Hi. I’m using Star-San for the first time.
When I mixed it, there was no foam. Water turned a very very slight opaque, but still clear.
this will still work…right?
It wasn’t Sani Clean instead of StarSan was it?
Isn’t cloudiness generally an indicator that the StarSan is no longer effective? And I think that can often be caused by using water that’s too hard to mix up your StarSan. Try mixing up some more using bottled or distilled or whatever water.
My tap water usually gets cloudy pretty quickly after adding the starsan. But the pH is still below 3 so I’ve always assumed that it was still effective. That assumption is either correct or I’m very lucky.
I don’t keep any made with tap water around for longer than brewday though.
It doesn’t just foam on its own, it only foams with agitation. Put a little in a bottle and shake and it should foam. (Not that it needs to foam to work.)
I can confirm that I’ve measured a pH of 3 even when it’s cloudy. On the other hand, it seems like I need to use 1.5 times the normal dose to get to that pH. The water here isn’t very alkaline, yet it seems like I need more Star San than the bottle calls for. Anyone else notice this?
The water is still very clear, just not as clear as water. I have a Reverse Osmosis system at home, that’s what I’ve used to brew before.
Thanks for the feedback tho.
Star San has a blueish tint in my water and will become cloudy as it ages. It’ll stay blueish in a sealed container for about a week. Paul’s right. It’ll foam as agitated and it doesn’t need to be a foam to work properly, but the adhesion of the foam to the surface of the object can help maintaining contact.
Again - are you sure it is star san and not sani clean? Sani clean is non foaming. Star san will foam like crazy. Put it in a carboy and shake it vigorously. If it doesn;t foam you don’t have star san!
+1
Starsan foams likes there’s no tomorrow.
Has nothing to do with your original question, but does this concern anyone else? Or, have you been adding things to the water before brewing with it? (not trying to bust your chops, or be a jerk, just curious)
I don’t fear the foam, but I’d fear no foam.