Oven sanitized bottles still have some water inside....

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MonkeyWrench

MonkeyWrench

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So I loaded up my oven with bottles last night, turned on the oven on Warm (170*) and let it sit for about 30min. Then ran it up to 230* of 10min, then turned the oven off and let them sit overnight.

This morning, I was unloading and there was still some water inside of some of the bottles from when I washed them. The bottles are "capped" with aluminum foil. I just assumed all the water would have boiled off. I did check the bottles with my infrared thermometer and they seemed like they were all above 220*.

Should I be worried about that water as proof it did not get hot enough, or am I okay to bottle now? Just dump out the water.

Thanks,
Steve
 
At 230F for 10 minutes I do not believe you've gotten the bottles hot enough to sterilize them. Chances are you killed a vast majority of nasties that would cause problems in your beer, but more pernicious bacteria could survive. Take a look at this guide for Dry-Heat sterilization.

Temperature
170 degrees C (340 degrees F) - 1 hour
160 degrees C (320 degrees F) - 2 hours
150 degrees C (300 degrees F) - 2.5 hours
140 degrees C (285 degrees F) - 3 hours
Click to expand...

Every time I have oven sterilized wet bottles there is always water remaining in the bottles. The steam that's generated probably helps sterilize the bottles more effectively. Never been a problem for me in the past. I would just dump the remaining water and go on with bottling.
 
Cool, thanks.

I stuck some back in for a trial run to see how long it would take to cook off the water. 20min (plus ramp up and ramp down) at 230* did it. To me, if the water is gone, it got hot enough to sterilize. I'll probably give the rest a cycle and bottle this afternoon.

Thanks,
Steve
 
The last batch I baked I didn't put the foil on the bottles tightly. I crimped them down when the bottles came out of the oven the next day.

B
 
If you had the bottles covered there was nowhere for the water vapor to go so it stayed in the bottle.
 
Ya, they were capped with foil, and squeezed on by hand. Maybe some had really good seals and the vapor could not escape, and others had a loose crinkle that vapor got out on.

I re-baked all of my bottles for 20min each at 230* (load bottles, turn on oven to 230*, 20min once oven at temp, then turn off and let cool). 99% had no water left in them, and the ones that did, I emptied. My IR thermometer said up to 250* on some bottles.

I think I'm good.

Thanks all.

Steve
 
I have put bottles through the oven a couple times (I keg everything now). I put em in and set the oven to 350. Once the oven reached 350, I left em for 30 minutes, then turned off the oven. When they cooled to the point I could handle them (i still wore gloves), probably another 30 minutes, I took them out and "capped" them with foil I had sprayed with starsan. Both times, the bottles were soaked in oxyclean and then triple rinsed. First time I did this, after the oxyclean, I boiled the bottles for 20 minutes before they went into the oven. The next time (after the oxyclean) they went through a cycle in the dish washer (no detergent) before going into the oven.
To the original point... my bottles were dry coming out of the oven because of the temp and the fact that they were capped after they came out of the oven.

Good luck.
Ed
 
wilserbrewer said:
Holy crap Ed, Oxi clean...boiling and baking...wow! Not takin any chances huh:mug:
Click to expand...

LOL... Yep, that's why I decided bottling wasn't for me.

My thoughts were these bottles are gonna be put away for weeks, maybe some for months, and all sorts of nasties will multiple given any chance.

I have relaxed a bit now... when I fill a few bottles from the keg (I have a Beer Gun), I just sanitize with Starsan. I keep a few bottles that have been soaked in oxyclean on-hand for this purpose. I figure these are bottled mostly for transport and will be consumed fairly quickly.

Ed
 
Ohio-Ed said:
I have put bottles through the oven a couple times (I keg everything now). I put em in and set the oven to 350. Once the oven reached 350, I left em for 30 minutes, then turned off the oven. When they cooled to the point I could handle them (i still wore gloves), probably another 30 minutes, I took them out and "capped" them with foil I had sprayed with starsan. Both times, the bottles were soaked in oxyclean and then triple rinsed. First time I did this, after the oxyclean, I boiled the bottles for 20 minutes before they went into the oven. The next time (after the oxyclean) they went through a cycle in the dish washer (no detergent) before going into the oven.
To the original point... my bottles were dry coming out of the oven because of the temp and the fact that they were capped after they came out of the oven.

Good luck.
Ed
Click to expand...

Sweet mother of all that is sterile.
OCD much?
 
northernlad said:
Sweet mother of all that is sterile.
OCD much?
Click to expand...

LOL... Yea, I guess my "meds" weren't gettin it done. By the time I was convinced the pills were sanitary for ingestion, there wasn't much left. Go figure!

Seriously though... You only get one chance to sanitize your bottles. My first batches were way before I found this sight. The only advise I had at the time was "CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN".

In hindsight, I might have gone a little overboard.


Ed
 
Ohio-Ed said:
I have relaxed a bit now... when I fill a few bottles from the keg (I have a Beer Gun), I just sanitize with Starsan. I keep a few bottles that have been soaked in oxyclean on-hand for this purpose. I figure these are bottled mostly for transport and will be consumed fairly quickly.
Ed
Click to expand...

Ed...go ahead and cut loose...grab a growler, fill it and go. Anything that will be consumed in say 24 hours and kept cold...no worries!:mug:

Ever thought of star sanning the pint glasses?:mug:
 

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