StarSan or vodka in airlock?

[Spartan1979]

Twenty-three years of brewing and water works for me.

 

[snowtires]

I use white rum. I was given a 40 and I don't drink white rum

 

[bcrosby]

I first use Star-San. If I take the airlock off or remove the blow off tube I may use some Absolut because I'm lazy.

 

[Beastmaster315]

Really! Just use water. Boil the water first If you are concerned about contamination. You could use a hose and stick it in a jar of any liquid of your choosing.

I have never had an issues with water getting sucked back into the fermentation bucket or carboy.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[danhercules]

I used everclear when I was out of vodka.

 

[unionrdr]

Using plain water in a blow off jug isn't the same as in an airlock where the water has less distance to travel in an airlock vs a hose in a jug. You can boil it all you want before adding it,but as it sits & cools,nasties can get through the holes in the airlock cap. One suck back & you could be infected. I can get a pint of cheap vodka at BP for $2.58. No foam,no live nasties,no evaporation.

 

[AlCophile]

Vodka is useless; I had my boss chew my hiney out about alcohols for sanitizing. The alcohol must be 70% with the remainder water. Don't know why, I'm not a biologist. She is.
Water alone is a swimming pool for filth. I back my bubblers up with a cotton-filled filter downstream of the bubbler. Then place the whole thing in a poly bag( a Shake & Bake bag is good). Keep it snug around the neck of the 'boy with a couple of fat rubber bands. This allows CO2 pressure to leak out.
So, now you got an air-lock, a bacteria filter and a backup bag full of CO2.

 

[dobe12]

I can never waste a good vodka.

I don't waste bad vodka either.

This ^^^^^^!!!!

 

[unionrdr]

Idk about the 70% thing,but the cheap stuff works well the last couple years I've been using it. But keep in mind it will do ok with microbes or sporatazoans that typically infect beer. Any higher life forms,& it's just an antistetic. I've also been thinking about trying cheap grain alcohol from the liquor store as well,just as an experiment.
**OK,looked at this page; http://askville.amazon.com/40%25-alcohol-called-80-proof/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=6103145,& the 42 proof cheap vodka I use would be 21% alcohol by volume. So 180 proof grain alcohol (Moon) would be 90%. guess grain alcohol would be better in light of this information.

 

[chicken]

I've done both, but usually use Star San. The bucket of Star San is sitting right there, and I'm going to have to sanitize the airlock anyway. So why not just sanitize and fill it in one step?

 

[MaxStout]

The alcohol must be 70% with the remainder water.

Depends on how fast you want to kill germs. Yes, 70% is optimal for quickly killing germs, such as when wiping surfaces, cleaning around wounds, etc.

That said, alcohol is sitting in an airlock for an extended time. There is a relationship between exposure time to the alcohol and its effectiveness. The CDC notes that many strains can be killed with concentrations much lower than 70%.

Concentrations <70% will work, it just takes more time. I would doubt very much that many germs would survive in vodka during the time that we have our airlocks filled with it. Some viruses will survive, but those are not what we are targeting. We want to keep out bacteria, molds, etc.

 

[tootal]

The next time you brew a bad batch of beer, I know, nobody does that!. Don't throw it out, find a friend who does distilling. Have him distill it and then use it in your air lock! Recycle folks!!!

Actually we use a blow off tube into a bucket of left over Starsan that was in the fermentor right before we filled it.

 

[TheZymurgist]

I just pee into mine. Urine is sterile anyway. What? No one else does that? It's just recycled beer...

 

[SansPants]

Once I had run out a starsan so I used Macallan 18. :ducks:

 

[LibertyBrewer]

Anything with alcohol in it. These days I'm using a bottle of cheap whiskey we got as a Christmas present. If it gets sucked back into the brew, well, just a little more ABV.

 

[NTXBrauer]

Vodka in an airlock...Starsan with a blowoff. Works every time.

 

[hbrookie]

I use tap water. If it gets sucked in, the CO2 in the fermenter will kill it for me.

 

[m1k3]

I voted "Other" since I don't use an airlock.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/no-air-lock-363813/