Star San in my Maibock!

[Drewtattoo]

I am so angry right now, I could kill my brother. I asked my brother to swirl the star san around in my glass carboy that I added hot water and star san to. Then I told him to dump it and not worry about the foam. Well, I foolishly thought he was listening! He left about a half inch of it in the carboy. I think it was more though. All I saw when transferring to secondary was foam. I did not see the water that he did NOT dump out because the foam hid it well. When finished I thought it looked extremely cloudy and oddly colored. I asked my brother what the heck he put in the carboy. "Nothing but the water that you told me to splash around for sanitizing your carboy." What the ****! I immediately took a sample and tried it. Surprisingly, it was dang good and sweet. I thought it was going to taste like pine sol or soap or...? He apologized but everything's going to be off now. The PH, flavor, aroma.... Everyone has told me not to dump it. Not sure how, but the FG came out exactly where it was supposed to. 1.012. OG was dead on too! (1.070). Do I waste months letting this lager? Should I dump it? I'm at a loss. I've never had a problem like this. I would greatly appreciate any input! This has really got me upset. Thank you in advance.

 

[Elkobrewer]

You should be fine. And anyway it's to late to worry about it now. RDWHAHB

 

[Drewtattoo]

You think it will taste ok?! It wasn't much over my 5gallon mark on the carboy. Yep, it's too late for sure! I can always keg it, carb it, and make it my own sparing everyone else's taste buds! I really wanted to bottle this one. Oh well, star san happens. Thanks for replying. May I please ask you what RDWHAHB stands for?

 

[MrHopScotch]

If it tastes fine, it probably is. Starsan shouldn't negatively impact your yeast at a low concentration (even if it has some tiny impact on the flavor).

One thing I would say is that you should be careful adding hot water to carboys. The thermal shock from quick temperature changes like that can weaken the glass making them prone to breakage either now or sometime down the road.

 

[Drewtattoo]

Great point! I try to start with cold and slowly build up to hot with the star san. This carboy was my dad's from 1972! By the time I transferred, the carboy was 55.7 according to my thermometer. However, the water inside was probably much warmer. Thank you for filling me in on the shock factors! I may retire this carboy in the near future. It's very special to me. Thanks again!

 

[day_trippr]

[...]May I please ask you what RDWHAHB stands for?

Relax, Don't Worry, Have A Home Brew.

Cheers! (Words to live by )

 

[kh54s10]

If the concentration of the Starsan was correct, you just have a slightly diluted beer. No worries!

 

[badlee]

Hey,I recently poured 8 litres or RIS into half a litre of starsan.
I pitched as normal and enjoyed the hell out of the beer

 

[Drewtattoo]

This is great you guys! I really thought I had messed this one up beyond repair. Thank you MrHopScotch, day_tripper, kh54s10 and badlee! I now feel much more positive about this. I love the RDWHAHB too! I never heard of that before. One last thing...the color of this is quite odd. I'm sure it will settle but right now the top is a light, watery yellow. The bottom of the fermentor is a dark yellow. It looks like a sample paint strip at Home Depot. (From lightest to darkest). I have never seen this before. Well, note this degree. Let me know if you have. Thank you all again! SALUD![emoji482]

 

[Drewtattoo]

*Not to this degree. Sorry.

 

[MrHopScotch]

Often the yeast will hang out at the top right after you pitch them. Once fermentation gets rocking, there will be so much convection going on that everything will be definitely get thoroughly mixed.

Cheers!

 

[Drewtattoo]

Uhh-oh! This is in secondary and fermentation is non-existent. My FG was right on though. This is @ 6.8abv. Once all of that star san was mixed in, not a single bubble came out of the airlock.

 

[Drewtattoo]

[emoji86][emoji85]

 

[MrHopScotch]

Deleted

 

[Firewalker11]

You are fine, have another homebrew.

 

[Drewtattoo]

You are fine, have another homebrew.

Will do! Thanks much everyone!

 

[TheMarkWhite]

Glad you got it all figured out, however I read the title as "Starsan in my Mailbox".