Best Way to Store Bottles

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BonzoAPD

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Hey guys,

What is the best way to store bottles once they are cleaned? Currently I have been cleaning my bottles as soon as I have used them and then store upright in their box. Anyone have any suggestions for a better solution? I have seen that new storage system that has the bottles upside down in racks of 24 but I store mine in my garage and do not think that having them out in the open like that would be the best idea.
 
Store them full of beer and capped...Hehe you know I had to say that.

I just put mine after they are rinsed and dried into a box and then fold the lid closed. I figure when I sanitize them if any dust does get in the sanitizer will flush it out
 
I clean them with pink powder, let to drain up side down for a couple o hours, then I put a small piece of aluminum foil on top and sanitize in the oven for 12 hrs at 250oF. Then I stored them until ready for bottling.
 
I store both cleaned & dried or full bottles in Leinenkugel's boxes. They have separators & tabbed covers to keep light out.
 
I generally keep mine upside down in six pack holders. I used to use standard 24 pack boxes to contain the six packs, but ended up building the crates found in the link that rayfound posted. They're very handy & sturdy...I have finished versions for filled beer and unfinished crates for empties. It's most important to keep the inside of the bottle relatively clean/dust free, but I usually rinse the outside just before bottling/santizing to prevent any crud from getting all up in my sanitizer.
 
After they're dry, I store them upside down in 6 pack cartons in boxes. On bottling day they just need to be sanitized, and I'm ready to bottle.
 
I mainly use bombers, I turn them upside down in a 12-pack wine box. I've duct-taped the sides and bottom for rigidity :)
 
I've always soaked mine in Oxyclean for 24 hours or longer then put them on a bottle tree to dry and store. The day I bottle I sanatize them with Starsan and I'm good to go.
 
I've gone to sterilizing all my bottles in the oven. I clean the bottles, rinse them well and let them dry a bit before capping them with a small square of foil crimped on. At that point I load them up in our second oven we have in the basement and sterilize the batch of bottles over a day then let them cool overnight.

Since it's a spare oven I've left bottles in the oven for a few weeks on their sides and capped with foil until I need them. Though if I need to do more bottles I just pull the cleaned ones and set them upright carefully out of the way where they will remain sterile until I need them for bottling with the foil still securely crimped on the top. It makes it easy to clean and then store like this for weeks on end without any worry of contamination. I don't need to store them upside down or on a drying rack, I can simply store them in 6 pack containers and set them on my shelving in my storage room.

For me this is so much easier than trying to sanitize the bottles and dry them before bottling. This way allows me to guarantee the bottles are perfectly clean for bottling and allows me to build up a supply of sterilized bottles that are capped with foil. I just never have time to clean and use sanitizer solution then bottle on the same day and I really see no guaranteed way for me to store the bottles anywhere with the tops open and able to be contaminated.
 
Since you're not going to sanitize them til bottling day, it really doesn't matte how you store them in between. I just store them in milk crates stacked on top of each other.
 
I usually store them upside down in six or twelve pack cases. If I use the oven to sterilize I will put tin foil on the top, bake them according to "How to Brew" and then store them upright.
 
I pour beer into glass from bottle.
Then fill empty bottle with steaming hot water from sink, leaving a little headspace and shake bottle vigourously then empty. Repeat a couple of times till clean and then store bottles upside down in empty 24 pack case.
On bottling day, I blast the inside of the bottle a couple times with a spray bottle of starsan, swirl and drain (not rinse) the excess.
 
I really need to get better at rinsing at the same time I pour a beer. I tend to let them set for a bit before even rinsing. I always make sure I rinse or scrub thoroughly and then run all bottles through the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher before bottling, and in addition always run through a star san bath before bottling. never had an issue with this but.....I should really be more diligent I think...
 
Holy cow dude. That is WAY too much work just to sanitize and store bottles. 12 hours in the oven? 2 minutes in some sanitizer and you're good to go.
 
I don't take any particular precautions storing the bottles, other than rinsing them out first, but that's because on bottling day I do an hour soak in PBW solution in a bathtub, followed by rinsing and another hour's soak with StarSan solution.
 
Holy cow dude. That is WAY too much work just to sanitize and store bottles. 12 hours in the oven? 2 minutes in some sanitizer and you're good to go.

It doesn't take 12hrs to use the oven. It's only a few hours of heat and a few minutes of your time here and there. You pop them in with foil on the cap, run heat for a bit then turn the oven off and walk away. You let them sit overnight to cool off so you can handle them. In total I think it's less work than cleaning and sanitizing each one. The bonus is that you sterilize the bottles all at once vs. just sanitizing them and you are guaranteed clean bottles. The draw back is probably that they can't be done instantly.

It also leaves you with bottles that are easy to store for another day when you are ready to bottle. I keg all my beer and use a Blichmann beer gun for when I do bottle off a keg. I guess it depends on your set up, but I only bottle kegs off once and a while. So I stock up on clean bottles on random weekends when I have time to do just that.
 
I rinse mine out as soon as I pour the beer in a glass, let them drain on a bottling rack I made and then store them in these out in the garage.

24-12-2-3t.jpg


I have a couple for my 12s and a few for my bombers.
 
You don't need to soak for an hour in starsan. 30 seconds is plenty. I use a bottle tree with a vinator on top & can do 45 bottles in no time right before filling.
 
I am to the point now where I don't have to de-label too much. I use my last homebrew bottles. So I'll just rinse those when I'm done.

They'll go (dry and clean) into 24 pack boxes or whatever I have on hand. I'm found that Sams Club has those long horizontal frozen pizza boxes I believe that can hold 5 rows of 10, almost perfectly.

Right before bottling I rinse and sanitize.
 
Personally, I think upside down is key for empties. Either in the cartons or in wooden crates like I built last week.

Storing upside down keeps them clean and dry inside, so they are ready for that spray of star san at bottling. I line the bottom of my storage crates (and 24-packs) with tinfoil covered with paper towel to catch drips.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/how-make-beer-crate-12oz-beer-bottles-318788/index16.html#post5005010

+1 for upside down, rinsed, and in a storage container
 
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