Beer Forum

So I brewed a couple weeks ago and created a star san solution and put it into a spray bottle for an easy way to keep things clean as I was trying my first 1 gallon, all grain batch (A wedding present from my wife I am getting ready to brew today and wanted to see if people knew if the solution would stay indefinitely, or if there is a window of time that I can use the rest of the solution. Thanks for the help!

With distilled water your good for freakin ever. If you have hard water it can deteriorate over time. I hear that the water in NYC is really soft, so you're probably great for 3-6 months easy.

Check out the BrewStrong episode on cleaning and sanitation. They guy from Five Star gives a lot of good information. Once the StarSan has been mixed up, it's important to keep it near room temperature. It should be fine to use as long as the solution is still bright and clear. If the solution becomes cloudy it may have lost its sanitizing power. ApresSkiBrewer is right, though - it depends on the water used to mix it initially and how (if) it's been used before.

Thanks for the info. That really helps. I need to pick up a little more anyways, but I didn't want to waste what I have if at all possible. I had forgotten about the sanitization show. I will definitely check that one out again.

[edit] Or I had forgotten about the sanitation show since sanitization is not real.

when i use my tap water the starsan starts to cloud up within 3 days. If I use bottled water (i fill a 5gal. jug at the grocery store for a couple bucks) it lasts as long as i can keep i clean - eventually (1-2 months) it gets down right nasty and i dump it.

I have a water dispeser in my kitchen that has a 5 gallon water jug on top. I go to my local reverse osmosis water joint and then add the appropriate amount of starsan to that and then have 5 gallons of starsan in a dispenser. I use it for everything homebrew and then on my cutting boards and counters. I've had it in there for 3 months so far and it is clear as the day I mixed it. I tried it once with tap water and it clouded up fast. I do live in the LA area so my water is harder than nails so that explains that. If you use the right water, it can last a long time.

2 tbsp/5gal is the no-rinse dillution and needs 30-60seconds contact. foam=GOOD. use distilled water for best results. minerals cloud it up. if its clear and the ph is 3 or less, its still working fine. i have part of 5 gal i made 6 months ago.

+1 on the anywhere sanitizer. i don't like my tap water, so i drink a lot of coolaid, gatorades, teas, etc. works wonders on my pitcher not having to wash it. broke down a bunch of chickens today on the counter. sprayed it down. hunky dory!

I too keep my StarSan for months....but living in Arizona I notice that I get a lot of evaporation if I don't keep it covered. At some point it could become more concentrated than I want it. I don't know what that point is so I dump my bucket and start over every month.