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fermenting Fermenting, but have an important question

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masterown35

(If this isn't the right place for this, please delete)

So I'm planning on (hopefully) starting my first ferment this coming weekend. Waiting on my star-san sanitizer to come in currently and was looking at the proportions of which to mix it.

I had a bad yield this year due to the poor weather in the midwest in the early months of summer, and I'm only going to be doing 3 or 4 ferments at the most, so I obviously don't need 5 gallons of sanitizer. I was going to mix a gallon to add to a spray bottle, but when trying to do the conversions, a fifth of an ounce comes out to 5.91471 mL. Would it be detrimental if I were to mix 6 mL to a gallon of distilled water, or would that be perfectly fine? I just don't want to overdose it and run into any potential issues
 
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I mix liters at a time and dosage is 1.5-2.5ml per liter. So there is playroom in the mix. I find this way easier than having to check the rest of my left over mixture to see it is still under a pH of 3.5 and below as Five Star recommends.
 
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I use Star-San all the time for wine, cider and beer making. You don't have to "over-think"  the ratios. Especially for lactobacillus fermenting as "it" truly wants to be King of the ferment!... Lacto is a Beast and hard to defeat so it will rule if given half-a-chance(i.e. salt). Great news for our sauce and sauerkraut making! :dance:
 
Unlike lacto,...When trying to ferment to alcohol you have to be Very clean because one little slip-up will turn your booze into vinegar.  Star-san really helps give "pitched" yeast the "upper-hand" when you are seeking alcohol. The acidic foam from Star-san should not even be rinsed and remains as yeast nutrient for making booze  :drunk:
 
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It comes out to one and one-half of a teaspoon per gallon of water. I have the 4 oz Star-San concentrate bottle, and if I just stayed with fermenting veggies, it would last me a lifetime. My son and I have a small still for distilling spirits, so it is used in those processes also. Still, one bottle goes a long way for me. An empty gallon jug and sprayer is all you need.
 
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Honestly for an at home ferment that isn't leaving the house-I just take the pickle jars straight out of the dishwasher after it's run the heat cycle. Been years and never had mold like that.

Obviously that's just for my at home use though. I work at a restaurant and understand the importance of using sanitizing solution.
 
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ShowMeDaSauce said:
Campden tablets do the exact same thing and they are cheap. You can also buy it in a powder. Every wine and brew shop stocks one or both. It can even remove chlorine.
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 What?? My gosh the internet is painful!!.....   :stop:
 
Metabisulfite tablets are used "After" a ferment to kill all yeast and bacteria to stop activity that might break a sealed bottle of hot sauce, wine or cider. Not to sterilize...use Star-San for that.
 
And please let nature do it's job, because after all, you are a natural organism...you don't need chemicals to "fix" stuff!!...You want living bacteria in your gut and hot sauce if given the chance. Otherwise it is Dead!.. and all that you can do with the dead is retard its' decay. :sick:  Why would you want to put that into your body?!
 
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Sure you can. You can add it to a must BEFORE fermentation to kill bacteria too. It has to set for about 24hr to gas off before adding yeast.
 
Add warm water to the jar with crushed campden. Give it a good shake and let it rest a few minutes. Then dump it out. Works fine. If it will kill wild yeast and bacteria in a must it will sanitize a jar well enough for a ferment too. Done it many times.
 
Ive been buying it at this place for years.
https://wineandbeermaking.com/product/potassium-metabisulfite-2/
 
1 gram per liter = 500 ppm of SO2 (1 gram per gallon = 150 ppm of SO2). Adds potassium ion to aid in precipitation of potassium acid tartrate. Dissolve 3 TBS/gal of water for stock solution for sterilizing equip. & corks.
 
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KidShelleen said:
It comes out to one and one-half of a teaspoon per gallon of water. I have the 4 oz Star-San concentrate bottle, and if I just stayed with fermenting veggies, it would last me a lifetime. My son and I have a small still for distilling spirits, so it is used in those processes also. Still, one bottle goes a long way for me. An empty gallon jug and sprayer is all you need.
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How do you get by with distilling?  I don't think I would be posting that on the internet.  Oooops, shhh!
 
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Sorry for being late on this, but thanks for the replies everyone! I have one more question about the brine though, is tap water alright for me to use, or should I go for drinking water instead? I know my tap water has some sort of chlorine added into it and I have read that can mess up the fermentation process
 
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Tybo said:
 
How do you get by with distilling?  I don't think I would be posting that on the internet.  Oooops, shhh!
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It's not illegal until you put it in a glass. However, in VA, the still is illegal. I think the ATF have bigger fish to fry than someone making 1-2 gallons a year. I could be wrong.
 
My son and I have a small keg for brewing.

 
 
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masterown35 said:
Sorry for being late on this, but thanks for the replies everyone! I have one more question about the brine though, is tap water alright for me to use, or should I go for drinking water instead? I know my tap water has some sort of chlorine added into it and I have read that can mess up the fermentation process
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Like ShowMe said, use bottled water, distilled, ionized or "purified". Chlorinated water kills fish in an aquarium, that should be enough input.
 
 
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KidShelleen said:
 
Like ShowMe said, use bottled water, distilled, ionized or "purified". Chlorinated water kills fish in an aquarium, that should be enough input.
 
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Even if I were to boil the water for a few minutes? I've read that it can get rid of the chlorine. I wanted to start today and just didn't feel like running to the store in all honesty. Though if I absolutely have to I will
 
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Boiling it will work to remove chlorine. Let it cool before adding to veggies.
 
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Yes, you can boil it then let it cool. Chlorine will be gone. Works fine but if your water is like mine it could start at a high pH.....Mine is well over 8pH to start out. The lower you can start the quicker bag stuff wont grow.
 
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