Bottling day - but no bottle brush or vinator

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Brewer_Bob

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Alright, this weekend will be one month since I put my first brew, a Stone Pale Ale clone, into the fermenter. So I want to bottle this weekend. I have a bottle tree, a Vinator, and a bottle brush all on order but they haven't gotten here to Libya just yet.

The bottle tree and Vinator would be nice to have, but I can manage without them this time. I am more concerned about cleaning without a brush. I went looking for a substitute and the closest I could find were baby bottle brushes, but the tips are too fat to fit into the beer bottles.

The bottles are a mix of brand new ones purchased from AHS and Beck's non-alcoholic beer bottles. So nothing gunky has been in them. I have PBW powder. I heard on Brewing Network awhile back that given a proper length soak in PBW solution scrubbing wasn't necessary. So how many hours should I let them soak?

And yes, I know I will then have to rinse and sanitize.
 
I usually let mine soak overnight and then rinse them before i bottle. I clean my bottles right after i pour them so there is not any sediment at the bottom. I have been taking my bottles and putting them in the dishwasher on the "quick rinse" cycle. Then i dunk them into a bucket with star san, but them back into the dishwasher racks (sprayed with star san) to dry. Buy the time I get ready to fill the first bottle most are dry. That being said, I keg a lot now!

Edit: I only soak overnight if i have a bunch that the labels need to be removed and have gunk in them.
 
The brand new bottles won't require much cleaning at all. Just give them a quick dip in the pbw solution, rinse, then sanitize. You're not going to have any gunk in there to scrub or soak off.

For the Becks bottles it depends on their condition, but you say they are not gunky so they won't need much time to soak either. I would think even an hour is a long time for a visibly clean bottle. Hold it up to a light and make sure you can't see anything on the inside. You'll be fine.
 
I'd say 1-3 hours would be more than enough. I never used a bottle brush while bottling. Just hot Oxi soak, Hot water rinse and star san rinse.
 
I do a 2 day soak. Doesn't mean that is isn't effective in a shorter time... but I usually start soaking them on Thursday night and will bottle Sat or Sun. Thats how my time table playes out. Don't let them go too long or white deposits may form. Since PBW is alkaline, you should add a little starsan (acid) to your rinse water (before you sanitize them) to get any PBW residue off. I pull mine from the soapy water tub, empty them, then dunk them in a dilute starsan (1/4 the recommended strength) then rinse them with fresh water.
 
Thanks all. Good tip on using the dishwasher rack. That will make a nice substitute until my bottle tree comes.
 
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