Sanitizing bottles

I am wondering what people are using to sanitize their bottles. From what I have been reading, Starsan seems to be a popular product. Is this good for bottles and what is a good procedure?

The reason I am asking is that I am about to start my 3rd batch and am unsure of the results I got on my first two. I used a bleach solution to sanitize the bottles and I'm worried that I may have had some residual bleach left. My first batch was a hefe and it tastes pretty good, but there is a very slight strangeness to it. My second was apfelwein and it also tastes good but has that very slight unusual character to it as well.

After bleaching I rinsed each bottle out 2 or 3 times but I'm still afraid that I didn't get it all. Aside from the very mild off taste, should I be concerned about drinking this stuff if it did in fact have some residual bleach? I drank most of the hefe and I havent died yet.

It would really set my mind at ease to start doing this differently if only for tastes sake.

If you rinsed well, you are OK.

I'd highly recommend star san for your bottles. It's re-usable and no-rinse, so after you sanitize the bottles just pour the water out and leave the foam.

Star San seems to be very good at just about whatever kind of sanitizing you need to do. I researched sanitizers for a while before buying and star san seemed like it would be my best bet. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Oh, and don't fear the foam, it is your friend

I wash my bottles out as I use them, then store them clean in a sealed rubbermaid tub. On bottling day, I use a bottle sprayer to rinse them out, then give them a blast of Star San using a vinator pump. Very quick and easy.

See this thread for details:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54769&highlight=vinator

I use Iodophor...either starsan or iodophor are the must used and recommended sanitizers to use in brewing....

Here's a pretty good thread about sanitization and sanitizers..
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=54932

And Here's are 2 excellant podcasts on starsan and iodophor...you can listen to them to help you decide which to use...and how to use them effectively.

Sanitizing with bleach and starsan (Chuck Talley the inventor of Starsan)
http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3

Sanitizing with iodophor (Murl Landman of National Chemicals)

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-22-07.mp3

I use the dishwasher with the heat cycle. Works great and I can pull them out as I fill them up.

I have only bottled once. Rinse bottles out well while "emptying them" then foil cap, and in the over at 350*F for 45 minutes. Sterilized bottle, not just sanitized. Remove foil, insert bottling wand, cap. Leave foil on ones you don use for next time. Already sterilized.

IrregularPulse said:

I have only bottled once. Rinse bottles out well while "emptying them" then foil cap, and in the over at 350*F for 45 minutes. Sterilized bottle, not just sanitized. Remove foil, insert bottling wand, cap. Leave foil on ones you don use for next time. Already sterilized.

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way off but I have been to your town ... Well actually just the fairgrounds and beer place down the road... Hit a little party there The Easy Rider Rodeo....

When I first read that I was like WAY OF!! WTF!, It does to work, Then I realized you meant WAY OFF TOPIC haha

Yeah the Biker Road is the pride and joy of Chillicothe

If you're a biker I'm sure it's a great time and we can't complain because it brings a TON of money to the town. Just not my bag. I do wanna go and watch the festivites up front, but don't think I'll venture to the Camping Area. That's where all the "fun" takes place.

Professor Frink said:

I use the dishwasher with the heat cycle. Works great and I can pull them out as I fill them up.

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+1 It doesn't get any easier, the only drawback is that it takes 45 minutes, but if I plan ahead it is no big deal.

I bottled a batch two nights ago using Starsan and some contraption that I forget the name of - you press an inverted bottle down on top of it and it squirts sanitiser into the bottle. It made a very dull process much, much easier.

EAC medical field moment: 350 degrees does not = sterile, only autoclaves and certain chemicals do that, I'm not letting people do surgery with things baked in an oven. Probably works great for sanitizing beer bottles though.

Back to the discussion I have used starsan and iodophor. Both are great, I prefer iodophor for bottling for only one reason, the vinator sprayer thing foams so much you have to dump the foam back in the bucket and get new liquid a few times per batch, I know it is nit picking but if that is my only complaint starsan is a pretty good product anyway.

knarfks said:

EAC medical field moment: 350 degrees does not = sterile, only autoclaves and certain chemicals do that, I'm not letting people do surgery with things baked in an oven. Probably works great for sanitizing beer bottles though.

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This review in the Journal of Clinical Pathology disagrees with you:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=480155&pageindex=1#page

Dry heat is definitely used for sterilization in the medical community. 350 F is not an uncommon temperature to use.

In fact, on page 43 of the article, they talk about sterilization trials that were performed at 300 F (150 C). Four hundred and seventy-four tests showed that sterility was achieved at this temperature in 30 mins.

However, given that your oven at home does not accurately or evenly provide dry heat, it is probably better to sterilize at 350 F for 30 mins, just to be safe.