How long can I leave my bottles out after sanitizing

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justin22

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How long can I leave my sanitized bottles out before filling with beer. Would they get nasty if I left them out for like 4 hours.
 
One thing I've heard recommend done is taking a piece of aluminum foil and covering the top of the unsanitized (but cleaned) bottle. Try to make the aluminum foil seal around the bottle pretty well. Then bake the bottles at 400F for an hour. The baking will sanitize (and perhaps even sterilize) the bottles and the foil. The foil will then keep out any nasties until you're ready to bottle.

One thing to note, if you haven't sanitized glassware by baking before, is to heat the bottles slowly. Put the bottles in the oven, then set the temperature, and then start the countdown from an hour when the oven reaches 400F. If you just throw the bottles in an already preheated oven (particularly if they're wet) you risk them expanding too quickly and breaking.
 
My dishwasher has a "sterilize rinse" setting. I've been using that, with a heated dry. Then I put the foil on top.
 
I was going to post a similar question as I'm doing my first bottling this evening.

I've seen references to "Don't fear the foam!" With that theme in mind, is there a problem with bottling into a small amount of a mixed Star San solution after a quick air dry? (assuming there is a small amount - say 1/4 oz of water-StarSan solution in the bottom of the bottle). Will there be off-tastes as a result?
 
1/4 oz is a little more than you would want. If you have a bottle tree, I would let it drip dry for at least 10 min or so. Otherwise, shake whatever you can out of it and that would be fine.
 
Sanitize, bottle tree for a few minutes to drain the drips...then fill and cap.

4 hours is plenty of time for dust, mold spores, wild yeasts spores, and bacteria to fall inside the bottle...increasing the risk of contamination.

1/4 oz of star san is too much...drain it, and don't worry about foam or a little bit of liquid leftover.
 
I sterilize mine in my dishwasher. I've left them over night with the door closed with no problems. I wouldn't do it all the time though.
 
If you can hang them upside down, or covered, 4 hours will not be a problem.

Experiments by Pasteur showed that bacteria won't 'float' or climb up into things, so a sanitized rack that hold bottles upside down should be fine for more than 4 hours even.
 
I spray the inside/racks of my dishwasher with star-san. Then use the spray bottle, put a couple of squirts in to coat, and put the bottles upside down on the dishwasher racks. It seems to have worked okay. They maybe set about an hour max.
 
I soak my bottles in Oxiclean and rinse well, after they are dry I foil cap them for storage so no dust or debris can get into them. I sanitize all of my bottles on bottling day before I rack to the bottling bucket to allow a few minutes to dry. No concerns afterwards!:mug:
 
I usually sanitize mine days before. I either leave them on the bottle tree or in a big plastic tub with a lid on it. I've never had any problems with it.
 
for the record, you should be fine. You can pull the bottles out of sanitizer drain and place upside down in/on a holder. Tree, box with bottle holders whatever... nasties don't climb up. They fall with gravity or your touching them.

Since I clean and sanitize my bottles then store upside down in dedicated bottle boxes (file boxes from costco average 30 bottles per). I have both resanitized and not bothered and bottled straight from the box. Never an issue. 3 years and they still taste fine...
 
One thing I've heard recommend done is taking a piece of aluminum foil and covering the top of the unsanitized (but cleaned) bottle. Try to make the aluminum foil seal around the bottle pretty well. Then bake the bottles at 400F for an hour. The baking will sanitize (and perhaps even sterilize) the bottles and the foil. The foil will then keep out any nasties until you're ready to bottle.

One thing to note, if you haven't sanitized glassware by baking before, is to heat the bottles slowly. Put the bottles in the oven, then set the temperature, and then start the countdown from an hour when the oven reaches 400F. If you just throw the bottles in an already preheated oven (particularly if they're wet) you risk them expanding too quickly and breaking.

WTF
this aint serious is it?
please look at calander. its 2009 or close to it
 
WTF
this aint serious is it?
please look at calander. its 2009 or close to it

I don't care what year this is really. I just know it kind of sucks.
I will admit as I brew more and more my anal retentive streak is long gone. I clean, I sanitize, I cover it, and use it when ever.
I will admit baking in an oven is way over kill just in the energy usage unless you live next to a nuke plant and get it for free.
 
WTF
this aint serious is it?
please look at calander. its 2009 or close to it


I've never bottled, I still have my first batch in secondary. I just said that I've heard this is recommended, and it sounded like a pretty surefire way to make sure you get the job done. CLEARLY I was mistaken.
 
for the record, you should be fine. You can pull the bottles out of sanitizer drain and place upside down in/on a holder. Tree, box with bottle holders whatever... nasties don't climb up. They fall with gravity or your touching them.

Since I clean and sanitize my bottles then store upside down in dedicated bottle boxes (file boxes from costco average 30 bottles per). I have both resanitized and not bothered and bottled straight from the box. Never an issue. 3 years and they still taste fine...

I sanitized bottles using the sanitize cycle in me dish warsher....then let them hang out in there until that evening (Sunday evening). Sunday evening I put them in a *clean" cardboard box, with a cardboard lid (these are boxes I brought home from work, used for storing 8.5x11 paper). I bottled tonight (Tuesday), so they had about 48 hours in the cardboard box. We'll see how it goes but I bet it'll be aight.
 
I sanitized bottles using the sanitize cycle in me dish warsher....then let them hang out in there until that evening (Sunday evening). Sunday evening I put them in a *clean" cardboard box, with a cardboard lid (these are boxes I brought home from work, used for storing 8.5x11 paper). I bottled tonight (Tuesday), so they had about 48 hours in the cardboard box. We'll see how it goes but I bet it'll be aight.

Has anyone else done anything similar? As I've re-read this thread today, I'm a little worried that my Muntons Bock Beer will be infected because I my bottle sat in an enclosed cardboard box, (dry but right-side-up), for two days after being sanitized.
 
I clean with dish soap, rinse and let sit out overnight or more. Not covered.

On filling day I sanitize a dozen or so at a time with a bucket filled with water and star san, then fill right away.
 
i soaked mine in bleach on bottle day for an hour. rinsed them out with warm water then ran them through a heated cycle with heated dry in my dishwasher.
 
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