European equivalent to Star San?

[mandolinhomebrew]

Does anyone have any experience/insight with Brewferm's Chemipro Oxi or Chemipro Acid? They are both "no-rinse cleaners" and I'm thinking they have to be similar to Star San.

I read that Brewferm can't describe these products as a sanitizer, disinfectant or sterilizer due to legal and financial restrictions in Belgium, so that's what is ultimately causing the uncertainty here.

Anybody have any success with these products? Do any off-flavors get into the beer or are these following suit with Star San? I'd be psyched if I can use these products because I'm now using VWP which is a chlorine based sterilizer, and I hate it with passion.

Thanks.

[dogchillibilly]

You can buy starsan from a couple of uk home brew shops.
Guessing you could get it else where in Europe.

Otherwise peracitic acid. Your hands get a dry if you have constant exposure to the diluted solution. So use rubber kitchen gloves or invest in decent hand cream.
It is fantastic stuff. You can buy 5l tubs off of ebay. Can't remember the dilution but if you want it I can dig it out.
Ps undiluted stings like a bitch.... But no lasting effects.
It's what most micros use in the uk.

[BeerPal]

Does anyone have any experience/insight with Brewferm's Chemipro Oxi or Chemipro Acid? They are both "no-rinse cleaners" and I'm thinking they have to be similar to Star San.

Star San is a sanitizer, not a cleanser. Apples and oranges.

[mandolinhomebrew]

Well I'm trying to figure out if these apples are really oranges (are these cleaners actually sanitizers too?) That's the point of this thread..

A few European homebrew shops seem to implicate that these "cleaners" are good for sanitizing too, and they note that complications with Belgian law refrain Brewferm from labeling these products as "sanitizers". All the info I'm finding is pretty vague.

I can order Star San from the U.K., but after the exchange rate and shipping it's incredibly expensive. Brewferm's products are more readily available and affordable (in Europe). I'll order from the U.K. if I have to, but it seems Brewferm may have created an equivalent product that my local HBS can start carrying (all they have is chlorine/bleach based products).

[mandolinhomebrew]

dogchillbilly.. thanks for the recommendation. peracetic acid is no-rinse too? does it need to dry before adding your wort/beer?

[dogchillibilly]

dogchillbilly.. thanks for the recommendation. peracetic acid is no-rinse too? does it need to dry before adding your wort/beer?

Ok it is a sanitiser only. Use something else for cleaning.
I used it on FV's, kegs and bottles.

It is "no rinse".
You do not need to let it dry.
So great in that respect.

When buying you can get different concentrations.
I have always used the 5% stuff.
You can get 15%, if you do be careful - as i said the 5% stuff can hurt if it gets in your skin. The 15% ... ouch.

For the 5% concentration - the figures i was given was peracetic : water was 1:66.... though i always used 1:50.
If you get the 15% divide by 3.



Personally i have switched to Starsan as it is easier not to have dry hands, but if it wasnt available or too expensive i would switch back to peracetic.

PS whilst i never did - some eye protection would probably be a good idea too when handling the undiluted acid.

[CRBrewHound]

This may be kind of out of place in this thread. However, I just wanted to point out that a large container of Star San will last you quite a long time. So in the long run it is quite a small investment. A couple of things you can do to make it go further:

- Some of the people in my brew club, use it in a garden sprayer and spray their sanitized items very well, which would cut down your usage a lot. I know it sounds odd, however, they sware by it, I have had there beer and it is very tasty. The guy I know brews a lot and says he has had only one infected batch while doing this. So it seems to work.

- If you mix up 5 gallons keep it in a pale and reuse. Star San will last a long time only being depleated by a build up of dirt and gunk in solution of it. So if you clean your items very well before sanitizing. You can reuse your star san solutions over and over again. Just keep it in a clean pale and keep a lid on it to keep dust out.

IF used this way, you could be paying $100 bottle for the stuff and still it would only cost you a fraction of a dollar (Pound) each time your brew.

[Cliff]

I read that Brewferm can't describe these products as a sanitizer, disinfectant or sterilizer due to legal and financial restrictions in Belgium,

WTF??? Can you shed some light on that?