Bottle Sterilising and Priming

My first beer is nearly ready to bottle and I have a few questions...

STERLISING/SANITISING
I've collected loads of bottles from beers I've drunk, rinsing them out after use. I know they will need a proper clean prior to sanitising but what's the best method of doing this? Bleach water? Bake them in the oven?

PRIMING
My intention was to bottle prime using dextrose, however, I've just read in John Palmer's home brewing book that you can add your priming sugar solution straight to your primary and, after a gentle stir and leaving image sediment to settle, bottle from there.

Has anyone had experience of that?

Or should just add sugar to each bottle (like on the CraigTube videos)? My priming sugar is wrapped up in its bag and sealed in a container. Surely it wouldn't get infected that way?

I have been told it is not necessary..... But I always bake my bottles in the over at 350 degrees for an hour to sterilize.... I know many people just use a sanitizer and call it good.

As far as priming, I boil between 4.5 and 5oz of priming sugar in 2 cups of water, cool it to 75 degrees or so, and add it to the bottling bucket when I transfer from the secondary.

I would not dump priming sugar directly into the fermenter or bottling bucket....

Sanitizing:

Most bottles should be fine with a quick wash with soap, and then a soak in starsan before bottling.

Priming:

I always add sugar to the bottling bucket and rack from primary. I also boil the sugar in water for 10 min.

CLEANING/SANITIZING: I submerge my bottles in a bucket of warm Oxyclean or PBW water, then pour out half the liquid, cover the mouth with my hand, and give it a good shake to "scrub" the inside of the bottle. I then rinse it in another bucket (of plain water this time), and finish by rinsing the inside using a Jet bottle washer attachment affixed to my faucet.

PRIMING: That advice is out of date. If you prime in your primary fermenter, you'll swirl up a lot of the yeast that's taken so long to settle out, and end up with cloudy beer. Use a separate, dedicated bucket for mixing in your priming solution (don't splash!) and bottle from that.

It seems rare that people bottle condition on this forum. Does anybody bottle condition? I can't justify buying even more stuff to the Mrs!

nicklawmusic said:

It seems rare that people bottle condition on this forum. Does anybody bottle condition? I can't justify buying even more stuff to the Mrs!

Click to expand...

I bottle condition. I don't plan on stopping anytime soon! A bottling bucket with a spigot is around $15 from Austinhomebrew.

Bottles:

Used bottles (unless they were really rinsed out well) could use a soak in a bucket of unscented OXY cleaner for a while. Pull them out and rinse well. Unless I personally rinsed out my bottles after pouring I would always give a peek to see if there was anything stuck in there.

Let them dry neck down and store till needed.

Bottling day;

give them a spray with StarSan ( for a few bucks a vinator is better than sliced bread ) and fill then cap. I also wet my caps in a bowl of StarSan.

Stirring a pre-boiled sugar solution into a bucket of beer with trub on the bottom is not worth it, at least to me, and will raise a bunch of stuff that will go into the bottles. Get a bucket for bottling or at least a plain bucket and mix your priming sugar into it without splashing, then bottle.

CONDITIONING?
I let my beers settle out, brighten, clear or maybe condition in the primary fermenter.
I carbonate in the bottles for a few weeks at room temperature, then do what I call condition for a few more weeks to mellow (condition?) and drop the carbonation trub to the bottom of the bottles. Then I have beer to go into the fridge.

bosco