Star San
- Thread starter malt_man
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Don't fear the foam. The amount of sanitizer present in the foam is negligible, and it wouldn't matter even if it wasn't (I spilled a quart of Star San into my fermenter and the batch came out great). If it's full of foam, then you know all of the surfaces are wet and it's sanitized. 
Don't fear the foam. The amount of sanitizer present in the foam is negligible, and it wouldn't matter even if it wasn't (I spilled a quart of Star San into my fermenter and the batch came out great). If it's full of foam, then you know all of the surfaces are wet and it's sanitized.
Seriously. Just leave the foam in!
Madlob75
Member
Don't sweat it. Think of it this way; if the foam is leaving the keg or carboy as you fill it, no baddies are going in.
Five star Chemical says starsan breaks down into yeast nutrient. But I don't know how long that takes. A bit of foam is ok & won't hurt you or the beer. I just try to drain out as much as I can though.
As soon as the pH rises (e.g. 'cause it just got diluted by 5 gallons of wort), the compounds in Star San lose their efficacy, at which point they're just tasty organic molecules for the yeast.
If you want to hear far more than you ever wanted to know from the guy who actually made the stuff (Charlie Talley of 5 Star), there are two great brewing podcasts with him: The March 19th, 2006 Sunday Session and the March 29th, 2007 Basic Brewing. I'd give them a listen; I thought it was interesting at least, and it helped set my mind at ease about leaving some trace amounts in there.
If you don't like the foam, switch to saniclean instead. It's more or less the same thing but without the foam.
Even though the foam is not dangerous or harmful in any way, I find it a bit messy. Especially when filling bottles or kegs.
Even though the foam is not dangerous or harmful in any way, I find it a bit messy. Especially when filling bottles or kegs.
Just remember that the foam is there for a reason though. Surfactant means better penetration of the sanitizer, so Star San is arguably "better" than Saniclean at getting in nooks and crannies. That being said, either should work admirably for homebrewing.
Grannyknot
Well-Known Member
I love the foam.
I can pour a half gallon of dilluted star san in my carboy, shake it around, and the foam will stay on the sides.
I usually try to drain most of it out, only because when you rack on top of foam, it tends to get messy.
But i never fear it.
I can pour a half gallon of dilluted star san in my carboy, shake it around, and the foam will stay on the sides.
I usually try to drain most of it out, only because when you rack on top of foam, it tends to get messy.
But i never fear it.
Someone needs to start a Foam Appreciation Thread. Actually, it probably exists. Confessions of a Foamaholic.
Similar threads
