This is a must have for any home brewer! No rinse, no worries, no contaminations!
Star San is an acid based sanitizer that is quick, odorless, tasteless, and safe for most materials except softer metals. As a high foamer, it’s foaming action ensures coverage and contact time in larger vessels and better penetration into nooks and crannys. Any foam that is left over in your carboy or keg will not harm your beer or you. If you plan on making some up for spray application, it is best to use distilled or RO water to maximize the life of the unused portion (minerals in tap water reduce the shelf life of Star San once in solution). If a lower foaming alternative is preferred, for bottling or multiple batches, check out Saniclean.
Use 1 oz per 5 gallons of water
Contact time of 1 minute
Completely safe and non-toxic
Will not impart any flavors or odors
Shipping Restricted: This product is only eligible for ground shipment within the contiguous 48 states.
BEST ANSWER:Absolutely! That's what it's made for. You can sanitize stainless or plastic brewing equipment and its no rinse. Just make sure you dilute it correctly as per the instructions on the bottle. It does foam quite a bit so if you want the no for version use the five star SaniClean.
BEST ANSWER:Absolutely! That's what it's made for. You can sanitize stainless or plastic brewing equipment and its no rinse. Just make sure you dilute it correctly as per the instructions on the bottle. It does foam quite a bit so if you want the no for version use the five star SaniClean.
I use it to sanitize everything to include stainless steel and have had no problems. Little goes a long way, keep a spray bottle of solution for spot san and seal checks.Great product every brewer should have.
Is StarSan safe to touch with your hands while submerging your equipment? And with it being highly acidic does it speed up breakdown of plastic/rubber equipment (Swing top bottle gaskets etc.)?? Thanks.
BEST ANSWER:In terms of hand and skin health it is best to limit exposure of StarSan on your bareskin even when diluted. There should be no major problems with dunking your hands in the sanitizer or using scrub pads with starsan while barehanded. That said, in my personal experience, with continual daily exposure your skin can become very dry and cracked. Nothing a very robust hand lotion can't treat after a long day or weekend of brewing and cleaning.
BEST ANSWER:In terms of hand and skin health it is best to limit exposure of StarSan on your bareskin even when diluted. There should be no major problems with dunking your hands in the sanitizer or using scrub pads with starsan while barehanded. That said, in my personal experience, with continual daily exposure your skin can become very dry and cracked. Nothing a very robust hand lotion can't treat after a long day or weekend of brewing and cleaning.
Jeremy- StarSan is a pretty great sanitizing product. To answer part of your question, I have used it on essentially the same brewing equipment for 20+ years with no breakdown of material whatsoever. That material includes copper pipe, tubing, plastic, gaskets, rubber and more. after cleaning my wort chiller, I always fill the copper coil with StarSan (appropriately diluted) and leave it in there until its next use. As far as the StarSan touching your skin- the official answer is that the directions will tell you not to let it touch your skin. The unofficial answer is that I dunk my hands in it routinely while brewing with never any signs of ill effects on my skin. In fact, I sanitize my hands with StarSan whenever it's paramount that everything around remains germ-free. I hope this helps.
I've dipped my hands in Star-San solution (diluted 2 Tbsp per 2-5 gallons of water) many times and I've also touched the undiluted stuff while rinsing off the bottle, and I'm not aware of any damage or ill effects. I regularly use it to sanitize my bottling bucket, PET fermenters (Fermonster), spigots, washers, siphon and tubing, and bottle caps and I'm not aware of any problems. I don't use swing top bottles, but I wouldn't expect any problems. I have, accidentally, gotten a tiny bit of it (undiluted) in my mouth, and can report that it tastes pretty sour, but no more so than lemon juice or vinegar. Hope this helps. -Roy
As long as you follow the dilution instructions on the bottle, at least for myself, I have had my arms elbow deep in the DILUTED solution with no ill effects, and I am sure to thoroughly wash any part of my skin the solution touches. That being said, DO NOT get the concentrate straight from the bottle ANYWEHERE near your body, and even with the diluted solution make sure to wash your hands and any parts of your body the diluted solution touches. Another note, I have fairly thick skin, and would not recommend anyone with sensitive skin let even the diluted solution touch their skin. But I have had no problem with it.
I use Star San all the time and have never had any issues having it touch my skin. I also have never had any issues with damage to bottle gaskets or any other plastic equipment. It is also very effective at killing unwanted microbes, which is why we santize in the first place. You will get a little foam, but don't worry about it.
In dilution it is fine to touch with your bare hands. Just because of the ph, after using Star San, and prior to long term storage, I do rinse if the part can air dry. It will damage SOME plastics & rubber materials over time. With that said, I do not do a post water rinse in my pump heads. Hope this helps,
We follow the concentration instructions on the bottle, and to date have had no issues with plastic or rubber components. We have been using this product for 11 years, so degradation has not been occurring over time. Sincerely, Vinum Dominatios.
What is the shelf life of the solution once diluted? I am storing the diluted solution in a 2 gallon food grade bucket with the lid on tight when not in use. Will also dip various tools in from time-to-time to sanitize.
BEST ANSWER:The best way to know is to check the pH before you use it. If the pH is below 3.5 it should work for you. If it is super cloudy or slimey feeling then probably you want to throw it out. One quick way is to taste it, and if your reflexes kick in and you immediately want to spit it out then it is good. If it tastes like a sour beer or candy then it isn't strong enough.
BEST ANSWER:The best way to know is to check the pH before you use it. If the pH is below 3.5 it should work for you. If it is super cloudy or slimey feeling then probably you want to throw it out. One quick way is to taste it, and if your reflexes kick in and you immediately want to spit it out then it is good. If it tastes like a sour beer or candy then it isn't strong enough.
What is the shelf life for this product? I bought a 16oz size about 6 years ago and after about 60 brews with it I'm only halfway through the bottle. It seems to still work same as it did on day-one, just wondering.
Don't fear the foam. We've heard it again and again but... it works. I've been using S/S for 15 years and no infections, no infections. This stuff really works. I've tried it against rinsed containers and can detect no difference in taste. USE IT.
I have used Star San products for years to sanitize beer lines and all brewing equipment. No rinse feature is a real time saver and the product does what it’s supposed to do. Sanitize!
I was super excited to get this product. It is easy to use goes a long way . 20 years ago things were different and harder and messy. With this I have a 5 gallon bucket full and did my beer bottles and wine bottles. Love it!
What can I say. Fair price for the quantity. Star San has always been the star of my brew day (sans pun). I’ve never used anything else and worked as expected
Works great as sanitizer. Just note if you shake say in a keg when sanitizing, it will get foaming. Then you need to add time to air draw. If not agitated it holds well with warm to cold water.
If you don’t have it, get it!
If you already have some, buy more!
Sanitation is key!
I use this stuff like it’s going out of style, and I’ve never had contamination nor infection. Always keep a spray bottle on hand and use this on ANYTHING I touch during fermentation and bottling. I will also be using this for passivation.