Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:08 am
by loadmaster
I am brewing the green flash west coast ipa. I turned my fermentation fridge down to 40F last night before I went to bed to clear my beer before kegging. I awoke this morning and found that my small bucket of sanitizer solution that my blowoff tubes were in was empty. As the sanitizer cooled faster than the carboys it created a differential pressure and sucked the sanitizer into the beer. I can see the sanitizer on top of the beer in two of the three carboys. I teared up a little when I realized what happened. Any ideas? Anyone had this happen before. I am guessing there is about one pint of sanitizer in each of the two barboys. It is star san. Would you guys try drinking it or just call it a lost cause. I will still get 5 gallons at least. Any input is appreciated
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:59 am
by maxwell
Charlie Talley addressed this on Brew Strong. It's worth listening to. It shouldn't be harmful to drink, and you might as well try it. The beer may go stale quickly.
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:13 am
by PorkSlapper
Keg/Bottle it, and drink it like its going out of style! If it is aweful Im sorry for your loss, I feel your pain, I lost a Pale ale a few weeks ago. It was one of the saddest moments of my life. Work your way through the Brew Strong archive, that show will blow your mind. Unlike that other show that will
your
-Pork
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:53 pm
by Ozwald
If you're careful while kegging/bottling it up, you can suck the beer from right under it with your racking cane - it'll stay floating on top. No worries, it'll be fine.
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:33 pm
by BDawg
What kind of sanitizer was it? Star san is ok (as is Sani-clean) but I'd be careful about anything else. Iodophor is a definite no-no.
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 5:47 pm
by maxwell
loadmaster wrote:It is star san.
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Tue Apr 02, 2013 11:48 pm
by Ozwald
BDawg wrote:What kind of sanitizer was it? Star san is ok (as is Sani-clean) but I'd be careful about anything else. Iodophor is a definite no-no.
Good eye. I think a lot of us see 'sanitizer' & read 'StarSan'. I had to go reread the OP cause I was sure StarSan was in there somewhere.
Re: Sanitizer solution in beer. WTF
Posted: Wed Apr 03, 2013 4:54 am
by TheDarkSide
How much would you say was in your bucket? As said above, slowly rack off from the bottom and not disturb the top layer of star san. but considering it is probably less than a gallon of 12.5 ppm of star san spread over 15 gallons, I doubt you'll notice any difference.
Also, star san is a phosphorus based product, which is used as food additives anyways.