# Keg King Sanitiser Taste?



## iralosavic (17/2/12)

Has anyone used the keg king no rinse sanitiser and found it to have a destinctive flavour and aroma? I tasted a sample that was poured into a jar that had sanitiser poured out but not drained and it was distinct alright. Now I'm getting it in my finished veer. 

I'll admit that I didn't drain every vessle involved in this beers creation, but I certainly emptied them and gave them a rushed shake out. Is It normal to taste and even smell it in the beer when were talking maybe 50-100ml total amount in 20L?!

I'm struggling to enjoy this batch. The sanitiser leaves a very long lasting unpleasant taste and mouthfeel.

Cheers​


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## loikar (17/2/12)

iralosavic said:


> Has anyone used the keg king no rinse sanitiser and found it to have a destinctive flavour and aroma? I tasted a sample that was poured into a jar that had sanitiser poured out but not drained and it was distinct alright. Now I'm getting it in my finished veer.
> 
> I'll admit that I didn't drain every vessle involved in this beers creation, but I certainly emptied them and gave them a rushed shake out. Is It normal to taste and even smell it in the beer when were talking maybe 50-100ml total amount in 20L?!
> 
> ...



Simple, change your sanitiser.

palettes are very much individual, we all taste things slightly different and you might be able to detect this more than others.
Dont use it again and go for some starsan if you're after something more commercial.
Never used KK sanitiser, I use bleach and vinegar

BF


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## JaseH (17/2/12)

Yep, same here. Used it to sanitise my bottles on my last batch, drained them well but still found a soapy taste which I recognise from the sanitiser in the finished product. Think I'll switch to Star San. I might mention it to the bloke at Keg King next time I'm there as I'm otherwise very happy with their products and service.


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## Wimmig (18/2/12)

Starsan. Never fails. 

Your going to drink the beer, use the best equipment the first time. Forget bleach, is that something you want to drink? In any QTY?


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## zoigl (18/2/12)

Star-San and PBW for me too


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## mmmyummybeer (18/2/12)

starsan is definitely the go although i notice brew shops are selling phosphoric acid which is the same thing so could use that also. there was a mention on another post that phosphoric acid was a major ingredient in coca cola, which i thought was interesting even though i don't drink the stuff.


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## JaseH (18/2/12)

The Keg King sanitiser is a phosphoric acid blend and they advertise it as a no rinse sanitiser with no aroma or flavor, but that does not appear to be the case. I bought it thinking is was a star san equivalent.


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## iralosavic (18/2/12)

I'm going to bring it up too. Considering it supposedly contains the same active ingredients as star san, I just grabbed some when making another order. Soapy beer is very disappointing. I will be switching to star San I think. KK brewery cleaner is fine though. Do you speak with Kee Dorey? He's who I usually deal with.​


Frothie said:


> Yep, same here. Used it to sanitise my bottles on my last batch, drained them well but still found a soapy taste which I recognise from the sanitiser in the finished product. Think I'll switch to Star San. I might mention it to the bloke at Keg King next time I'm there as I'm otherwise very happy with their products and service.


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## Ross (18/2/12)

Frothie said:


> The Keg King sanitiser is a phosphoric acid blend and they advertise it as a no rinse sanitiser with no aroma or flavor, but that does not appear to be the case. I bought it thinking is was a star san equivalent.
> 
> View attachment 52437



Starsan is a HIGH foaming sanitiser, one of the attributes that makes it so economical to use. The Keg King product. however good or bad, is NOT a Starsan equivalent.

Cheers Ross


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## np1962 (18/2/12)

Not recommending one product over another, but whichever you choose to use be sure you mix to the recommended dilution rate.
More is not better with these products.
Using a stronger solution than recommended means it is no longer a no-rinse sanitiser.
Cheers
Nige


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## JaseH (18/2/12)

The recommended concentration says 10ml per 3.5L. I use pretty close to that dilution, I may err on the side of caution by going slighty over as I dont measure precisely but nothing crazy. It does foam up and wets surfaces well, a lot better than the brewshield I was using before. It just has a strong soapy taste to it which tends to hang around.


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## iralosavic (18/2/12)

I determine the final vplume of mixed sanitiser I want then calculate the amount of solution required and mix at the exact ratio. I only use a stronger dilution for beer lines, but these beers were bottled.


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## Truman42 (18/2/12)

I use grain and grapes defender brand which is a product they made using the same base chemicals found in starsign. 

It's cheaper and you only use 3mm per litre. 

Works great and I can't taste it.


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## [email protected] (18/2/12)

Truman said:


> I use grain and grapes defender brand which is a product they made using the same base chemicals found in starsign.
> 
> It's cheaper and you only use 3mm per litre.
> 
> Works great and I can't taste it.



I think you will find it is not actually cheaper than buying a 1L bottle of starsan.

Starsan 1.5ml / L - $36 for 1L bottle

Defender 3ml / L - $7.50 for 250ml 

Unless of course if you can get 1L bottle of defender for less than half the price of starsan? but its not on the website


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## JaseH (18/2/12)

Where can I pickup some star san around Melb south east?


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## iralosavic (18/2/12)

Well I'm going to give keg king a chance to address the issue before taking further action. It is not tasteless (and therefore not non rinse) at the specified mixing ratio, so it is therefore either faulty or incorrectly advertised. KK may be completely unaware if no one has brought it up with them.


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## JaseH (18/2/12)

Yeah as I said, they're pretty good there and I dont believe they would be knowingly selling it if they were aware of the problem, but I'm bottling tomorrow and am not game enough to use it again so need to grab something else today. I can get some Brewshield from Brewcraft but would prefer to grab some Star San.

The Brewshield doesnt seam to wet surfaces that well, it beads and runs off which doesnt make me confident that its getting everything.


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## Ross (18/2/12)

Frothie said:


> Yeah as I said, they're pretty good there and I dont believe they would be knowingly selling it if they were aware of the problem, but I'm bottling tomorrow and am not game enough to use it again so need to grab something else today. I can get some Brewshield from Brewcraft but would prefer to grab some Star San.
> 
> The Brewshield doesnt seam to wet surfaces that well, it beads and runs off which doesnt make me confident that its getting everything.



Grain & Grape stock Starsan if you are needing today.

cheers Ross


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## Wolfman (18/2/12)

They closed at 13:00 today.


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## iralosavic (18/2/12)

Just crash chill the fermenter and put bottling on hold until you can get some starsan. If you have a fridge to fit it in that is. My last blonde ale was cold conditioning for 5 weeks while I had no time spare and it carbed up in the bottle no worries. Crystal clear too


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## JaseH (18/2/12)

iralosavic said:


> Just crash chill the fermenter and put bottling on hold until you can get some starsan. If you have a fridge to fit it in that is. My last blonde ale was cold conditioning for 5 weeks while I had no time spare and it carbed up in the bottle no worries. Crystal clear too



Fermenter has been CC'ing for a couple of days already in anticipation of bottling tomorrow. Don't really want to leave it too much longer as its an IPA sitting on a ton of dry hopping trub! I went and grabbed some brewshield this arvo, figured it'll do for sterilising the bottles.


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## fergi (18/2/12)

this is slightly off topic but for the last 3 years i have been using bacban that i get from the butcher shop that i work in,havent had an infection since using it and its a no rinse sanitiser, its cost effective ,costs me 36 dollars for 5 liters, i use 4 ml in a litre of water.

its a neutral ph sanitiser with 5% quaternary ammonium compound.it leaves no smell or taste, you can buy it from a butchers supplier in your state or go into your local butcher and ask him where he gets his sanitiser from.

fergi


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## iralosavic (18/2/12)

fergi said:


> this is slightly off topic but for the last 3 years i have been using bacban that i get from the butcher shop that i work in,havent had an infection since using it and its a no rinse sanitiser, its cost effective ,costs me 36 dollars for 5 liters, i use 4 ml in a litre of water.
> 
> its a neutral ph sanitiser with 5% quaternary ammonium compound.it leaves no smell or taste, you can buy it from a butchers supplier in your state or go into your local butcher and ask him where he gets his sanitiser from.
> 
> fergi



That stuff sounds pretty awesome. 5L is a lifetime supply too. I just ordered a smaller bottle of starsan to keep me going until I can gain some kind of resolution with KK. Even 250ml lasts me ageees.


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## iralosavic (21/2/12)

So I wrote to Kee and he got back to me regarding the taste issues with some facts.

The ingredients present in their sanitiser have a taste threshold of 5ppm

It is the same active ingredients (Phosphoric acid blend) as Starsan, however, the biggest difference is the recommended concentration from each manufacturer.

Both products have an effective killing power at 3-2.5ph. Keg King recommend 10ml per 3.5 litres, compared with StarSan at 5.X litres. Kee explains that his company has erred on the side of caution concerning concentration levels to make absolutely certain that in the worst case scenario (highly alkaline water [tank or coastal water supplies]), the ph will still be low enough.

He goes on to explain that 10:6000 will still be an effective concentration in most circumstances (ie neutral ph water), and that 10:3500 is not a be all and end all figure. Their calculations are based on typical fermenter cleaning, where the sanitiser is drained (leaving up to ~20ml residual solution) and further diluted by ~20L wort. Based on this scenario 10:3500 will be a little shy of 1/4 the way to the taste threshold.

However, when you add the ppm from the fermenter to what is left behind when sanitising bottles (and in this scenario, we're talking a much smaller volume of beer ontop of the sanitiser, the equation is looking more likely to exceed the 5ppm, especially where drainage has been neglected.

Kee is going to conduct some tests concerning this bottling scenario and get back to me. Meanwhile, I will use a ph test strip to attain a ph of 2.5 at the lowest concentration possible (probably somewhere around 10:6000) and give the sanitiser another go in a few test bottles in my next batch.

The likelihood of the indiviual batch I recieved being inconsistent with manufacturer specifications is very low, so the above would seem to provide enough of an explanation. Those who have never tasted StarSan could possibly put it down to a higher dilution rate at the same active ingredient percentages.


Cheers


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## JaseH (21/2/12)

Let me know how your PH tests turn out, I dont have an easy way to test PH of various concentrations but may try some lower concentrated solutions for a simple aroma/taste test.

I have a feeling the aroma comes from the surfuctant or wetting agent that they use, not the active sanitising ingredients.


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## Online Brewing Supplies (21/2/12)

iralosavic said:


> So I wrote to Kee and he got back to me regarding the taste issues with some facts.
> 
> The ingredients present in their sanitiser have a taste threshold of 5ppm
> 
> ...


Now thats the sort of response I like to see from a supplier, not just " Its not the same as X brand" well done Kee and to you for asking the question.
Nev


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## iralosavic (21/2/12)

No worries. I just have to get some ph test strips with my next order. Bare in mind that if your water has a different ph to mine, your results will be different. Mine is 7.1ph.


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## iralosavic (21/2/12)

Kee already got back to me after performing some tests on ppm levels in residual sanitiser in 330ml bottles. Not including carry-over from sanitiser present prior to bottling, at the 10:3500 ratio suggested on KK santiser, Kee did note ppm levels almost as high as 7ppm where no draining was performed (ie sanitiser quickly tipped out).

He would like to make a point that even at the StarSan concentration ratio, the sanitiser would still be just over the human taste threshold in this example.

Bare in mind that this is assuming perfect calculations of both sanitiser and water volumes. Even a couple of mls extra sanitiser could double the final ppm and even the most conservative mixing concentration would exceed taste thresholds.

This is not so much of a concern when kegging due to the much larger volume of beer resulting in higher dilution, but based on these findings, if you are bottling (especially stubbies), the key is to take extra care when mixing sanitiser, ensure thorough draining and consider diluting at 10:5000-5500 with KK sanitiser for this pupose. An effective weaker concentration is possible, but ph testing would be required for peace of mind.


Cheers,


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## JaseH (21/2/12)

Thanks for chasing this up iralosavic. So basically you should only use it for bottle sterilising at a much reduced concentration to prevent off flavors in your beer, and then you need to verify that the PH is adequate? Are they planning on adjusting the formula for future batches?

I applaud Kee & KK for spending the time to look into the problem, but I think the solution he has provided is still a work around not a fix, especially for a product clearly advertised as "formulated to impart no off-odors or flavors when used at the recommended concentration". 

I'll have to try some of my own tests but this seams like a bit of a hassle when other no rinse sanitisers don't appear to be as marginal when it comes to tainting the flavor of your beer.


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## iralosavic (21/2/12)

Assuming your mixing ratios are accurate and you drain each bottle properly, you should be fine if you dilute at 10/5000, which is a little under StarSan. The product is not faulty nor any different (as far as ingredient percentages go) than SS, just the dilution guidelines differ- and this is purely a company choice.

Kee may consider selling the sanitiser with additional instructions/informations to help people like us with avoiding these issues. I don't consider his solution (extra dilution and due care with accuracy and drainage) a work around, as the only real issue is their recommended dilution ratio when bottling undrained or poorly drained 330ml bottles. While no tests were performed on 600ml bottles, it's clear that the risks are much lower. 

I'm going to dilute until ph2.5 is reached purely for economic reasons, now that I understand that higher concentrations are superfluous. A bonus being lowered ppm and subsequent risk of taste perception


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## JaseH (21/2/12)

I will do some tests at 10ml per 5L and see how it goes.

Just for reference, I used well drained 750ml bottles at the recommended(or very close to) dilution rate and still taste it in the finished beer. I dont think its restricted to the smaller bottle size. My draining method I consider good enough, I invert twice, a few minutes apart, ensuring there is not enough residual left to pool and run out of the bottle. If I were to go to any more trouble draining I would start to question the 'no-rinse' description.

BTW not trying to come across has having a shot at KK, they are my favourite LHBS! Just trying to provide some accurate feedback so if there is a problem they can address it.


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## iralosavic (21/2/12)

I had some taste from some of my long necks too, but I didn't drain as thoroughly as you. The beer itself would have already had some sanitiser in it too. I think we should be righ by diluting to 1:5, which will still be effective as a sanitiser in all but the worst conditions. Testing is educational and fun anyway, plus could allow further dilution to make it go further.


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## Deebo (21/2/12)

I have been using starsan at a ratio of 1.5ml per litre (from memory this is what they recommend?) and havent had an infection or any taste issues.
If it is the same acid/ratio etc as starsan maybe try that? (7.5ml for 5L, I use a syringe or pipette if doing only a couple of litres) 
I use it in my cube then fermenter then kegs or the occasional bottle (they all normally have a bit of foam in them, cube mostly gets pushed out tho).


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## iralosavic (22/2/12)

Here are the conversions for Star San dosing based on 1oz to 5 gallons:

30 to 18927 
10 to 6309ml 
5 to 3154ml
1.585 to 1000ml
0.79 to 500ml

I just made up a 500ml mixture for my spray bottle and I had to use my baby's medicine syringe to get the dosage accurate enough and even with that, air bubbles were a problem haha There is notably less smell from the StarSan bottle compared with KK, which is unusual.. I wonder what the differences bewteen the two actually are. Either way, I will do some side by side testing at ph 2.5 achieved with maximum dilution and see how it pans out. I'm confident the taste issues will be resolved, assuming thorough drainage of smaller bottles.


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## Ross (23/2/12)

iralosavic said:


> Here are the conversions for Star San dosing based on 1oz to 5 gallons:
> 
> 30 to 18927
> 10 to 6309ml
> ...



Starsan has 30% more active ingredients than the KK product, but you say has has less smell.... They may have some similar ingredients, but they are not the same product. 5 Star are world leaders in this sort of product design. However good the KK product is, it isn't Starsan. Use whatever works for you, I know which product I will continue to stock & use...

cheers Ross


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## JaseH (23/2/12)

I did a test the other night with the KK sanitiser, using 2.5ml in 1L (2.5ml is the smallest increment on my bottle dosing chamber thingy). I put some in a long neck, gave it a good shake then drained(inverted) it twice as per my normal procedure. I then filled the bottle with tap water, let it sit over night and tasted it the next morning. I could still detect the sanitiser taste in the water. Maybe I am just sensitive to it?

I've been meaning to try an even lower dose but haven't gotten around to it yet.


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## iralosavic (23/2/12)

Ross said:


> Starsan has 30% more active ingredients than the KK product, but you say has has less smell.... They may have some similar ingredients, but they are not the same product. 5 Star are world leaders in this sort of product design. However good the KK product is, it isn't Starsan. Use whatever works for you, I know which product I will continue to stock & use...
> 
> cheers Ross



G'day Ross. You've got a good point, as always. I'm trying not to start a brand war (just use StarSan as a basic comparison as we know no one has any issues with it) and instead figure out how we can get our KK sanitiser tasteless while still effective for its purpose. If it is just a matter of further dilution when sanitising bottles, then great... if not, then Kee deserves the opportunity to review our feedback and look into it further. At present I have nearly 500ml sanitiser, so I won't be needing to restock for a long time, but I will be using your StarSan until I can be confident that the KK product will not carry taste over into my finished beer.



Frothie said:


> I did a test the other night with the KK sanitiser, using 2.5ml in 1L (2.5ml is the smallest increment on my bottle dosing chamber thingy). I put some in a long neck, gave it a good shake then drained(inverted) it twice as per my normal procedure. I then filled the bottle with tap water, let it sit over night and tasted it the next morning. I could still detect the sanitiser taste in the water. Maybe I am just sensitive to it?
> 
> I've been meaning to try an even lower dose but haven't gotten around to it yet.



I think my palate is rather sensitive to it too, especially in a bitter beer. 2.5:1000 is equivalent to nearly 9mls in 3.5L, so you've barely diluted to the original ratiol. If you're unable to measure lower than 2.5ml, simply mix it with 1250mls of water to achieve 10:5000 ratio and give that a go. For the pupose of testing for taste perception at various dulutions it doesn't matter if the ph is too basic to act as a killing agent, however, once you find a dilution you are happy with you will *need* to do a ph test before using it as a sanitiser to make sure it is still within acceptable levels of acidity - an if not, refine and re-taste.


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## Ross (23/2/12)

Hi Iralosavic,

Not wanting a product war either, i was just concerned that people are buying it, thinking it's a "Starsan" equivalent, when it clearly isn't. So not really sure why it keeps getting compared as though it is.
I make no secret of the fact that we distribute Starsan in Australia, as i believe it's the best homebrew sanitiser product on the market. But if something better comes along, I have nothing tying me to 5 Star products & would happily change.

The KK product should be taken for what it is, & if you find it a better value product for your requirements, buy it.


Cheers Ross


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## keedoery (15/1/13)

Hey Guys,

One of our customers who is a member on AHB came into our Springvale store and said that I should put up a post regarding the sanitiser so here it is.

The phosphoric sanitiser that we used to sell was a product that was made by Cleantech. Since Cleantech was purchased out by the American company Ecolab we have found that they have been a bit difficult to deal with and when we tried to engage them with regards to the sanitiser and why we had a couple customers that could taste the product we found them to be fairly non-responsive and very difficult to get a straight answer out of. For that reason we have recently changed suppliers and now have found a better chemical blending and supply company in locally in Sunshine (Victoria) to make sanitiser for us.

I know that Star San is a product that is very popular in America with a lot of brand recognition. With that said, I don't see the any value in importing a product that can be quite easily made in Australia. I did have a conversation with Jon Herskovitz from Five Star Chemicals requesting him to blend the Five Star Products in Australia at the 2012 ANHC conference however he did not seem interested in manufacturing the products locally because he thought that the scale of the Australian market was too small. So we decided to make our own type of sanitiser in Australia and seeing as a lot of home brewers like Star San we decided to model the product on Star San.

Our new sanitiser (which we have started to sell from 7th Jan 2012 onward and on the label says "New Formula") uses the same active ingredients as Star San in the same concentration as Star San. It has the same PH as Star San and also is used in the same way as Star San and has the same killing potential as Star San and is made with the same high foaming surfactant. Using the Star San product and the phosphoric sanitiser that we have locally blended we cannot tell the difference between the two. We have the sanitiser in 2 pack sizes of 350ml and 20Litre. The 20L pack size is extremely good value but you would have to have a brewery to warrant puchasing this amount as you only require 1.5ml/L concentration.

If anyone in the past has had ANY ISSUE WHATSOEVER with our old sanitiser at all we would be more than happy to upgrade you onto the new sanitiser for FREE.

If any of you guys out there already have the Star San product and would like to demo our phosphoric sanitiser to compare the two products I will give you a FREE bottle of sanitiser to compare. I only put one condition on this though, that being you need to report back to this forum with the results. I will only giving away 10 free sanitisers so hopefully at least a couple of the 10 free that we give away will take the time to post back on the forum.

If any of you guys have any specific questions at all please do not hesitate to contact me back on 03 90111698

Regards,

Kee


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## Amber Fluid (15/1/13)

Gee that sounds like a good explaination to me and a generous offer for replacement. I don't know about 20L of it (sheesh that would last for my next 10 generations) but certainly 350ml sounds more economical too.

I'd certainly like to take up the offer for a free bottle to test but I really have enough Starsan at the moment to last the next few years and it is probably more suited to give locally.

Thanks for the update Kee.


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## NewtownClown (15/1/13)

Pm Sent


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## Ross (15/1/13)

I have a bottle of both (thank you for the sample Kee) & from a visual/odour perspective they are quite different.
The Keg king sanitiser appears less viscous, is paler in colour & has a sweet soapy/plasticy aroma, whereas the Starsan has a more solventy aroma. Shaking the container causes a mass of fine foam in the Keg king product & just a few bubbles in the Starsan, so obviously it is not a perfect copy.
This is not a knock at Keg Kings sanitiser, it may well be just as effective, maybe even more so, but as a retailler or home user there is no real way of comparing each products effectiveness. So at this stage I will continue to stock & use the Five Star products which are from a Company at the leading edge of cleaning & sanitising research & who's owner is the most informed expert on the subject I've ever met.

For anyone that's not aware, we are currently the importer/distributor of Five Star products, so yes we do have a business interest. That said, we continue to look for new & better products & would have no hesitation in changing if for the better.

Cheers
Ross
CraftBrewer


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## JDW81 (15/1/13)

PM Sent,

I'll give it a go and happily report back.

Thanks Kee, it is very encouraging to see retailers/distributors engaging with their customers.


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## Edgebrew (4/2/13)

Sorry to revive an old thread. 

Keg King is advertising their sanitiser now as "New Formula"? Has anyone used this? I think they changed it sometime in January.


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## QldKev (4/2/13)

Edgebrew said:


> Sorry to revive an old thread.
> 
> Keg King is advertising their sanitiser now as "New Formula"? Has anyone used this? I think they changed it sometime in January.


The above review by Ross was the new formula.


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## rangie89 (4/2/13)

Hi There,

I bought some of this stuff just last week, Not seeing this thread until I come back from making the purchase.

Anyway, it is the new formula I have, and I have not tired the old formula.

I washed some bottles just the other day, soaked then in KK sanitizer, drained, by turning upside down and giving a small shake.

I then waited a few minutes for the left over bubble to reduce, then repeated the turn and shake.

I then filled a bottle with water and drank it.

I can not detect any residual taste.

I even went as far as to take a mouthful of sanitizer out of the 2 litre solution, I was using. To be honest, it doesn't have a taste, more a sensation of alkalinity in your mouth, if that make sense 

I haven't bottled any beer as yet, but I reckon this suggests to be so far so good.


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## djar007 (14/4/13)

rangie89 said:


> I even went as far as to take a mouthful of sanitizer out of the 2 litre solution


Now thats a taste test. Bet you were blowing bubbles for a few days, if you know what I mean.


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## QldKev (15/4/13)

djar007 said:


> Now thats a taste test. Bet *you were blowing bubbles* for a few days, if you know what I mean.


like Michael Jackson did


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## iralosavic (15/4/13)

KegKing said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> One of our customers who is a member on AHB came into our Springvale store and said that I should put up a post regarding the sanitiser so here it is.
> 
> ...


If you've got any more samples ill give you my feedback, kee. I have practically abandoned the original sanitiser since getting starsan to be honest.


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## timmi9191 (15/4/13)

I use KK sanitiser, with no issues at all. Mix at recommended ratio and use in a spray bottle. No off tastes or aromas.

Ps no affiliation, discount or freebie...


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## Truman42 (15/4/13)

Must admit Ive been using the KK sanitiser for the past 5 brews I've done and haven't noticed any off tastes or aromas at all either. It does seem to be higher foaming than defender but I find when bottling the foam rises up and out of the bottle anyway. But I also think the foaming could have something to do with me always adding slightly too much when mixing it. 

But Im certainly happy to keep using it.

P.S. Mine was a freebie.


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## stakka82 (15/4/13)

I had a plastic/cleaner smell in my beers for months, which was sometimes bad enough to actually taste it too. It took me ages to figure out that it was the kk sanitizer. This was using the 'old' formula. I would be interested in trying some of the new formula also, but certainly not willing to pay to test it, so count me in if the offer still stands. 

Certainly willing to post honest feedback given the chance.


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## NewtownClown (16/4/13)

Tried the new. Received a free sample to review and am ashamed to say I am yet to post my results. 

Have used it exclusively on 11 brews. No infection.

My observations

Side by side, undiluted, there is a slight difference in odour. The closest I could compare it to is a very, very subtle impression of Tarzan's grip. When diluted, there is no noticeable difference. have had a triangular blind taste test (diluted) with a mate, neither could pick any difference. Viscosity is slightly different and KK is a little lighter in colour.

KK sanitiser foams up and clings to the surface like starsan..

In fact, until I saw this topic revived, I had not given another thought to which sanitiserI I have been using. I passed some on some to Fletcher a while ago and haven't heard of him getting an infection either, or complaining about any odour\taste.

Previous concerns appear to be more about aroma/taste than effectiveness but I will do a rough "sanitation test". This weekend I will treat two plastic containers with both sanitisers, fill with wort, cap and leave in a warm place and observe.


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## JaseH (18/4/13)

I was one of the original posters that had a batch of beer tainted by the old KK sanitiser. I replaced it at the time with Star San for sanitising my bottles and fermenting gear, I use the remaining KK sanitiser for sanitising my brew rig lines and fittings. Glad to hear they have sorted the problem - looking forward to grabbing a bottle when my Star San runs out!


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## gsouth82 (22/4/13)

I think I'll also grab a bottle next time I'm at KK. I gave up on the 'old' formula after it left a bad taste in 2 of my beers. Been using Defender since but KK is much more convenient for me. Good on them for getting things sorted.


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## JDW81 (12/5/13)

I received a free bottle of the new KK sanitiser a few months ago and said I would give an update when I'd used it (took a while to finish my current bottle of starsan).

My main observation is that it foams like a rabid dog, but at least that lets you know you've got good coverage.

I used it in my cube before filling and then to sanitise bottles for them same brew. Used it again last night, and am expecting the same outcome.

Aside from having to manage the foam problem in my bottle washer it was fine.

I've noticed no adverse tastes from using it and will happily use it until it runs out. I'll go back to starsan after that, as I can get that from my LHBS (keg king is 50+ km from me).

Does it work? Yes.
Does it leave a funky taste? No.
Is it as good as starsan? I'm not getting into that argument.

JD


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## Edgebrew (12/5/13)

Thanks for the update. I get no foam with mine. Is that the old formula?


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## JDW81 (13/5/13)

Nope, the new one. Foams like a bastard.


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## fletcher (13/5/13)

NewtownClown said:


> Tried the new. Received a free sample to review and am ashamed to say I am yet to post my results.
> 
> Have used it exclusively on 11 brews. No infection.
> 
> ...


as yet i haven't had any infections or can tell any specific tastes on what you gave me mate. having said that, my palate isn't as refined as many on here i would say. any 'soapy' taste however is often noticeable to anyone, and i've hd nothing like that since using the KK stuff. seems okay to me.


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