Star San

[periwinkle1239]

I'm tired of the foam. I don't fear it, just tired of it. Think I'm going to go back to Iodophor (I switched to Star San because of all the great reviews). However, enough is enough - I just did my first full boil, and the foam was out of control. Then when I aerated it with O2, there was no stopping the foam madness-that might have had nothing to do with the sanitizer.

I'm only 7 brews into my career, but it's clear that the foam that comes out during transferring (draining from the kettle to the carboy through a valve and funnel - I also use a screen and whirlpool it by hand with a spoon) as a result of the sanitizer. I'm using the recomended star san to water and it's still insane.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just got done with a long day of brewing...ahh it still feels good.

 

[flatrockbrewing]

I had problems when first using SS but once I switched to cold/room temp water it really cut down on the foam. I also let anything I used SS on kegs, etc drain upside down before I used it.

 

[Beerrific]

Try SaniClean. Same mode of action as Star San but it is low foaming.
http://morebeer.com/view_product/16025//Final_Acid_Rinse_-_Saniclean_32_oz

 

[Beezy]

There is a foaming agent. The foam helps get that stuff in hard to reach places. You want that. Your boil and aerating foams up because of completely unrelated reasons. If you have any starsan left send it to me. I love it. I bathe in the stuff before brew days

 

[beninan]

Hmm I don't have much of an issue with the foam...

Now, you are saying you are tired of the foam from boiling and the foam from aerating? Because neither of those should be a result of Starsan (unless you are using Starsan water as your brewing water). The combination of the residual Starsan and plain water for brewing would be way more than enough to dilute the Starsan to a level that would cause the Starsan to do nothing.

 

[jmhart]

Why is there star san in your boil?


Secondly, I like the look of foamy wort (in the fermentor). Means I did something right.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I had problems when first using SS but once I switched to cold/room temp water it really cut down on the foam. I also let anything I used SS on kegs, etc drain upside down before I used it.

Yep, cold water & draining upsidedown are key...
But use what works best for you.
Regards, GF.

 

[stratslinger]

Why is there star san in your boil?

A million time this... Color me puzzled.

 

[Snicks]

I find it helpful to not shake fermentors or kegs with starsan, but just lightly rotate and swirl it around to sanitize. I still get some (useful) foam, but nothing bothersome.

 

[Houblon]

I'm tired of the foam. - I just did my first full boil, and the foam was out of control. Then when I aerated it with O2, there was no stopping the foam madness-that might have had nothing to do with the sanitizer.
.

What? boil? aerated?

what the heck are you doing?

 

[EoinMag]

I think you need some Fermcap-s foam inhibitor.

I don't use it myself but a lot of people here swear by it, maybe give it a try and stick with star san it has nothing to do with your problem as you've described it anyway.

 

[jmhart]

I feel like two things are happening:

1)You're using Starsan wrong

2)You're blaming starsan for normal foaming issues.

Maybe it's just me, but the expression "don't fear the foam" isn't because it cause your beer to foam a lot, it's because it does foam and some people think that's because it has detergents that will mess with your beer. Furthermore, people are afraid to only use foam, as in from a squirt bottle, and the "fear" not filling everything up with a star san solution. Finally, they "fear" racking their beer on top of it because of previously mentioned detergent concerns, as well as any off flavor it could contribute to the beer (but doesn't).

If you're getting a lot of foam in your boil, turn the heat down. Pay attention 5 mintues before boil and 5 minutes after and regulate your heat so as not to have a boil over. Now, it's possible that you're putting a bunch of starsan in your beer and it's exaserbating a foaming issue, but to this I ask again, why is there starsan in your boil? Nothing needs to be sanitary before the boil, just clean. Don't waste the star san and don't sweat it.

Regarding foam in your fermentor. When I aerate heavily, my wort foams up. It's nothing bad and it happens regardless of whether there's starsan in it or not.

So, ultimately, I think you're experiencing regular foaming issues and attributing them, incorrectly, to starsan. However, if you are indeed experiencing massive foam issues and it IS because of starsan, I think you're using way too much of it.

 

[periwinkle1239]

Sorry I just realized I was not very clear. I wasn't talking about foam during the boil. What I meant to say is the foam comes when I transfer from the brewpot to the carboy. Since I transferred 5.25 gal from the pot to a 6 gal better bottle, the foam overflowed quite a bit. In the past, on partial boils, I always had 2 gal of water already in the carboy so the transfer never produced so much foam.

I realize aerating has nothing to do with the foam, however it sure does aggravate it when I hit the wort with O2.

Am I making more sense? Thanks for the replies.

 

[Beerrific]

You should just look into SaniClean if the foam bothers you. That is why Five Star makes it. Or switch to iodophor. I would choose the SaniClean as it will have a better life once mixed than iodophor.

 

[samc]

I wonder if your water chemistry effects the StarSan in a way that creates a lot of foam that many of us don't see. You may also be using too much. My fermenter gets sprayed with a mist of SS and I doubt if it is more than 1/4-1/2 cup and then it mostly drains out. Only time I ever got excess foaming was when I used it to sanitize my filter set-up and that was a total failure. That caused me to go back to Iodine when I filter or before I keg I like Iodine over StarSan. Happily use both products and still have large amounts of the bottles I bought 3 years ago.

 

[erikhild59]

If that was your first full boil , then you really have no basis for comparison. It sounds to me like the normal foaming of wort when transfering /aerating....Try a batch using iodaphor using the same techniques, I would bet you'll get the same foam. I switched to starsan @ 15 batches ago and so no difference. Wort is just foamy stuff when agitated. Good luck.(p.s....starsan rules!)

 

[SaltyTX]

I think you're suffering from OE- Operator Error.

swirl carboy then keep it upside down until ready to use. If you're agitating it'll make a mess of foam.

Still, when you transfer, you should have minimal foam left. Even if you do, its displaced by your beer-to-be, so its a non-issue at that point.

I don't see how O2 affects it at ALL as you be talking many parts probably per billion (unless you leave ounces of star san in the carboy before transferring, which would be OE.)

 

[periwinkle1239]

Thanks for the advice. (no I do not have ounces of starsan in my carboy, heh) There is nothing in it except for maybe a few residual drops of the sanitized water. I try to shake it all out but sometimes I do not get it bone dry.

I've seen pictures on here of foam overflowing from carboys and kegs after transferring so I guess I'm not the only one that has dealt with it.

I think I am going to reduce the amount of starsan concentrate added to water. I was using what the bottle says (I think it says 1 oz per 5 gal-I don't have it in front of me) What do people normally recommend for a mixing ratio?

Thanks again for the tips.

 

[Beerrific]

What do people normally recommend for a mixing ratio?

I use what the bottle says to use. 1oz per 5 gallons. I don't think using less is going to be helpful. If you use less, you are running the risk of not having full efficacy. Why not just switch to something that doesn't foam as much if the foam bothers you that much?

 

[MNDan]

Embrace the foam! It is what makes it work so well. StarSan is flavorless - you can take all the foam in your fermenter, add it to just a pint of beer, and never taste a difference. The foam helps to keep the surfaces you are sanitizing wet, which is the most important part.

Regarding foam in your boil & fermenter - get some FermCap and thank me later.

 

[Beerrific]

StarSan is flavorless

Well, that is not completely true. Have you tasted it? I have and I can say it does have a taste. Now, does it contribute a taste when (a small amount) it is mixed with 5 gallons of beer, probably not.

 

[nefarious_1_]

If that was your first full boil , then you really have no basis for comparison. It sounds to me like the normal foaming of wort when transfering /aerating....Try a batch using iodaphor using the same techniques, I would bet you'll get the same foam. I switched to starsan @ 15 batches ago and so no difference. Wort is just foamy stuff when agitated.

+1 to this. There will always be foam generated when pouring or transferring freshly boiled/cooled wort regardless of the presence of Star San. Get a bigger carboy maybe? You'll have more room for headspace. I use 6gal. and occassionally a bit of foam will come out of the top when adding my wort but it's really no big deal: it barely amounts to very much in final volume; <50ml. estimated.

Also, I shake the crap out of my carboys to aerate and there is a good deal of foam generated doing this as well, however, nothing overflows in this case and I definitely do not attribute it to the Star San at all: this is caused by the wort being aerated.

I'm 99% sure it's not the Star San dude. But switch if you feel better doing so.

Good luck.


EDIT: an afterthought...
Maybe, when sanitizing your carboy, you're shaking the Star San around vigorously and generating a lot of foam. Then, instead of waiting for this foam to subside and draining out the residual sanitizer, you're pouring wort straight onto it. I could see this potentially contributing some foam, but nothing major. If that's the case, don't shake as much or wait for the foam to subside, then properly drain the carboy before adding wort. (You should be draining it as indicated in the directions.)

 

[parkerdel]

I just did my first full boil, and the foam was out of control

You dont need to sanatize anything that will be used before/durring the boil; clean yes but sanitize no. Only after the boil is over is sanitation important.

 

[periwinkle1239]

You dont need to sanatize anything that will be used before/durring the boil; clean yes but sanitize no. Only after the boil is over is sanitation important.

This was a really old post of mine and I did not explain myself very well originally. I was talking about transferring 5 gallons of boiled and cooled wort into a carboy that had been sanitized with star san. The transferring caused quite a bit of foam due to the small bit of water-star san residue in the carboy.

There are lots of pictures on this forum where people transferred to carboys and kegs and created quite a bit of foam in the process.