Bottle Sanitizing with Starsan

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Dylock

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So I'm currently doing some sanitizing to bottle tonight. I have always heard the saying 'dont fear the foam' but is having foam in the bottles worthwhile when bottling or a hinderence?

Should I let them dry pretty good before filling or let them stay wet?
 
You can left them stay wet. Be sure to give them about 30 seconds. If you are going to be brewing and bottling a lot you should get a bottle tree with a Vinator
 
I wash my bottles in the dishwasher, using the sanitize mode. It uses a high temp wash/dry to sanitize. As I bottle, I pull a bottle from the dishwasher, then spray it with StarSan using a special bottle sanitizing sprayer (a Vinator like JVD X mentioned). I shake off any excess, then fill with beer.

I have read that by not rinsing the sanitizer it can ruin head retention in the final beer. Not sure if thats true or not.
 
If you let the Star-San dry, then you have wasted your sanitizing. It is a contact sanitizer, so if it drys, then there is a risk of something else attaching to the surface of the bottle. No worries though, bottle away !
 
I am there. I use the dishwasher and then use Starsan. Lots of foam as I do use the Vinator on top of the bottle tree.
"don't fear the foam".
 
I just use the dishwasher:


Wash with sanitize cycle, put little square of saran wrap over bottle mouth. Put bottle in case. Bottle whenever.

no infections yet.
 
As you bottle, the foam will be pushed up and out of the bottle, thereby giving more wet surface contact on the insides of the bottle as it is pushed out. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. Also, StarSan in my experience does not affect head retention at all. After the beer is in the bottle, the StarSan is diluted to the point that it essentially breaks down into food for the yeast.
 
In my most recent bottling effort, I sanitized the bottles the night before bottling. I stored them in a large plastic bin (Covered), which I had also sanitized with Star San. This way, I didn't have any foam issues. They end up with a few drops of starsan at the bottom, which I just shake out before filling.
 
I give each bottle a spray from my starsan bottle and put it back in the box upside down. Coats the whole inside and then the excess drains out. Works like a charm.
 
I fill my empty primary bucket with StarSan and then place as many bottles in it as possible (around 18-20), then pour out and bottle as I go. Works great for me.
 
Most of the foam will be pushed out of the top anyway.

Exactly....most of the foam gets pushed out of the bottle and what little remains becomes more food for the yeast.

Just like in any fermenter.

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These are from this thread of mine that noone will contribute to *pout*

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/stupid-starsan-tricks-why-you-shouldnt-fear-foam-127044/

If you don't know there are plenty of tips for bottling and sanitizing for bottling in here; https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/
 
To be clear: StarSan is intended to be used while wet. Letting the bottles dry out reduces its effectiveness. If you take a dry bottle that HAD been sanitized the day before, and then expose it to air right before you fill it, that air could contain bacteria/yeast/etc., and you are giving those nasties a chance to get into the bottle before you fill it since it is no longer wet. Keeping it wet immediately before you fill the bottle is the key.

My process: As I bottle, I keep a 5-gal bucket of properly diluted StarSan next to me. I submerge the empties into it, let them sit at least 30 seconds (but often longer), pull them out, empty them back into the bucket, and (almost) immediately fill them with beer. Sometimes I will submerge 10 or a dozen at a time. Then I'll pull them out, submerge 10-12 others, then start filling the (still wet) empty ones. That process gives each bottle about 5-10 minutes contact time with the sanitizer, almost immediately before use. That way they are still wet inside right as I bottle, and often filled with foam (which is as good as the liquid itself). As you fill, the foam also pushes the air out of the bottle, and thus any bugs in the air that may have fallen in.
 
I give each bottle a spray from my starsan bottle and put it back in the box upside down. Coats the whole inside and then the excess drains out. Works like a charm.

I do almost the exact same operation. I make up 2.5 gallons of StarSan and then I grab 4 bottles at a time dunk them in the solution and fill the bottles about half way and dump out. I repeat this 3 times for each bottle. After rinsing a set of 4 three times I then place them upside down in the beer box on top of paper towels. The paper towels then become wet with starsan which I figure is good at keeping things sanitary. It takes me about 6 minutes to do a whole case and I have never had a bottle infection. I don't see the point in filling the bottles to the brim and letting them sit. You can sanitize an entire carboy with only the amount of starsan necessary to contact all the internal surfaces by shaking, rolling, etc. Filling a bottle up seems like a waste of time to me. To each his own.

As a side note I also rinse the bottles immediately after drinking from them so I don't have to worry about cleaning them extensively. This keeps the bottles very nice and little is needed to clean them for the next batch except sanitizing with Starsan.
 
I used to be a dunk/soaker but a thread convinced me to try a vinator. That works great and is less hassle and easier on the StarSan.

I put them upside down in a bomb shelter propped up on one side so the bottles don't fall over. Then when they are all sanitized, I line them up and fill them.

I fill them so the beer hits the fill line, some or most of the foam gets pushed out.
 
I fill my empty primary bucket with StarSan and then place as many bottles in it as possible (around 18-20), then pour out and bottle as I go. Works great for me.

Be careful doing this. It is a very easy way to scratch your bucket.
 
So I went ahead with bottling last night, the StarSan worked much like you guys said of it getting pushed out as the beer is filling and I didn't notice any residue left behind.

That was however the least of my problems as I will soon be investing in a bottling wand, using only a tube is like trying to start a fire in a hurricane (its damn hard).
 
this thread has now convinced me to spend the cash on a vinator...and probably send atleast one employee of Northern Brewer on vacation with the final cost of the order.

Thanks...really. thanks. :)
 
this thread has now convinced me to spend the cash on a vinator...and probably send atleast one employee of Northern Brewer on vacation with the final cost of the order.

Thanks...really. thanks. :)
So you got that bottle filler wand huh?

It does make life easier.
 
One question about the Vinator. Five Star says you should have a contact time of at least 30 seconds with Star-San (in an interview, but the bottle says longer). It seems to me like the Vinator doesn't let you get that 30 seconds. They must count the contact time as the time that the Star-San is drying inside the bottle. Is that correct?
 
You are correct, it is wet contact time.

+1 with this statement. The bottle does not have to be filled with starsan solution for it to be counted as contact time. The starsan creates a layer on the glass and all during this time it is actively sanitizing. This is why I don't understand why people fill bottles and let them sit. Dunk them and empty them or spray them with something like the vinator and be done with it.
 
I make use of both the vinator and spray bottle.....but for different reasons. Granted, I can see no reason to ever make up a 5 gal. bucket of Star San. I make a gallon jug. I then pour a pint of that into a small (pint) spray bottle. I then spray buckets lids...anything the spray will reach. The SS solution in the jug is used in the Vinator to coat the inside of the bottles, since a spray bottle will not guarantee that 100% of the inside of a bottle is coated. The SS solution is also used to coat the inside of carboys, and in a 30" wallpaper tray, which I bought at the hardware store for 5-6 bucks, to sanitize all my small items- some of which are long and thin: hose, autosiphon, thief, hydrometer, spigot, stoppers, airlocks, etc. Like the vinator, the wallpaper tray (which I learned about on this forum) I now regard as indispensable. All of this is very economical of Star San and it makes for a very efficient santizing routine. In short......it works.
 
So you got that bottle filler wand huh?

It does make life easier.

The one that sits on top of the bottle drying tree I have. $19 usd or something. I am looking forward to making life easier on bottle day. Its the part I dread most times.

C
 
Yeah so this vinator cuts down not only on time, but mess as well. usually takes me a good hour to wash, sanitize, sugar and bottle...that was cut in half. a few small changes and the vinator worked magic.

thanks for the tips...
C
 
+1 with this statement. The bottle does not have to be filled with starsan solution for it to be counted as contact time. The starsan creates a layer on the glass and all during this time it is actively sanitizing. This is why I don't understand why people fill bottles and let them sit. Dunk them and empty them or spray them with something like the vinator and be done with it.

For my next batch I will use the Vinator. Up until now I've used a bucket of Iodphor and maybe I'm anal but it's just such a huge waste of water and such a huge mess that I had to look at something else. I got tired of all the drops from the bottles that I had to clean off the floor and constantly having to dry each bottle before putting it away. If I didn't try them I found my cardboard case holders and 6 pack holders would fall apart and who wants to buy commercial beer to get more?

As to how Starsan works, I think either Palmer or Papazian (or both) said that it only needs like 15 to 30 seconds of contact to make the surface sanitary. For me, I prefer it over Iodine based solutions just because I don't have to worry about stains.
 
I only ever make a gallon or two of starsan solution. I always feel like I make too much. If i used a bus tub I could make even less I think. I put some in a spray bottle and do my bottles that way.

My favorite application of starsan is to soak a Stone bottle in it to remove all of the paint. Works wonders, check it after two days or so, it will rub off! amazing.
 
I use Idophor in my Vinator but Starsan for everything else. A spraybottle with Starsan does wonders for sanitizing difficult items and surfaces like fermenter lids, bottle tree, etc...
 
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