Reusing bottles question

Hey everyone. I will be bottling a batch in a few days and was wondering if using PBW to clean the bottles from my last batch is absolutely necessary. Immediately after drinking each beer, I rinsed the bottles thoroughly with hot water. There is nothing visible left in the bottles and there is no smell left in them. So can I just sanitize before bottling or should I still hit the bottles with a little PBW/oxiclean? Thanks

I always do a PBW clean but you will likely see that many people do not if they were thoroughly rinsed when drank.

Cajunbrewer87 said:

Hey everyone. I will be bottling a batch in a few days and was wondering if using PBW to clean the bottles from my last batch is absolutely necessary. Immediately after drinking each beer, I rinsed the bottles thoroughly with hot water. There is nothing visible left in the bottles and there is no smell left in them. So can I just sanitize before bottling or should I still hit the bottles with a little PBW/oxiclean? Thanks

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That's exactly what I do and I've never had an issue. I believe however that some may be more....enthusiastic ....about prepping their bottles.


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An average batch of say APA/IPA that's consumed within 4-6 months of bottling should be fine with a rinse when drank and oxiclean soak at bottling. Of course there are also the long bottled beers that will require a scrub.

To answer your specific question you should be fine to sanitize and bottle since the bottles are clean. There's to steps:
1-Cleaning
2-Sanitize

Cover both steps and all is well!

I don't use PBW on bottles because I find it hard to rinse. I rinse, fill with hot water and clear dish soap, brush and rinse. But a visual and smell check confirms that the bottles are clean. So if yours are free of stains or haze, and smell like nothing other than flint, (only detectable when hot) go ahead and use them.

Cajunbrewer87 said:

Hey everyone. I will be bottling a batch in a few days and was wondering if using PBW to clean the bottles from my last batch is absolutely necessary. Immediately after drinking each beer, I rinsed the bottles thoroughly with hot water. There is nothing visible left in the bottles and there is no smell left in them. So can I just sanitize before bottling or should I still hit the bottles with a little PBW/oxiclean? Thanks

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You will only need to sanitize with the thorough rinse job you are using.

I religiously rinse each bottle thoroughly after I pour each brew. I also run each through the dishwasher, which has a sanitizer setting AND I sanitize again on bottling day. I don't know - I guess I'm OCD. However, I only CLEAN the bottles with a brush and Oxy Clean on the first day I clean them to remove their original beer labels. Some say NEVER to use a dishwasher, but I've seen no ill effects to date.

I rinse them only, sometimes after sitting on the counter for a couple of days. Before I sanitize check all the bottles for any sign of crud. If I find any they go aside for an Oxyclean soak. I had one bottle out of 40 some batches that had signs of infection, it was sour? but tasted good.

I just rinse my bottles well after pouring and sanitize on bottling day. Occasionally I find one with a little crud in it, in which case I just toss that bottle. That is rare however. I have some bottles I've used probably 20 times or more. I am quite surprised to hear how much some of you clean your bottles!

When I started brewing I got a bunch of empties from family members. A lot of them were pretty scuzzy so of course I cleaned those out. Some were so bad that a good cleaning wasn't enough to save them so they got recycled.

These days the only bottles I clean are those from new store bought beer and the purpose of that cleaning is to remove the label. After pouring a homebrew I go right to the sink and rinse the bottle with very hot water until it is clean. Then I stick the bottle on my bottle tree to drain/dry. I store the bottles in fast racks. On bottling day I sanitize only. This system has worked for me for three years now.

In my experiences, PBW isn't hard to rinse off. Just mix it 1 1/2ozs per gallon of water & it'll work fine. I swish the dregs at the bottom of the bottle, dimp, then fill to the shoulder with water. Scrub with bottle brush & rinse. Then back into the man cave on the bottle tree to dry before storage. I like to make sure I don't get those little specs in the bottom anymore. Better to make sure they're clean.

I rinse with hot water and set them aside to cool. After cooling I tip them to get out any remaining water left after they cool, then it's into storage until I need them. At bottling, I rinse with Starsan from a vinator, put them on the bottle tree, fill, and cap. Never had a problem.

After pouring a homebrew or commercial beer, I just rinse the bottle really good with plenty of swirling to make sure the yeast cake is broke up, then let it dry upside down.

On bottle day, the bottles go straight to the dishwater on the "Antibacteria" "Extra Hot Wash" and "Heated Dry" settings on to sanitize them.

I only use a bottle brush on bottles that are given to me, as I don't know how good they're rinsed out.

Labels get removed with a 1 hour soak in boiling hot water and Oxyclean Free.

Never had a bottle infection.

I always do a thourough hot rinse and then sani before bottling. Haven't had any issues. But I always do a quick inspection. If you see any residue/deposits use PBW (or some other cleanser) first.

kh54s10 said:

I rinse them only, sometimes after sitting on the counter for a couple of days. Before I sanitize check all the bottles for any sign of crud. If I find any they go aside for an Oxyclean soak. I had one bottle out of 40 some batches that had signs of infection, it was sour? but tasted good.

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Glad to hear someone with a similar process to me. Sometimes my bottles will sit on the counter for a couple of days with yeast in the bottom. Then I give them a hot-water rinse using a bottle-washer attachment and they're good to go. Occasionally a visual inspection will reveal a bottle with some crud, so I pull out the brush and give it a scrub with dish-soap. So far I've been fine.

I rinse well after emptied. On bottling day I stick them in the oven @ 200-220*F for about an hour to sanitize. No problems yet.

Another "rinse immediately/drain dry/sanitize before bottling" guy here. Never a problem.

I use Grolsch bottles. After consuming I triple rinse, swishing an ounce or two. Dump repeat, dump repeat, then cap immediately. On brew day i blast each one with a bottle washer then starsan.

flars said:

You will only need to sanitize with the thorough rinse job you are using.

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this

Double rinse/shake after the beer is poured. On bottling day I put the bottles in the dishwasher on napalm/flamethrower/nuclear mode with a touch of detergent, wait for them to cool, then bottle.

If they are rinsed very well to begin with, visually clean, they won't need much to get ready for bottling. Some people don't even sanitize their caps. In a bottle of beer is an extremely harsh environment for any problems to live in.

eadavis80 said:

I religiously rinse each bottle thoroughly after I pour each brew. I also run each through the dishwasher, which has a sanitizer setting AND I sanitize again on bottling day. I don't know - I guess I'm OCD. However, I only CLEAN the bottles with a brush and Oxy Clean on the first day I clean them to remove their original beer labels. Some say NEVER to use a dishwasher, but I've seen no ill effects to date.

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I do this exact system. Rinse well, then oxy-cleansoak for the labels, rince, store upside down in old cases. Then Dishwash on Sanitize followed by a dunking in some hot star san solution on bottling day. I've had zero issues. If I see ANYTHING in the bottle, I toss it. No sense in risking anything.

Similar to my ol bottling process. For De-labeled brews, Rinse after pour, store. Oxyclean soaks for labels, rinse, dry, store. On bottling day, dishwasher on pots and pans, and spritz with starsan prior to bottling.

No infections to report in over 30 batches.

Here is my simple method:
1-rince bottle after drinking and let it dry upside down
2-wait til I have 12 bottles cleaned
3-place them in a bucket w/OxyClean
4-when I have another 12 bottles I take out the first batch, lables are gone by then.
5-rince and let drip dry upside down (the 12 that just came out of the oxyClean
6-store the cleaned, de-labled,dry bottles in a closed plastic box
7-soak clean bottles in Star San on bottleing day for a few minutes
7a-put bottle caps in a strainer and dip into StarSan and let drip
8-place bottles on lower rack of dishwasher after spraying StarSan on the rack
9-place bottling bucket on the diswasher
10-fill bottles and place on counter
11-place sanitized caps on bottles and cap.
Easy Squeezy Lemon Peeze. or what ever that means. LOL
__________________

BrotherBock said:

I always do a thourough hot rinse and then sani before bottling. Haven't had any issues. But I always do a quick inspection. If you see any residue/deposits use PBW (or some other cleanser) first.

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Exactly what I've done in my short brewing life.

I rinse thoroughly as soon as I pour, then set aside to dry. I then store them until bottling day, when I Star-san them in a bucket and let them sit until they get filed.