse sanitizer intended for food production and may screw up your beer. So, yes, you can use oxiclean to sanitize but once you rinse it out you've probably undone all of that.

P.S. I'm fairly certain that "one step" no rinse is actually sodium precarbonate, the same thing as Oxiclean "Free".

You are more correct than I originally thought when I posted. After some reading.....this may be true in that oxiclean can sanitize but what is the concentration of the sodium percarbonate in oxiclean and how much do you have to use for proper sanitation? How much contact time must you allow for sanitation? Your guess is as good as mine. The product has not been tested for this and you are going into unchartered territory if you are using it for that purpose.

If it's my beer that I have spent long hours brewing, researching and formulating, I'm trusting nothing but a product that is documented as a sanitization product and tells me at what concentration and how much time to allow it to work. Yeah..... there's also the no rinse aspect of iodine and Starsan.

 

[Cheaton]

You are more correct than I originally thought when I posted. After some reading.....this may be true in that oxiclean can sanitize but what is the concentration of the sodium percarbonate in oxiclean and how much do you have to use for proper sanitation? How much contact time must you allow for sanitation? Your guess is as good as mine. The product has not been tested for this and you are going into unchartered territory if you are using it for that purpose.

If it's my beer that I have spent long hours brewing, researching and formulating, I'm trusting nothing but a product that is documented as a sanitization product and tells me at what concentration and how much time to allow it to work. Yeah..... there's also the no rinse aspect of iodine and Starsan.

Ya, its definitely not a product I would use for the sole purpose of sanitation in the brewing process. Just not "food grade" stuff.

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Ya, its definitely not a product I would use for the sole purpose of sanitation in the brewing process. Just not "food grade" stuff.

True that. I use it all the time for cleaning and label removal. Sanitation..... I need something with some research and literature to back it up. Maybe I'm not as big a risk taker as others but that's my stance with sanitation.

 

[DuffmanAK]

So jealous.. heh.

I'm up in Fairbanks, we don't really have a brew shop up here at all, though I did manage to stop by ABS a few weeks back when I was down that way. Apparently they just moved into the place they have, real easy to find, down off Diamond.