Another Starsan Quetion.

Midlife · Post by **Midlife** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 4:30 pm

Ok sorry in advance for another quetion on this, but I am moving more to stainless equipment and realise I probably need to move away from VWP to Starsan. The bit I'm having difficulty with after just spraying it on or rolling the solution around, you either let it dry or just place your beer in, so it's all about confidence in the product. I have a really strong urge to rinse, does this matter if you do rinse? Also how critical is the ph? Is the best way to get distilled water and make up the solution in a Sprayer and spray all round the surfaces, is this what most people do?

I know I've got to take the plunge, it's just I've had good results with VWP and Sodium Met rinse, no infections. But now I have cornys and want to get a stainless FV so just need the confidence to move to Starsan.

Cheers.

McMullan · Post by **McMullan** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 5:48 pm

Drain, but don't worry about any residue or foam. It's food based chemicals that break down to yeast nutrients, so be careful what you spray it on

It works best when fresh, so don't make up too much. I prep about 5L on brew day. 2L with some shaking and mixing is more than enough to sanitise a 30L FV. Recycle it, it should last for at least a week, in soft water.

Fil · Post by **Fil** » Wed Apr 05, 2017 6:47 pm

its a major shift in thinking when moving off chlorine based sanitsers, It took me a while to get used to the idea too. There is a utube (that i cant find atm) where one of the starsan suits necks a glass of the sanitiser solution to prove its safety.

but you can relax the foam is nothing to worry about, a huge volume of foam is made from a miniscule volume of liquid, trust me on that one when i started with corny kegs i poured nowt but 2l jugs of foam for weeks and when i waited patiently for it to die back down from a 2l jugful of foam i didnt get anywhere near a mouthful of beer..

However once you gain confidence in the change it will dramatically cut down on the rinsing duties and make the brewday significantly shorter as a result.

Post by **orlando** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:44 pm

As others have commented it is no-rinse. If you rinse you run the danger of introducing stuff you don't want. By leaving it clinging to the surface, which the foam helps it to do, not only is it doing its initial job of killing bacteria, it also provides longer term sanitation should anything drop from the atmosphere before you cover it up, which it will do. Your other question was about pH and water. High alkalinity water will turn the starsan cloudy and reduce the foaming activity. This cloudiness doesn't mean it is ineffective, as some misinformation on the web has it. The key here is pH, as long as that is 3 or under it is fine. Having said all that the foaming is useful and harmless so using a low alkalinity water and a mineral water low in alkalinity from the Supermarket is good enough. Whatever you decide Starsan is an excellent sanitiser so you can use with some confidence. Just make sure your cleaning regime is up to it, as the saying goes "you can't sanitise dirt"!

One final point that others might point out is Starsan is not as effective at killing yeast. No problem you might think, why would I want that? Well, wild yeast is not something you want in your beer, unless you are interested in brewing with "faults" like those Belgium Farmhouse beers.

dcq1974 · Post by **dcq1974** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 2:15 pm

Has anyone noticed that Starsan and Tesco Ashbeck mineral water now cloud?
Never used to but now does..

Coffeeuk · Post by **Coffeeuk** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:29 pm

dcq1974 wrote:Has anyone noticed that Starsan and Tesco Ashbeck mineral water now cloud?
Never used to but now does..

Yes. It started about a year ago. I now use RO water instead.

Post by **orlando** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:34 pm

Have you tested the pH?

Coffeeuk · Post by **Coffeeuk** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 4:45 pm

orlando wrote:Have you tested the pH?

No point. It goes slimy too after a few days , at which point it's going nowhere near my beer, even if it is under 2.2

Post by **orlando** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 5:03 pm

Coffeeuk wrote:
orlando wrote:Have you tested the pH?
No point. It goes slimy too after a few days , at which point it's going nowhere near my beer, even if it is under 2.2

What do you think it will do.

Coffeeuk · Post by **Coffeeuk** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 6:49 pm

Kills head retention for a start

MTW · Post by **MTW** » Thu Apr 06, 2017 9:56 pm

Coffeeuk wrote:Kills head retention for a start

Good advice here.

When Star San goes cloudy it is essentially soap that is forming. I don't want that near my beer.

Hanglow · Post by **Hanglow** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:24 am

I've used starsan for years and never had a problem with head retention. Perhaps use it properly?

"goes slimy"

yeah you are doing something wrong. Sort out your process and use it properly. Are you using really alkaline water?

Fil · Post by **Fil** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 12:52 am

starsan wets the water just like soap does which is why it foams and can be used as a lube to slide silicone seals into place in a grain father grain tube etc

Post by **orlando** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 6:51 am

Coffeeuk wrote:Kills head retention for a start

Jocky · Post by **Jocky** » Fri Apr 07, 2017 7:25 am

dcq1974 wrote:Has anyone noticed that Starsan and Tesco Ashbeck mineral water now cloud?
Never used to but now does..

I've heard this, but I've bought several 5l bottles of Ashbeck over the past year with no issues.

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