How do you clean and sanitize your bottles

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Zappa42

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hey guys,

I am trying to think of ways to clean and sanitize bottles. The past two batches I have soaked them in oxyclean, rinsed well and run them in the dishwasher without soap to sanitize. Any recommendations on other ways to do it?
 
I clean my bottles after I drink them. That way it doesn't take much, and I only have to worry about sanitizing.

to sanitize, I dip in star san for 30 seconds, then onto a bottle tree to drip off the excess, and then they are filled and capped.
 
I've used two methods here, depending on the state of the bottles. If they are already de-labeled, you can skip step 2 and 3.

1. Using a bottle washer and hot water, rinse bottles inside thoroughly.
2. Put all the rinsed bottles into the bathtub with hot water and a few glugs of bleach (a glug is a scientific measurement in my book). Soak for 30 minutes.
3. Slide/peel the labels off the bottles, then use a scotch brite or other scrubbing pad to remove label remnants.
4. Place de-labeled bottles in the dishwaher
5. Set dishwasher for Sanitize Wash cycle, and add 2 tsp of no-rinse sanitizer(I use Iodophor) to the soap reservoir.
6. After cycle completes, leave bottles in dishwasher long enough for them to dry completely and cool (usually 1-2 hours after cycle ends).

I've done this and I have had no contaminated bottles of beer (yet!). If you've got a dishwasher to use, it's much easier than using a bottle tree. When bottling, I also put the bottling bucket on the counter above my dishwasher. With the door open, all of my beer spills just fell on the dishwasher door and made for simple cleanup.
 
I do not (yet) have a bottle tree, so I lay out paper towles on the counter, sanitize, swirl them out and set upside down on the towles. In theory the sanitizer in the bottle should run out onto the towl and keep the rims clean until I fill them. Just dont hop around or you will see what glass dominoes can do to your bottle area! :drunk:
 
After pouring, I rinse out the bottle and set it on the kitchen counter. When 6 or 8 bottles accumulate, I wash them all in oxyclean and hang them on my bottling tree to dry. When the bottle tree gets full, I put them in case holders until I need them.

On bottling day, I fill my kitchen sink with a hot oxyclean solution and attach a bottle washer to my kitchen tap. I fill 12 bottles with oxy clean, shake them up, pour them out, and rinse them with the bottle washer. Then I submerge them in my 5-gallon bucket of StarSan solution for a minute, and hang them on the bottle tree to drip dry. Repeat with the next batch of 12 bottles until all bottles have been cleaned and sanitized.

I could skip the oxyclean wash on bottling day because every bottle has already been washed once. I still do it, though, because some of the bottles sit for a long time before getting used and they get pretty dusty, so I feel better about it.

It takes about 45 minutes to clean and sanitize 50 bottles this way at a moderate pace.
 
I rinse my bottles as I drink them and then store them until I have 12 or so around.
Then I put them in a 5 gallon bucket with water and oxyclean.
I let them soak over night or until I get back around to them.
Then I dump the oxyclean and rinse inside and out with hot water and store on a bottle tree to dry.
On bottling day I give each bottle a spray of Starsan on the inside and fill them up.
 
I got some old Sierra Nevada bottles from a friends house that were pretty nasty. SN bottles often have a little sediment in the bottom, so some of these things were really gunked up. I hit them with my faucet-attached bottle washer and some super-hot water and the nasties came right off. Plus, I soaked them in the tub with bleach to take the labels off, and then ran them through the dishwasher and that took care of everything else.
 
If they're commercial bottles, I rinse them well after I drink out of them, then put them in the box they came in, when I get a lot, I soak them in PBW in my kitchen sink for 45 minutes to get the labels off, then I rinse them well, and put them back in their box. If they're already homebrewed bottles, I just rinse them well and put them away. When bottling day comes, I fill up my dishwasher and put it on the hottest cycle with no detergent, then run it. When I'm bottling, I pull my bottles directly out of the dishwasher.
 
First, I searched this site for one of the countless other posts on this topic. Then I followed the same advice as everyone always gives. OxyClean and then either sanstar or iodifer.
 
After i drink my beeri rinse the bottle out right away with hot water and store them. When im ready to bottle I fill up my bottlng bucket with the pink sanitizing poweder and water (sanibrew? it may be called) dump about 12 bottles in at a time - let them soak for 5 mins and double rinse in hot water.

I know people will say that doesnt sanitize them properly - but ive bottled about 70 gallons since I started and havent had a problem wih this method. I think rinsing your bottles right fater drining them helps alot :)

cheers
 
with old bottles i just use my bottle brush and soap and hot water. I rinse the ones drink, so thats not a problem.

As far as sanitizing goes, following the advice of several people on here from an earlier thread on this topic, I picked up a bottle tree and a vinator http://www.austinhomebrew.com/produ...=1322&osCsid=441bc6536e08118558fe93bbef0b8e66

I bottled two batches using the vinator, bottle tree and star san and i must say, bottling is about a thousand times easier for me now than it was before i got that, so I highly reccomend it. No soaking the bottles in sanitizer and drying them out, just 3-4 squirts of star san solution with the vinator, and throw it on the tree to dry.

Before i got these 2 items, i was chomping at the bit to get into kegging. Now i'm not in such a hurry anymore (although i still really want too:D )
 
Now I'm concerned. I've been using StarSan to sanitize my bottles, but I have not been drying them. I just pop 'em out of the sanitizer, fill 'em, and cap 'em. My impression was that StarSan is mostly harmless at those levels. True or false?
 
TheOceaneer said:
Now I'm concerned. I've been using StarSan to sanitize my bottles, but I have not been drying them. I just pop 'em out of the sanitizer, fill 'em, and cap 'em. My impression was that StarSan is mostly harmless at those levels. True or false?

True. You're fine.
 
TheOceaneer said:
Now I'm concerned. I've been using StarSan to sanitize my bottles, but I have not been drying them. I just pop 'em out of the sanitizer, fill 'em, and cap 'em. My impression was that StarSan is mostly harmless at those levels. True or false?

that is my understanding from listening to the brewing network interview with the guy who invented the stuff.
 
I always rinse mine after drinking, then wash them in the dishwasher. Then when I'm ready to bottle I run them through the dishwasher without soap to sterilize. I don't use any sterilizing solution. Do you think I may be headed for a problem? I've brewed about 10 batches of Mr. Beer and haven't made myself sick yet but I'm worried that I may be headed for trouble.
 
Hey, since everyone seems to be weighing in...

GET YOURSELF A BOTTLE JET! Teh roxxorz! A few seconds of high-velocity hot water from the bottle jet will remove all but the very worst caked-on crap at the bottom of bottles.
 
I rinse my bottles after I drink them. When I bottle another batch I rinse them out with BTF. Put them on the the dishwasher rack and let them drain. Fill em up and cap them. No problems yet. I get all the bottles and chemicals I need from work, (AB wholesaler):mug:
 
I rinse any residue out of the bottles after pouring and allow them to dry. When it is time to bottle, I run through the dishwasher on a quick wash cycle w/o detergent. While that is running, I sanitize my bottling bucket, tubes, etc. and mix up my priming solution. By the time the heat dry is done, the beer has been racked from secondary to bottling bucket and I can start filling.
 
I always rinse my bottles shortly after emptying them. Typically the next time I am washing dishes I wash them more thoroughly. Then the just get air dried in the drainboard.

On bottling day I spray star san on the top rack of dishwasher and fill my sink with water and star san. Four bottles are put in the star san for a few minutes. They get taken out and put on the dishwasher rack (4 more bottles then go into the sink). After a few short minutes I fill and cap those 4 bottles. I can bottle 50+ 12 ounce bottles in about 45 minutes using this method. So far I've enjoyed the process.
 
Like everyone else, I rinse bottles immediately upon emptying them. Commercial bottles get a soak in hot soapy water to remove the labels. Day before bottling, I rinse the dishwasher and then load the bottom rack with 50-54 bottles (depending how careful I am about jamming them in). Run a load with one-step in the detergent dish and hot dry. The chemical and heat seem to get all the nasties...I think we had one or two bad bottles out of 10? batches, and I'd guess it was due to someone not rinsing the crud out of the bottom.
 
I was just thinking about this as I was bottling a batch yesterday. I rinse my bottles as I drink them, but I still take a bottle brush to them when I wash before sanitizing. Is this overkill? It sure is a pain.

On another note, someone mentioned running Iodophor through the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle. Keep in mind, Iodophor needs to be used in cool-tepid water, never hot.
Just my two cents.

Chris
 
I always rinse a bottle after drinking. When I've accumulated enough empties, I fill the sink with hot caustic and submerge as many bottles as I can at one time for 10 minutes. When I remove each bottle I have at it with a bottle brush. Once all the bottle are caustic'd, I then rinse each thoroughly. On bottling day, I fill the sink with sani and submerge as many bottles as I can. Then I remove each one by one, empty the sani and then fill with beer immediately. Repeat til all the beer is in bottles.

A monster pain in the ass!! But it seems to produce the best results. I do find I still need to use a brush after the caustic as I find a sort of krausen-like ring on the neck of bottles doesn't always come clean with the caustic phase alone.

I wish there was an easier way, but since doing it this way, I don't get any bug infections.
 
I as everyone else rinse after each use. On bottling day I fill my bottling bucket with star san solution and bottle each bottle just like I would with my brew. That way all parts are sanitized. I also use the dish washer for a bottle tree.
 
I rinse my bottles after drinking....

Then the day of I dump then in bucket of one-step for like 2-3 minutes...empty the one-step and then fill em with beer

No problems to date..I don't let them soak or put them in the dishwasher. Too much trouble and haven't had a single problem yet.
 
Rinse after drinking them. Then store them upside down in old cases. I then let them soak in oxiclean the day before I use it and run them in a soap/rinse aid-free dishwasher on sanitize.

I still have a bunch of bottles that I've never cleaned so I store those right side up and am slowly working my way through them, getting them cleaned up using oxyclean.
 
I was just thinking about this as I was bottling a batch yesterday. I rinse my bottles as I drink them, but I still take a bottle brush to them when I wash before sanitizing. Is this overkill? It sure is a pain.

On another note, someone mentioned running Iodophor through the dishwasher on the sanitize cycle. Keep in mind, Iodophor needs to be used in cool-tepid water, never hot.
Just my two cents.

Chris

Hah, I also soak and scrub all of mine. I then rinse with the "Vinator" and Iodophor and on to the bottling tree! I think it may be overkill but I would rather overclean a bottle and NOT have not infections than drink a bottle of beer that returns later in a "not so nice" fashion of the projectile kind!

Good point on the Iodophor btw!

Is it just me or has anyone else found it difficult to clean the SNPA label glue? I am not complaining cause they were free but boy are they sticky!!
 
I have never had anything happen to any of my beers in the bottling process. I admit that I clean my bottles but I do not go crazy with it. As soon as I pour a beer I rinse out the bottle thoroughly before I sit down to enjoy the fruits of my labor. I rinse it AND I leave it full of the slightly soapy water on my sink. The next day or later that night I pour that out and store the bottles in my bottle box. That keeps off the dust. At bottling time I rinse them in tap water again and then swish around a couple ounces of star san solution an hour or so before bottling and figure they are good to go.

I used to bottle brush them out...but I never see any gunk in mine to get out and I notice that the bottle brush ( due to it's shape ) normally does not get the very bottom 1/8th of an inch or so of the bottle anyway.

This might be less tedious than some would recommend...but it seems to work well.
 
I rinse out bottles after pouring and clean it as let it dry. 2 days before bottling I rinse again with oxyclean and let dry. The next day I cover with foil and then bake the bottles at 350 F for 1 hour. As long as the foil stays on, they should be able to sit around until you bottle. Technically you could do all this at any time ave as long as the foil stays on, you should have no problems.
 
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