Bottling Without Drying the Bottles

When I bottle, I clean the bottles and then soak them in starsan for a few minutes. Then I just dump the starsan out of all of them and fill/cap. Is there any disadvantage to this process as opposed to using a bottling tree to let them thoroughly dry?

That is how it should be done with Starsan, as it is a wet sanitizer. If you let it dry out, anything in the air could settle on the glass and the soak in Starsan would be no good.

They're more slippery when you're trying to fill and cap.

Having starsan solution on there really isn't a problem, from what I've gathered.

That's how I do it so I hope we are both okay....

yes your all ok. the starsan wont hurt the yeast and will no longer be active once the beer hits it.

I was under the impression that starsan was a acid? also starsan dries very quickly.

It is an acid, but completely safe to drink if diluted properly, it actually turns in to "yeast food" in the bottle/fermenter.

I switched to this method for my bottling last night and I really liked the process. I have a small container of StarSan with the caps soaking. I rinse the bottles, then soak in StarSan for about 20 seconds and drain the best I can for a few seconds. I shake the bottle while it's draining to make sure the inside is well coated, which also creates StarSan bubbles inside. I then take a sanitized cap and place it on top of the bottle. This seals the bottle and keeps it wet until it's time to fill the bottle. When it comes time to fill I hold the cap by the top, making sure not to touch underneath the cap and fill the bottle, then I place the cap back on top. I fill all the bottles this way and then go back through and crimp all the caps.

I use either a small funnel to fill bottle-to-bottle (dunking the lip in the bottle each time) or a vinator (best invention ever!) to sanitize the insides of the bottles. Then I put them upside down on a dishwasher rack that I've sanitized with a spray bottle of star-san. Since they're inverted, nasties shouldn't float down into them from the air.

Don't fear the foam! Star-san rocks!

Sounds right!!!!

It's even easier with a spray bottle full of starsan. Stick the nozzle in the neck of the bottle, give it two quick sprays with a quick turn of the bottle in between, drain it out and it's ready to fill. Takes me about a minute or less to sanitize a case of bottles before filling.

Cat - That is a good idea! I will have to use that idea when it comes to bottling my first brew!