How to Brew an Oatmeal Stout with Joe (Part 3)

[gralkor]

hey- why is there a towel wedged up against the bottom of the door? I only do that when I smoke wee--- oh-- gotcha. Totally understand man, say no more! :D

[terpsichoreankid]

@gralkor LOL--that apartment had an insane draft coming in from under that door (they didn't put in a seal, and never did) so we always put the towel there to keep the heating bill down. I do follow you though... LOL

[hidenrage]

rinsing after using star san negates the effects of sanitizing. star san works by leaving a residual film (don't fear the foam)! When you rinse with tap water (even 115-120 degree hot water) you are reintroducing the same buggies you tried to get rid of with the star san. DON'T FEAR THE FOAM and DON'T RINSE. You may have had luck by doing this but its just that, luck.

[terpsichoreankid]

@hidenrage It doesn't really matter that things were rinsed, as the whole batch is topped off to 5 gallons with the exact same water I rinsed things off with. I think the better thing to highlight would be effective cleaning, sanitizing, and pitching the yeast quickly after moving into the fermenter. The same methods should ring true with every batch brewed. I know rinsing is not necessary, but I don't want to introduce that much phosphoric acid to my batch personally. No need!

[terpsichoreankid]

@hidenrage In addition, if it is "just luck," then I'm batting 100%--as I've NEVER lost a batch doing the exact method illustrated. Keeping things clean, sanitizing, and getting things done quickly and efficiently have yielded great brews every time. Now if you're going to sanitize and then let it set for an hour or two, then yeah--don't rinse it off. But I sanitize, rinse, and have everything sealed up in a matter of minutes. With that speed, there's no need to worry. Cheers!

[MrReidLynn]

jeans...ok..... SICK j-u-n-i-o-r bud

[terpsichoreankid]

@MrReidLynn ??

[loknfwrd]

RE comments. For a very good education on sanitizing check out Basic Brewing (dot) com podcast radio from mar. 29 2007 for star san and mar. 22 2007 for iodaphor there is a treasure trove of information to be had.

[terpsichoreankid]

@loknfwrd Thanks for sharing!

[themerv019]

Great Videos! Super helpful for a beginning brewer.

The one question I had, is that I heard using tap water to top off the wort can cause contamination. Have you had any problems with that? or had topping off with the tap always worked for you?

[terpsichoreankid]

@themerv019 Thanks! I have always used tap water for my brewing, and have never had any contaminated batches. I think if the water is good enough to drink and tastes good, it's good enough to brew with. I do make sure if I'm using a hose that it is sanitized, and that I pitch the yeast as soon as possible (so make sure I cool down the wort ASAP), and it has always yielded great results. I hope that helps! Cheers!

[Adol666]

One note on Star San: Its pretty expensive. If you notice your Star san water is already cloudy and has started to break down. I found that If you take 1 gallon jugs of Distilled water(as it contains no minerals) and make up Star san Solution it will last A LONG TIME. I then have a Sanitizing container like yours. I just put some of the Star san in a spray Bottle and give every thing a nice liberal(ugg did I use that word) Spray. This way you can make that $15 bottle of star san last years

[terpsichoreankid]

@Adol666 Thanks for the advice! I'll have to give it a try!

[Adol666]

@terpsichoreankid No problem. When I first started doin g it I was worried it would lose its acidity so I Ph tested my Star san solution 2 months later and the PH is still the same so Distilled water works great.

[terpsichoreankid]

@Adol666 Very cool--always good to save money, especially if the product is still OK after all that time. I'll definitely have to give it a go!

[BigRedPower59]

Still watching your vids. Something that occured to me is to use rock salt in your ice bath to lower the temp even more than the ice alone. Like you're making ice cream. You can lover the temp of the water in your sink to 29 or 30 degrees. I live in Phoenix and I use that method to chill my beer bottles before heading to the pool. Just a thought.

[terpsichoreankid]

@BigRedPower59 Good call--thanks!

[mbcyclery]

don't fear the starsan foam man... as long as it is wet with starsan, it's pretty much as sanitary as you can get it.

[terpsichoreankid]

@mbcyclery Yeah--I just can't do it! LOL

[mbcyclery]

@terpsichoreankid yeah, it is not natural to have foam, but be prepared for snakes when filling kegs/carboys.

[tylerkenefick]

Freeze a gallon of water to cool

[terpsichoreankid]

@tylerkenefick I've actually heard of this method before--but never tried it myself. Sounds like it would be a sure way to get the batch cooled in a nice, sanitary way. If I ever get a bigger freezer, I'll definitely give it a try! Cheers!

[PeiHomeBrewer]

There is a great podcast about Star San that has a rep from Five Star Chemicals talking about it, I will send you the link in a PM.

[PeiHomeBrewer]

Although I've never used it, I've been told that the foam from Star San is harmless, and is best not to rinse. I use Iodophor and it does have a smell, but I don't rinse and I've never had a problem. Just to make sure, I sanitized a glass with it and then put some water in it to drink to see if I could detect any of the odour/flavour; I couldn't.

[roymumaw]

GREAT JOB JOE