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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29 thoughts on “Product Review | Sterile Siphon Starter”
I’d also recommend sticking a liquid out connector on the end of the siphon and filling the keg through that. That allows you to seal the keg, purge it with CO2 (leave the pressure release valve open on the final purge), then hook up the siphon and fill the keg from the bottom up with minimal potential for oxygenation.
Huh, interesting recommendation! While I’ve never had an issue with oxygenation, I do certainly appreciate this idea.
I use co2 instead of the HEPA filter, but my process doesnt stray far from what youre doing here aside from that. I am in the process of setting up exactly what Robert Flemming mentioned. Close System Transferring!
Looking at your “sloppy old slurry” post, looks like you’ve done this now?
i see that you started doing this. i would like to do it as well but i’m a little worried about not being able to see the beer as the keg fills. any tips on how to avoid overfilling and submerging the gas in diptube?
I was thinking of a setup like this just the other day. I thought I came up with something “revolutionary,” but in a way I’m glad to see it is a viable option.
Viable AND affordable… not often you find that in this hobby.
I noticed that you’ve mentioned this siphon a couple of times in your posts. I just ordered one. I’m always paranoid that my autosiphon is a tourist destination for bacteria. I like the idea of a simple stainless cane and some tubing.
I use this setup with silicone tubing. When I’m going to rack, I put the tubing in my brewpot, cover with 2 or 3 quarts of water, put the stainless cane in, and simmer covered for a little while.
I just got one of these things in the mail. I have been testing it out and have found that I cannot clear the lines of air!
Per instructions I pinch the hose shut near the cane and blow for some time, release my pinch and keep blowing, this helps but there is still a substantial air bubble that hangs out in the line.
I’ve tried moving the tubing around and screwing the worm clamp down tight to make sure there was no air leak. Nadda.
Am I doing something wrong, or is there a trick to this? I’m thinking I’m going to have to exchange this for an autosiphon. Any help would be appreciated.
I’ve not experienced an issue with this, though it was something I noticed every time I used a auto siphon. Even if this happens, I wouldn’t be terribly concerned as long as the beer is smoothly flowing around the air bubble. If you’re getting agitation, sure, that might be of some concern. But truthfully, unless you’re doing a closed transfer, which I do not, you’re likely picking up more O2 when the beer leaves the hose and enters the receiving vessel.
I have a big stainless baster that I use for taking hydrometer samples. It also works pefectly for starting a siphon. Squeeze the air out of the bulb, stick the tip into the end of the tubing, hold the tubing up to fill partially with wort, then lower it into the vessel and you’ve got a siphon going.
From that site “The filter should never get wet, so don’t try and sanitize it by dunking it in sanitizer.” Won’t it get wet by blowing saliva on it?
Once you have this in-line hepa filter couldn’t you add an aquarium pump? Then a diffusion stone for wort aeration?
I suppose… but I’m not convinced it’d be worth the trouble 🙂
I do something similar when I push some sour beer out for sampling, sharing, blending etc. I use the sterile siphon starter and get the cane a few inches below the pellicle – if there is one, as many of my sours do not develop one – I hold the plastic hood with my left hand and use my right for a CO2 tube set to just 1-2 psig. The beer comes out and CO2 vs O2 replaces it.
I slowly remove the siphon and let the CO2 run for a few secs. Replace the airlock.
You think I could use just one of these for wild and clean beers and just keep different sets of tubing?
That’s exactly what I do!
Excellent!!! One additional question, do you have any experience using it with loose leaf dry hops? Will I need to wrap the cane in a hop bag to keep it from clogging?
Thank you for your help!
I’ve done it a couple times, worked fine.
Marshall, with the added liquid disconnect, how do you clean the siphon starter after use? I have one but haven’t used it yet because I don’t have a good answer to this question.
I take apart the disconnect after every use, soak the parts in cleaner.
i hook up my co2 to the blow hole on the orange cap and add slight pressure to the carboy. that way i dont have to move my carboy from the fermentation chamber and risk stirring up any trub..
what do you use to hook up the co2?
Over the years now, I’ve implemented so many “Brulosophy methods” into my brewing practices, you’ve been a invaluable resource. But on this one, I have to disagree. I was an auto-siphon hold out for years. But, after my 5th or 6th auto-siphon failed me on a critical transfer – I threw it out and was determined to find a better way. After using the sterile siphon, there’s a lot to like – but it’s way more finicky than the auto-siphon was, despite its tendency to eventually fail spectacularly. I have trouble with the sterile siphon frequently losing prime, the seal doesn’t fit several of my carboys properly, I can only get 3/4 a keg full via a ball lock connection no matter what I do and the “filter” at the end of the racking cane is way more prone to clogging with many kinds of fruit. Maybe I’m doing something wrong, but I’m not exactly a novice racker with several hundred gallons behind me. At this point, I’m seriously considering going way back to my beginnings (mouth on hose), or going the proper fermenter route that supports pressurized transfers. I really don’t want the complexity of a conical in my process, but I’m disappointed that it’s 2018 and racking between vessels is still a pain in the butt at times. Cheers!
What’s the normal amount of blowing pressure and time to get the beer flowing? Mine is as difficult to blow through as a balloon animal balloon and when I put my hand on the other side, I only feel the smallest of air flow. I even bought a new filter but no difference. I know it probably only takes a small differential pressure to get the beer flowing but I’ve but I’ve always given up due to the above.
Would this work with a glass carboy or is the pressure required to start the syphon too high?
Works perfect try fine. MoreBeer has one specifically for glass carboys.
Awesome, thanks mate I will give it a try!