Out of Starsan

Northern Brewer General
1

Took a quick inventory to get ready to bottle this weekend. Found out I am plum dry on Starsan. No time to order or run to a LHB store.

Any good replacements to use when transferring to bottling bucket and to sanitize bottles?

Thanks,

2

Idophor, but ou probably dont have that on hand either.

In a pinch, bleach can be used, but will require rinsing with boiled water after sanitation.

3

I would pay close attention to cleaning and use a wipe down or soak with cheap vodka if I didn’t have StarSan around. Remember that fully-fermented beer is both low-pH and high-alcohol, so it takes a pretty vigorous organism to infect it.

4

oven at 350 for an hour…
sanitize cycle in the dishwasher, no soap…
capful of bleach in a gallon of water…
One step or Easy Clean works as a sanitizer…

5

I like this idea - I’d put the vodka in a spray bottle. Few spritzes for the equipment, a few spritzes for me…

6

[quote=“isoscelesjones”]Few spritzes for the equipment, a few spritzes for me…[/quote]I highly recommend that you not do this - any source of ignition, even static electricity off a plastic fermenter, could ignite the alcohol.

7

1oz of bleach, 1oz of vinegar in 5 gallons of water is a no rinse sanitizer.

Listen to Charlie Tally (5 Star Chemicals, StarSan) on the March 29, 2007 podcast.

http://www.basicbrewing.com/index.php?p ... radio-2007

Add the bleach to the water, then the vinegar. Don’t mix the bleach/vinegar outside the water or you will gas yourself.

8

Thanks gents.

Have plenty of oxyclean/onestep around. I’ll just let them soak for a while in that.

9

no time to run to the LHBS, but time to bottle 5 gallons of beer and risk some funky? I wouldn’t touch my fermenter if I didn’t have any sanitizer laying around.

10

[quote=“jabonneau86”]Thanks gents.

Have plenty of oxyclean/onestep around. I’ll just let them soak for a while in that.[/quote]

Personally I would not use oxy/onestep as a sanitizer with out rinsing. And then why are you sanitizing if you rinse.

I would, and have, used the bleach/vinegar solution Charlie Tally talks about. It is a no rinse solution. Listen to the 1st 5 minutes of the podcast.

11

Not so much the time part, but the tank of gas it takes me to get there and back. And not planning to order another kit for a couple of weeks.

Asked a local friend who brews and got lucky. He has some Starsan for me to use.

12

I like this idea - I’d put the vodka in a spray bottle. Few spritzes for the equipment, a few spritzes for me…[/quote]

best post i read all day.

13

I like this idea - I’d put the vodka in a spray bottle. Few spritzes for the equipment, a few spritzes for me…[/quote]

best post i read all day.[/quote]

+1

14

I usually use dry heat in the oven, 350 for one hour or 285 for 3 hours. I put them in the oven overnight on time-bake and they are sterilized and cooled by morning.

15

The oven is a little hard on a bottling bucket. :oops:

:cheers:

16

[quote=“Nighthawk”][quote=“jabonneau86”]Thanks gents.

Have plenty of oxyclean/onestep around. I’ll just let them soak for a while in that.[/quote]

Personally I would not use oxy/onestep as a sanitizer with out rinsing. And then why are you sanitizing if you rinse.

I would, and have, used the bleach/vinegar solution Charlie Tally talks about. It is a no rinse solution. Listen to the 1st 5 minutes of the podcast.[/quote]
I used one-step exclusively for the first year of brewing, about 25 batches. I used it for bottles, carboys, funnels, tubing, etc. If that’s what you have, use it, it will work.

17

I started with Mr. Beer, and that’s all I used for the 6-8 brews I did starting with them. Never had any go bad. I found an almost empty bottle of starsan for the bottling bucket, racking cane, bottler, and so on. The rest was with onestep.