Goooood morning ladies and gents! So this weekend I bottled, and discovered something interesting. But story first:
A while back I got a bunch of Grolsch bottles to bottle in, because we all know how easy it is to bottle in them. Fill, clip, done. So I also had a brainwave when I bought them, and because I was sanitizing stuff for brewing anyway, I decided to sanitize all the Grolsch bottles in one go, close them up and store them, ready to use on my next bottling day so I don't have to sanitize again.
This weekend was bottling day. I pulled closer the crate with the bottles, stored properly and in cool temps and all that, and opened the first bottle to see if it worked. Flipped open, smelled the bottle. Bad smell. Bad. Like a water bottle that's sat in the car for a few weeks. I flipped open the next one. Same story. Opened all of them, and found the same in all of them. Bummer, have to sanitize again.
When I dunked the bottles to wash them out first, I noticed an actual mold growth on the rubber seal on the cap. I figured "what the hell" because last time I properly cleaned them AND sanitized them according to specs, this should not be happening:
So I cleaned them and sanitized them again, bottled and then dumped on the couch, phone in hand. Time for research. Asked Langchop what he's using for sanitizing. He uses Sodium Percarbonte. I used Mangrove Jack's No-Rinse Sanitiser. I pull the bottle closer. Same stuff. So apart from the fact that Mangrove Jack's sells a 250g bottle of this stuff for R100 when you can get it for R45, I have a problem with this stuff. I check out what it does, and get my answer on the Mangrove Jack's product page:
Fantastic. So the stuff we use to sanitize our equipment and bottles and everything that comes into contact with beer AFTER fermentation, when you don't want oxygen in your beer, breaks down into oxygen. That would also explain why the mold managed to grow in the bottles - even a single spore in the air gets into the bottle, and instead of the sanitiser killing it, it provided it with moisture, minerals and O2. Nice. Guess who won't be using sodium percarbonate anymore.
Now the question - what do you guys use? I would love to get into StarSan, but at the price it's not an option for me. Iodophor isn't an option for me as it discolours everything it touches. I found a product called Acidisan which is apparently StarSan, but cheaper. A Google search also reveals the active ingredients:
StarSan:
STAR SAN is a blend of phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid.
Acidisan:
Active Ingredients in this Product
PHOSPHORUS PENTOXIDE
PHOSPHORIC ACID
DODECYLBENZENESULFONIC ACID
So to me it looks like exactly the same thing. Acidisan is just retailing for ~R64 per 500ml and StarSan is ~R794 for 950ml.
Thoughts?
A while back I got a bunch of Grolsch bottles to bottle in, because we all know how easy it is to bottle in them. Fill, clip, done. So I also had a brainwave when I bought them, and because I was sanitizing stuff for brewing anyway, I decided to sanitize all the Grolsch bottles in one go, close them up and store them, ready to use on my next bottling day so I don't have to sanitize again.
This weekend was bottling day. I pulled closer the crate with the bottles, stored properly and in cool temps and all that, and opened the first bottle to see if it worked. Flipped open, smelled the bottle. Bad smell. Bad. Like a water bottle that's sat in the car for a few weeks. I flipped open the next one. Same story. Opened all of them, and found the same in all of them. Bummer, have to sanitize again.
When I dunked the bottles to wash them out first, I noticed an actual mold growth on the rubber seal on the cap. I figured "what the hell" because last time I properly cleaned them AND sanitized them according to specs, this should not be happening:
So I cleaned them and sanitized them again, bottled and then dumped on the couch, phone in hand. Time for research. Asked Langchop what he's using for sanitizing. He uses Sodium Percarbonte. I used Mangrove Jack's No-Rinse Sanitiser. I pull the bottle closer. Same stuff. So apart from the fact that Mangrove Jack's sells a 250g bottle of this stuff for R100 when you can get it for R45, I have a problem with this stuff. I check out what it does, and get my answer on the Mangrove Jack's product page:
Mangrove Jack's No Rinse Sanitiser effectively sanitises your equipment and breaks down to leave only oxygen, water and minerals found naturally in water.
Now the question - what do you guys use? I would love to get into StarSan, but at the price it's not an option for me. Iodophor isn't an option for me as it discolours everything it touches. I found a product called Acidisan which is apparently StarSan, but cheaper. A Google search also reveals the active ingredients:
StarSan:
STAR SAN is a blend of phosphoric acid and dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid.
Acidisan:
Active Ingredients in this Product
PHOSPHORUS PENTOXIDE
PHOSPHORIC ACID
DODECYLBENZENESULFONIC ACID
So to me it looks like exactly the same thing. Acidisan is just retailing for ~R64 per 500ml and StarSan is ~R794 for 950ml.
Thoughts?
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