JoePolvino  on July 27th, 2010

@chazballz
I guess you can call it strange! I have a vast supply of iodine, and figure there is no harm in making it strong. A single rinse with cold water removes any flavor, and I haven’t had a single infection. I’m sure there are lots of reasons to do it differently, but this way works for me, so I’m passing along the knowledge.

chazballz  on July 28th, 2010

@JoePolvino
The 12.5 ppm does work for sanitizing everything it touches in 90 seconds.

I find it strange that you use a stronger concentration because you are worried that 12.5 ppm isn’t good enough, but then you go ahead and rinse with water, which is worse than simply using 12.5 ppm and not rinsing with water (sanitation wise).

chazballz  on July 28th, 2010

@JoePolvino
The 12.5 ppm does work for sanitizing everything it touches in 90 seconds.

I find it strange that you use a stronger concentration because you are worried that 12.5 ppm isn’t good enough, but then you go ahead and rinse with water, which is worse than simply using 12.5 ppm and not rinsing with water (sanitation wise).

zodiak3000  on July 30th, 2010

how many days can you or should you let a starter sit? also, do you keep the starter in the fridge or at room temp? thanks…

meadmiester  on July 30th, 2010

you have one of the best voices for instructional videos. Don’t know if you had to rehearse it alot of its natural but props

fbi365  on August 3rd, 2010

Thanks Joe, this is my goto guide for every time I forget how to do my starter, which is every time. Seen this vid like 15 times…

bluelagoon10023  on August 3rd, 2010

american kitchens all look the same

ethans83  on August 6th, 2010

@jones3420012001 Not from my experience. I got pretty consistent “chemical” aroma/flavor when using StarSan. Several qualified testers detected it. That went away 100% after switching to Iodophor. The same people haven’t noticed anything of the such after the sanitizer switch. Try the “water experiment” with StarSan and Iodophor. YMMV

jones3420012001  on August 6th, 2010

@ethans83 the foam left from StarSan will NOT affect your brewing. Do not fear the foam. You can have a carboy full of StarSan foam and it won’t affect the flavor, head retention, yeast activity – nothing.

airscrew1  on August 7th, 2010

Good video but I think you have gone over the top with the sanitizing. I use Isopropyl Alcohol and just give the necessarry items a quick wipe. Also you seem to use a lot more equipment than I do. I use a saucepan, a milk bottle with an airlock and that’s it.

REGreenTeam  on August 8th, 2010

@JoePolvino I have always used PWR and then Starsan. I wash everything first to be sure nothing has dried on a surface then I sanitize right before I use it. If something has dried on the surface of any piece of your equipment then you must eighter scrub wash it or let it soak in the Starsan to clean and sanitize it. A good soak for a piece of equipment that has dried material on it can be 12-24 hours. Of course this can be speeded up when warm water is used.

johnhyater  on August 10th, 2010

can i use this yeast starter to make wine? plz help

ethans83  on August 12th, 2010

@OPE08 StarSan and Iodophor are both
capable of sanitizing. Both are no-rinse
sanitizers, and both can be used over and
over. StarSan, however, has high foaming
action, which does not drain well. Iodophor
does not foam, and drains easily. You do
not need to let Iodophor “completely air-dry”
as you say, just drain as normal. I’ve been
brewing for a long time, and have used a
variety of sanitizers, including StarSan, and
trust me, it’s not the best. PM me for details.
Cheers!

OPE08  on August 16th, 2010

“never had a problem with” doesn’t mean its correct, safe, or good advice.

Sullyhause is correct, by rinsing with tap water, or any un-sanitized water for that matter, you are simply adding the chance of contaminant right back into your nice clean iodine-purged item. Does that mean you will get an infection? No, does it mean that you havn’t ever even tho you feel you’ve had good results? No.

Items that are sanitized with iodine need to be completely air-dried, not rinsed.

OPE08  on August 17th, 2010

Starsan in my opinion is far better than a “good” sanitizer, and exactly for the one reason that you mention, it is a “no-rinse”.
You can apply starsan, the object is sanitized within seconds to minutes, and you can IMMEDIATELY use it. No rinse, no dry time, and foam makes no difference.
Iodophors only benefit is that it is cheap, so you can add more as it goes bad, that being true it isn’t really reuseable like Starsan, as iodophor goes bad over TIME not USES.
Faster and handier…

JoePolvino  on August 18th, 2010

I’ve actually heard that the couple drops you indicate take care of the water itself, but doesn’t make that water a sanitizing solution. I prefer a stronger solution (it’s free), and then a quick rinse with cold water. Never had a problem doing it this way.

Thanks for the helpful comments!

ethans83  on August 18th, 2010

@OPE08 StarSan is a good sanitizer, but it’s high foaming. Some brewers prefer the foam, but I found it to be a pain since it’s a no-rinse sanitizer. Iodophor is an iodine concentrate, it’s cheap, no foam, and does every bit as well as StarSan for sanitizing. Plus, you can reuse Iodophor solutions over and over again just like StarSan. This, coming from a long time brewer, and former StarSan user (current Iodophor user). If it works for you, keep it up, but I’ll pass on StarSan.

Sullyhause  on August 20th, 2010

Great video Joe. Outstanding! Best Ive seen.

I like to boil the water first, remove from heat, and then add the DME. In that way I can cover it (faster to boil) and dont have to sit there watching the kettle for 5min for the hot-break foam to boil-over.

Just so newbs dont get misled; you have waaay too much Iodophor in your spray bottle. You only need 12.5ppm (20 drops per gal.) More is not better, and rinsing with tap water after defeats the purpose of the product.

bluton78  on August 20th, 2010

yeah the packet of yeast I got didnt say anything and the instructions I got with the beer kit I bought didnt mention temp just said add to wort after boiling and in the carboy but noticed evereyone else puts the yeast in around 65 degree or so and raised a concern lol… cause I put mine in too hot ,, oh well I added more when I got it cooled and hopefully back on the right track, thanks for your help. .

JoePolvino  on August 21st, 2010

Yeast should only be added to cool wort, otherwise it will die. Your yeast should come with instructions as well as optimal temperatures.

bluton78  on August 24th, 2010

I have a question, will the yeast still ferment the beer if it is added when the wort is still hot ? or should I add some more yeast when the beer cools ? thanks for the help ..

dekonfrost7  on August 25th, 2010

iodine? i just stumbled on here . but wouldn’t a autocleve/pressure cooker be better?

i’m just asking because i’m always wanting to learn cross trade things.

OPE08  on August 25th, 2010

Well, if you get it for free I can see why you use it. Cost was a major reason I went with StarSan, since it is re-useable over long periods of time.

But the no-rinse attribute was the big seller, I can just dump it out of a bucket or carboy into another and immediately rack beer into the vessel, that was a huge help…

JoePolvino  on August 26th, 2010

I use iodophor because I get it for free, it is easy to use, and has never let me down. I have some StarSan and have used it without issue. Besides cost, I haven’t discovered any difference with respect to how well they sanitize.

OPE08  on August 27th, 2010

If you are going to dilute iodine, (which I’m guessing is then like Iodophor?) why not just use StarSan? near instant, re-useable, and no need for a rinse. Iodine seems a little 90′s to me…