Can I trust Star San?!!

I've been brewing on & off for a couple of years now (barring a break when moving house).

I'm up for anything that makes things easier, so I've moved from bottles for wine to 'bag in boxes', and I've just changed from using VWP to Star San for sterilising.

I don't know if it's just me, but the lack of any kind of smell from the Star San solution leaves me paranoid!

I'm using a 5ml syringe per 2.5L of de-ionised water (on offer for 55p from Tesco). Is this ok?

I've also read that if using distilled/de-oinised water means that it can keep for quite a while. I've got 7.5L currently sitting in a freshly washed out fermenter.

Tomorrow I am planning on bottling some Czech lager and the 500ml PET bottles I'm using have all been thoroughly rinsed immediately after pouring the previous brew. Would they require much cleaning with Star San? In the past I have washed the bottles, cleaned inside with a bottle brush, before rinsing and sterilising with VWP.

Like I say, I'm trying to do as little as is necessary!!

Lots of people love star san, but it is not a cleaner.

It is apparently a very good sanitiser but does not clean your gear, so build in time in your tidy up routine and buy something that is a cleaner - like vwp or others use oxi.

I don't think there is any reason you can't put your gear away clean and then star san it when you're next ready to brew.

Sanitation is not somewhere I would look to short cut.

God, i'm becoming a grumpy old man....

Everyone will have there own way but I prefer to use Starsan as a second chance back up. I clean bottles with VWP after use and just before botteling I give them a quick soak in Chemipro Oxi (no rinse), a quick rinse in fresh water then a quick squirt of Starsan.

Iam sure that some folks will just use Starsan before bottling without any issues but I just like to make sure.

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I rinse after pour but steep in oxiclean prior to rinsing and sanitising with starsan as it is usually a few weeks before bottling depending on brewing.If they are clean just rinse and sanitise.Eacj to their own method due too conditions, environment living situations.

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No you cant trust star san. It'l nick your credit cards and have it's way with your missus.

To be a little more helpful. I've used star san for about 4 years now and amazingly enough I'm still using the same bottle I bought.This is because I just reuse it. I just use my tap water and it goes cloudy when put the star san in. But this isnt a problem. As long as the PH stays at around 3 it'll work fine.
I've only ever had one infection and that was my own fault because I was faffing around with top cropping and not a failure on star sans fault.
I just either pour some in a bucket and put whatever I need to sanitise in their or spray stuff with as plant sprayer full of the stuff. It make the life of a brewer so much easier :thumb:

I poor beer then rinse at once
Some weeks later, I poor star San from one bottle to the next

Each to their own...👍

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MyQul said:

No you cant trust star san. It'l nick your credit cards and have it's way with your missus.

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:nono: that's star stan

Yes simply put, you can rely on starsan..

sanitation is secondary to the most crucial step CLEANING!
if there is any dirt then it can hide and protect microlife from virtually any sanitation proceedure.

and when it comes to microlife getting into the brew, its odds on inevitable, BUT thats why we pitch a population of yeast cells counted in billions.. Its basically stacking the odds so far in our favour such that any errant microlife that ends up in the fv is simply out eaten and starved out by the flourish of growth our yeast undergoes while making the beer which thanks to the alcohol is unhealthy for a huge proportion of possible nasties..

to test starsan ebay a cheap book or 10 of ph test papers and as long as the PH of your starsan solution is sufficiently acidic (ph2.5-3 or lower ) then its good to go..

going cloudy is only an indicator that the starsan solution MAY be spent, a ph test is the only way to be sure..

you can ebay a 5l bottle of PAA a more active non rinse sanitiser used extensively in the dairy and milk production for £20 (not checked recently could be a bit more).

Unlike starsan it will be more effective against wild yeast strains but the concentrate will deteriorate on the shelf more rapidly giving off a vinegar pong, and is best stored with the cap loose as to not build up pressure as it 'matures' And it is a more hazardous chemical especially if atomised.

having not had any infection issues (touch wood) since shifting to no rinse sanitisers initially videne and now starsan. I did consider shifting to PAA and still may in about 5-6 years when i run out of starsan, but then again .. :)

I think 5ml per 2,5L is a little strong. If you want to keep it 'no rinse' I'd stick with the dosage recommended on the bottle.

Edit: Ignore me completely. You're quite correct as you are. :thumb:

braziliain said:

I think 5ml per 2,5L is a little strong. If you want to keep it 'no rinse' I'd stick with the dosage recommended on the bottle.

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Iirc the destructions recommend ~25ml/10L so isn't he 1.25ml under?


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Hi!
The recommended dilution rate is 1.5 to 2.5ml per litre, that's between 3.75 to 6.25ml per 2.5 litres. 5ml per 2.5 litres is a pretty good dilution rate.

Apologies all. I stand corrected. Didn't have my brain in gear this morning.

Keep calm and carry on.

Been using SS for about a year and reading up on the issue of cloudiness on SS. SS is used as advised with tap water and my cheapo calibrated PH meter to check diluted SS below 2.5 before use. Only had one batch failed. Later found due to inadequate cleaning of the cornie

However we have Hard water up here CACO3 230 ppm Ca 110. SS goes cloudy even at double recommended concentration (just an experiment)

If I use the condensate water from our de-humidifier 4 ppm (cleaned & sanitised m/c & container) the usual SS solution is clear as a bell. This is what I now use as a spray. But have to use tap water for most rinsing = cloudy, i'm still a bit worried about this,,, R/O bottled water is not available up here.

I have read comments on other forums that the cloudiness can be an indicator that even though the PH is OK some of the other SS sanitising ingredients may be compromised.

Anyone considered this?

Druncan said:

Been using SS for about a year and reading up on the issue of cloudiness on SS. SS is used as advised with tap water and my cheapo calibrated PH meter to check diluted SS below 2.5 before use. Only had one batch failed. Later found due to inadequate cleaning of the cornie



However we have Hard water up here CACO3 230 ppm Ca 110. SS goes cloudy even at double recommended concentration (just an experiment)



If I use the condensate water from our de-humidifier 4 ppm (cleaned & sanitised m/c & container) the usual SS solution is clear as a bell. This is what I now use as a spray. But have to use tap water for most rinsing = cloudy, i'm still a bit worried about this,,, R/O bottled water is not available up here.



I have read comments on other forums that the cloudiness can be an indicator that even though the PH is OK some of the other SS sanitising ingredients may be compromised.



Anyone considered this?

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Personally, I just use cheap bottled water from supermarket in order to make up Starsan. I buy 5 litre bottles and pour the required amount into them. Then I can just pour back into the bottles for storage until needed again.

I do not think that the cloudiness is a problem though. As long as the pH is OK.


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I have only recently started using no rinse sanitisers.I got fed up of endlessly rinsing chlorine based sanitiser from my equipment. They speed things up significantly and cut water usage.

I just had a deep clean session for all of my bottles. It made sense as my beer stocks are low and I've got two brews due for bottling in the next month or so.

So my process was;

•Warm bucket of water with VWP and a bottle brush. Give all the bottles a good soak and a scrub.

•Rinse all of the bottles out with clean cold water.

•Store bottles with a wad of tissue poked into the mouth, to stop dust and debris collecting inside.

•Spray bottles and caps with StarSan on bottling day and perform a secondary inspection to ensure they are free from soiling.


As far as my beer making equipment goes, I always scrub down my kettle and mash tun after my brewday is done and then store them until next time. I usually just use warm water. Then they get a quick rinse with fresh water on the next brew day.

Dirty fermenters get soaked with warm water and VWP, then scrubbed down with a sponge to clean off any debris. Then they are rinsed and stored. Then it's a rinse with cold water followed by a spray down with starsan prior to using .

Grizzly299 said:

I have only recently started using no rinse sanitisers.I got fed up of endlessly rinsing chlorine based sanitiser from my equipment. They speed things up significantly and cut water usage.

I just had a deep clean session for all of my bottles. It made sense as my beer stocks are low and I've got two brews due for bottling in the next month or so.

So my process was;

•Warm bucket of water with VWP and a bottle brush. Give all the bottles a good soak and a scrub.

•Rinse all of the bottles out with clean cold water.

•Store bottles with a wad of tissue poked into the mouth, to stop dust and debris collecting inside.

•Spray bottles and caps with StarSan on bottling day and perform a secondary inspection to ensure they are free from soiling.


As far as my beer making equipment goes, I always scrub down my kettle and mash tun after my brewday is done and then store them until next time. I usually just use warm water. Then they get a quick rinse with fresh water on the next brew day.

Dirty fermenters get soaked with warm water and VWP, then scrubbed down with a sponge to clean off any debris. Then they are rinsed and stored. Then it's a rinse with cold water followed by a spray down with starsan prior to using .

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I reckon the secret is don't let the bottles get too dirty by rinsing immediately after use. I usually tip out the yeast, rinse with hot then cold water and store. Quick rinse before use looking for signs of yeast and then star san.

Pots and other things get a rinse and clean immediately after use again nothing too drastic and store closed to prevent anything getting in. Rinse before use to remove stale smell and santise fermenters only with star san.
I have used videne and star san effectively having previously used thin bleach requiring a reservoir full of water for rinsing. Still use bleach occasionally for heavilly contaminated stuff only.

geetee said:

I reckon the secret is don't let the bottles get too dirty by rinsing immediately after use. I usually tip out the yeast, rinse with hot then cold water and store. Quick rinse before use looking for signs of yeast and then star san.

Pots and other things get a rinse and clean immediately after use again nothing too drastic and store closed to prevent anything getting in. Rinse before use to remove stale smell and santise fermenters only with star san.
I have used videne and star san effectively having previously used thin bleach requiring a reservoir full of water for rinsing. Still use bleach occasionally for heavilly contaminated stuff only.

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You're quite right, I usually do clean them immediately but a couple slipped through over Christmas( nothing to do with drinking and being merry ), and people have been donating unwashed bottles etc..

So I figured I may as well go through my entire collection. Some probably didn't need it, but I also needed to re organise them so I cleaned the lot.

A quick rinse after pouring and then I have a kind of attachment that has two jets connected to a 55 degree water source, about 30 secs of blasting with hot water and then in a fastrack to dry, stored in a box and then SS just before bottling, never had any trouble over 37 batches, I have over 1200 bottles so actually cleaning them with PBW etc. would be quite a chore! I do often wander about my cleaning regime for bottles but like I said, so far so good, anybody else just cleaning them like me and getting away with it ?