Sanitizing bottles?

Quick question. When I sanitize my bottles(in starsan) is it ok to just dip them in solution and wet the inside real quick - basically cover all surfaces of the bottle real quick and its good to go? Or should i stick with what ive been doing which is to completely fill and submerge them in starsan for 30-60 seconds?

Putting a bit in each bottle and shaking them will work fine. Do you have a bottle tree?

Whichever makes you feel safer.

I highly recommend one of these http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102036/vinator-bottle-rinser But just wetting the inside should be enough.

pablo1337 said:

I highly recommend one of these http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102036/vinator-bottle-rinser But just wetting the inside should be enough.

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Yes, makes it so much easier

Got a dishwasher? Throw them in there on the rinse and sanitize stage.

Begin2Brew said:

Got a dishwasher? Throw them in there on the rinse and sanitize stage.

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That's what I do; works great. Throw them in there for about a 10 minute rinse, then crank on the sanitizer during the drying cycle.

Just make sure you don't have any of that drying agent stuff in there.

Or switch to kegging lol

pablo1337 said:

I highly recommend one of these http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102036/vinator-bottle-rinser But just wetting the inside should be enough.

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Agreed.

Begin2Brew said:

Got a dishwasher? Throw them in there on the rinse and sanitize stage.

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did this once.. it uses a lot of water and takes forever (although you can be doing something else while they are washing).

What Ive found to be better is this:
I spray a little in each bottle, thumb the opening and shake, place upside down in clean dishwasher to drain... then, once they are all in the dishwasher, I spray them down with some more starsan.

then they are sanitized in and out, and ready in the dishwasher to be pulled out and filled.

Im going to buy a vinator as soon as I have a spare 20 bucks, but Ill still use the dishwasher like this for the setup... its really easy.

pablo1337 said:

I highly recommend one of these http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/product/0102036/vinator-bottle-rinser But just wetting the inside should be enough.

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This is one of the best things I've picked up to date. It's up there with my auto-siphon in that I don't know how I ever did without it.

Begin2Brew said:

Got a dishwasher? Throw them in there on the rinse and sanitize stage.

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I did this my first couple batches and had an issue with a soapy taste in some bottles, and not others. Since I have switched to a vinator this has gone away. YMMV

If you don't have a vinator just use a turkey baster to squirt some starsan in each bottle, put your thumb over the opening, shake it up, dip the mouth in the starsan and then put them in the dishwaser to drain while you are filling the bottles.

I would stick with what you're doing. Even with a vinator, you'll want to make sure you have about 60 seconds of contact time between the sanitizer and the bottle.

beergolf said:

If you don't have a vinator just use a turkey baster to squirt some starsan in each bottle, put your thumb over the opening, shake it up, dip the mouth in the starsan and then put them in the dishwaser to drain while you are filling the bottles.

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Ahh good idea with the turkey baster! I think I'll do this next time. Thanks

The dishwasher works one for sanitizing. Mine reaches 165F+ for about 20 minutes, which is more than enough for sanitation.

As stated before make sure that you don't have jet dry or something already in the little reservoir. This is why I use the all-in-1 tabs, so I only use the rinse agent when i need it.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/aitdownloadablefiles/download/aitfile/aitfile_id/490/
star san tech sheet indicates contact for 1-2 minutes is required
a bottle rinser is a bottle rinser...

I just dunk two bottles at a time in a bucket of starsan, let them fill up maybe 1/4 of the way, then place on the table. When I get to a good stopping point (12, maybe 24 bottles), I start to drain them, shaking while pouring into the bucket.

This method does get a little messy, I do it in the garage so I dont really care if there are drips and spills here and there, but you could put down paper towels and/or place the bottles in a large rubbermaid tray or bin if need be.

Is starsan really that bad for your skin? On bottling day my hands are wet with solution for nearly 2 hours sometimes. Besides feeling a little pruny, I don't notice any real bad sideeffects. Maybe that document meant pure starsan not diluted.

TTB-J said:

I would stick with what you're doing. Even with a vinator, you'll want to make sure you have about 60 seconds of contact time between the sanitizer and the bottle.

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correct me if I am wrong, but after a few squirts with the vinator, the inside of the bottle will remain wet for a few minutes. that should take care of the time of contact.

Also, the vinator leaves a lot less foam in the bottles than pouring solution in and shaking

jbsg02 said:

correct me if I am wrong, but after a few squirts with the vinator, the inside of the bottle will remain wet for a few minutes. that should take care of the time of contact.

Also, the vinator leaves a lot less foam in the bottles than pouring solution in and shaking

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That sounds correct to me! Although I use iodophor which doesn't have much of a foaming action so I wouldn't know about your second point - but it sounds like one more reason to invest in a vinator. I've just always used the fill, soak, shake method and never had any problems.

The foam is a purposeful action of the StarSan which actually helps on a microscopic level to sanitize more effectively.

DON'T FEAR THE FOAM!!!!!

As for the contact time, what the sheet tells you is per the USDA for food safe practices. As per the guy that invented the stuff, the solution is still active on a microscopic level after say shaking a bit then dumping it out and putting the bottles on a sanitized bottle tree like I do.

For practical methods, coating the surface is sufficient. For the USDA methods, submersion for a few minutes is required.

And yes, the skin contact warning is for the concentrate, not the dilution.

Wow thanks for all the replies on this one. I ended up just filling and submerging them for a few seconds then pouring it out and covering with sanitized caps - because i bottled immediately after. I however did taste a slight bit of sourness in the hydrometer sample which i attributed to the starsan, but it could have just been green taste. Just as an aside I think this beer will be my best tasting thus far and it only cost me $20 total. I found another brewshop in town that sells dme and lme for like 60% the price of he other place. ;-)

In the correct dilution, if you make sure to dump as much possible sanitizer as possible out of the bottle/keg, StarSan will attribute no flavor to your beer.

If you were to leave like half a gallon (or some other obviously ridiculous amount) in your bucket/keg than I could see it changing the flavor.

My dishwasher is a cheapo so no sanitize option, but it makes a great drying rack after the bottles have been submerged in sanitizer.

Does it have a heated drying option?

Begin2Brew said:

Got a dishwasher? Throw them in there on the rinse and sanitize stage.

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Im getting ready to bottle my second batch this weekend. When i drank my first batch out of these bottles i rinsed them out really well then put them back in the box they came in. I was going to run them through the dishwasher Friday night and then bottle on Saturday.

What i am wondering is should i use any dishwasher detergent? Or just turn on the sanitize option and let it run without any detergent???

clw2112 said:

Im getting ready to bottle my second batch this weekend. When i drank my first batch out of these bottles i rinsed them out really well then put them back in the box they came in. I was going to run them through the dishwasher Friday night and then bottle on Saturday.

What i am wondering is should i use any dishwasher detergent? Or just turn on the sanitize option and let it run without any detergent???

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Run without anything in the dishwasher.

I would even go so far as too run it once empty without anything before putting the bottles in.

clw2112 said:

Im getting ready to bottle my second batch this weekend. When i drank my first batch out of these bottles i rinsed them out really well then put them back in the box they came in. I was going to run them through the dishwasher Friday night and then bottle on Saturday.

What i am wondering is should i use any dishwasher detergent? Or just turn on the sanitize option and let it run without any detergent???

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Do not use dishwasher detergent or any of the liquid that helps dry the dishes (forgot what its called). Just run it on the sanitize mode and dry them

Edit: its called jet-dry...don't use that

clw2112 said:

Im getting ready to bottle my second batch this weekend. When i drank my first batch out of these bottles i rinsed them out really well then put them back in the box they came in. I was going to run them through the dishwasher Friday night and then bottle on Saturday.

What i am wondering is should i use any dishwasher detergent? Or just turn on the sanitize option and let it run without any detergent???

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Don't use any detergent at all! If you think you might have some detergent in the dishwasher leftover, run a cycle without any bottles in there. If not, just put your bottles in there upside down and put it on the sanitize or high heat option.

Anyone bake their bottles? Takes a while, but can be done well ahead of time.

I agree on the vinator, I love mine.

+1 vinator

I use the vinator. 3 pumps per bottle and then I dip the bottle into the foam/solution about an inch. I figure that some people might drink out of the bottle and it'll sanitize what they put their lips on.

RighteousFire said:

Run without anything in the dishwasher.

I would even go so far as too run it once empty without anything before putting the bottles in.

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I know the detergent will ruin the head on the beer, but is there any other problem?

I planned on filling up a tub with star san and soaking all of my bottles in it even after running them through the dishwasher.

This is what i do..

1) Make sure to rinse your beer bottles good after you use them.. this will save lots of time.

2) I just use a funnel fill about 1/2 full of starsan put on cap shake for 10 seconds. Remove cap and place funnel in next bottle.

3) fill next bottle with last bottles starsan, put on cap and shake for 10 seconds. funeel next bottle fill and repeat.

I just leave foam in bottles, until all cleaned then dump out any excess starsan and bottle away.

Its pretty easy but if you don't rince bottles it take a hell of alot longer getting dried out yeast from bottom of bottle.

Any suggestions for those who don't use star san? I use something called VWP which needs to be rinsed, any quick & easy way of sterilising with this? Would I even need it if I have a dishwasher?

Cheers,

Dan

Step 1 (Get a vinator, use on bottles)



Step 2 (Get a sink bottle washer to rince your cleaner)




Or get some starsan + a vinator..if u want it done lightning fast.

You can use a dishwasher only if it has a "sterilize" setting.. and you also must remember it will miss ALOT of bottles so its not really that accurate. I wouldn't personally trust it, but some do..personal choice but I have read horror stories when using just a dishwasher for sanitizing.

Dondlelinger said:

Step 1 (Get a vinator, use on bottles)

Step 2 (Get a sink bottle washer to rince your cleaner)

Or get some starsan + a vinator..if u want it done lightning fast.

You can use a dishwasher only if it has a "sterilize" setting.. and you also must remember it will miss ALOT of bottles so its not really that accurate. I wouldn't personally trust it, but some do..personal choice but I have read horror stories when using just a dishwasher for sanitizing.

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What are you using in the vinator if not Starsan? Bleach solution?

I usually recruit someone to fill a bottle with a couple ounces, put thumb over opening, and shake. Dump back into pot of star san. Set on a cookie sheet and repeat for the next bottles.

What are you using in the vinator if not Starsan? Bleach solution?

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Nah was answering monkeydan's question..I use starsan