Author: Marshall Schott

Most of the products we review are newer things we’ve never used and haven’t really developed any expectations of. However, that’s not the case with this review, as the product is one I’ve been regularly using for years without fail, a piece of gear that has reliably allowed me to keg 2000+ gallons of beer stress-free, it is an item I’ve never regretted buying and trust I won’t have to replace for a very long time. The product I’m reviewing today is MoreBeer’s Sterile Siphon Starter.

I had been fermenting in 8 gallon buckets with spigots for years. They made fine beer, of course, but I began struggling with a problem I was not happy with– mold growing around the external portion of the spigots during fermentation. After doing some research, I learned this was a relatively common issue for those using temp controlled fermentation chambers, as they have a tendency to get rather humid. I initially tried a dehumidifier, it didn’t do a thing. I threw in a box of baking soda, nada. Finally, after one particularly frustrating bout of kegging that required me to pull out my old auto-siphon, I angrily threw the moldy buckets in the trash and convinced myself I’d never use buckets again.

After my wife, half-humored and half-terrified at the time, helped me clean everything up, I sat down and started browsing carboy options at MoreBeer. Wanting to avoid any potential dismemberment of a body part, I decided against glass and opted for 6 gallon plastic carboys. As much as I hated even thinking about it, I convinced myself that siphoning out of mold-free carboys would be better than what I had just gone through. I started by looking at simple racking cane setups then moved onto the ubiquitous auto-siphon. Neither seemed like terrible options, but I knew I’d likely need to replace them at least once every 12-18 months due to either breaking or some contamination embedded in the plastic. At roughly $10, meh.

I then stumbled on the Sterile Siphon Starter, a stainless steel racking solution, which meant it’d last basically forever. Reading the description, I discovered there was no sucking or pumping required to start a siphon with this device, rather one simply had to blow into an open end of a carboy hood.

Admittedly, this seemed weird to me at first. Who knows what kinds of little creatures are cruising around in my pie-hole? Did I really want that going into my beer? Except…

The sterile siphon starter comes with a HEPA filter that gets attached to the open end of the carboy cap, thus filtering out any oddities in the user’s breath. Concern quelled. Considering this device was only $10 more than the next best alternative, I bit the bullet.

The weekend after my new gear arrived, I brewed a 10 gallons batch and split the wort between two of my new 6 gallon PET carboys. Two weeks later, it was time to keg. I threw the sterile siphon starter into a bucket of StarSan, filled the cane and tubing with solution, and let it sit for a few minutes while I prepped the carboy and keg. All that was left to do was put the siphon starter in place, put the end of the tubing in the keg, and blow. Piece of cake!

The end of the racking cane even tilts toward the back edge of the carboy, which makes transferring more beer to the keg easier by gently lifting the front of the carboy a bit. Clean-up consisted of moving the item to my utility sink and running hot water through the lines. I was beyond pleased.

On the recommendation of contributor Ray Found, I attached a liquid disconnect to the end of the tubing, which allows me to keep the lid on the keg while filling, thus eliminating the chances a critter makes it into the keg.

For the beer to flow continuously, it’s necessary to relieve the pressure build up in the keg while filling. I’m a pin lock keg person, so to release the pressure, I use a cheap plastic depressurizer.

An extra gas disconnect would do the trick as well and is the method I recommend for ball lock users who don’t want to hold the PRV throughout the duration of kegging.

| VERDICT |

If there was one item I would recommend brewers who use carboys purchase, particularly given its affordability, this just might be it. In over 2 years of use, I only just had to replace the HEPA filter, which was no biggie since MoreBeer sells them for $4.50. I did use the siphon starter without a filter for about a month and, for those who are curious, didn’t perceive any negative impact on those beers.

As a matter of course, I like to replace my racking tubing every year or so, which isn’t an issue since I buy it in 100 ft rolls so it’s always on hand. To clean the stainless cane, I simply run hot water through immediately after use, give it a rinse in Star San solution, then hang itup to dry.

Fermentation vessels with bottom valves that don’t mold are certainly convenient, but for those using carboys, I can’t think of a better racking setup. The only think about the sterile siphon starter I don’t like is cleaning it… but that goes for pretty much everything in brewing. For the person who prefers carboys and is sick of using an auto-siphon, I can’t recommend the sterile siphon starter enough. And for those worried about oxidation from blowing into the carboy, all you have to do is connect a gas line from your CO2 tank and push 2-3 psi of pressure to get for oxygen-free racking!

There are current two versions available depending on the type of carboy used, make sure to get the one that fits:

Sterile Siphon Starter for 3, 5, 6, and 6.5 Gallon Carboys with SMOOTH NECK

Sterile Siphon Starter for 6.5 Gallon Carboy with THREADED NECK

If you have any questions concerning this product, please do not hesitate to ask. Cheers!

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