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Birko vs 5 Star

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  • Birko vs 5 Star

    I'm considering switching from 5 Star chemicals to Birko and wondered if anyone has done the same or simply uses Birko and has some info on their products. I have the pricing and product info but I am more interested in performance and real world use ratios for their products, specificaly the Brureze, cellarmaster, and their acid cleaner. In oz's per gallon what do you find effective for the brewhouse, fermentation, bright tanks and kegging. I also see that they have two seperate non-caustic alkaline cleaners for low and high temps. Is it really neccesary, I have had success using PBW at high and low temps. Any practical information will be appreciated. If you have a better Chemical Co. than these two that offers caustic alternatives I'd be interested in that to. Thanks in advance.
    Big Willey
    "You are what you is." FZ

  • #2
    Hmmm.........

    I was thinking of switching to using all 5-star products.

    I'd be real interested in hearing of why your switching and what you feel are the short-commings of the 5-star products.

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    • #3
      The only reason is price. Birko is a lot cheaper and if I can get the same results I will switch. I have heard good things about Birko but I wanted feedback to make sure the price break isn't negated by having to use more product or inferior product. My 5 star chems work great.
      Big Willey
      "You are what you is." FZ

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      • #4
        I used brewereaze for 3 years and cell-r-master for 3 years and I think that if cost truly isn't a concern I would stick with 5 Star. The price difference is there but the hassle is less with 5 star. Also I found that with Birko some of the literature they gave me conflicted some of the other literature they provided.

        Good Luck

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        • #5
          BIRKO v. 5*

          Hello,
          I have used Birko products nearly exclusivley for 7 years. Starting with their lowest amounts, I rarely have found a situation to boost to higher concentrations. Just depends on how many things you have to clean, and how "loaded" they are. The customer service has always been top notch.
          sorry if this sounds like an ad for
          birko, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend their product any day. I'm sure either company will be happy to send you usable-size samples of anything for your own head-to-head comparisons.
          Cheers!

          Bitter Root Brewing
          Paul Thomas
          Brewer
          Sockeye Brewing
          www.sockeyebrew.com

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          • #6
            Birko vs. 5 Star

            I used Birko cleaners and sanitizers exclusively in my brewery for six years. We always got good results from all Birko products and had no complaints. Also, as someone already noted, the customer service was excellent. I would not hesitate to recommend Birko products and will use them again if and when I get a brewing job where I specify cleaner/sanitizer purchases.

            Ron Downer

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            • #7
              Just to balance the responses.....a little.
              I've used Five Star my entire brewing career and, you guessed it, I would recommend them to anybody. I'm sure Birko and 5 Star both have excellent products otherwise no brewery would buy anything from them. I guess it all comes down to what you are comfortable with. But, STAR SAN RULES!
              Glacier Brewing Company
              406-883-2595
              info@glacierbrewing.com

              "who said what now?"

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              • #8
                third option

                Has anyone had experience with Loeffler Chemicals? I have never tried them, but saw a presentation by Dirk Loeffler at a conference and was impressed. Others at the conference said they'd used their chemicals with success. Anybody else?

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                • #9
                  I've used Loeffler's chemicals with good results. I remember their acids were particularly effective against beerstone. Now I use Ecolab chemicals with good results. Ecolab services Asia well. I think many of these companies offer much the same thing. When I told our current rep that we used to make our own mix of chlorinated caustic by mixing sodium hypochlorite with caustic soda and a dash of sodium gluconate, he told me it was the same thing they do. Because I have had good luck with many products, my preference is for customer service. I would choose an organization that values customer service and then partner with them rather than switching to save a buck. If you do want to save the buck, consider blending your own chemicals.
                  Phillip Kelm--Palau Brewing Company Manager--

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