Help! Sanitizing beer bottles for firsr time bottling?

Help! Sanitizing beer bottles for first time bottling!

Hey guys! This is my first time bottling. I have two questions.

1. Do I just put all the bottles in the dish washer and set it on the "sanitizing setting"? And that makes them good enough to bottle?

2. Or do I use the dishwasher to sanitize and also use star Stan?

Thanks a bunch!

Anna

I've used the dishwasher with no soap numerous times with great results. Use a bottle brush on them before they go in to make sure they don't have any gunk in them. Additional Sanitizer isn't needed.

However, the easiest method I have used is by far baking the bottles for 90 minutes at 350 and letting them cool overnight.

(blog post detailing the process coming soon)

You need to use a liquid, no-rinse sanitizer.

I don't trust the diswasher method to do the job...I just use starsan. I use a vinator for sanitizing and it takes less than 10 minutes.

More tips in my bottling sticky.

If you use the dishwasher I would run the dishwasher empty to get all the stuff out of it and then put the bottles in and run the sanitizing wash. I've done it that way but not a fan. The way I use to bottle is scrub the bottles in a bucket full of iodopher solution then let dry. If there was crud in them I would soak them in pbw for a while scrub them, rinse them, scrub them in iodopher solution, then let dry.

Revvy said:

I don't trust the diswasher method to do the job...I just use starsan. I use a vinator for sanitizing and it takes less than 10 minutes.

More tips in my bottling sticky.

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+1!! Vinator + tree is the best $50 I've spent so far. The tree is nice to hang most of my brew equipment to dry after I wash it post brew day.

I make my priming solution and leave it to cool while I rinse my bottles and then run through the vinator. By the time I'm done, the solution is ready to go.

Also, when you start drinking the beers, be DILIGENT about rinsing the bottles immediately after the pour. Three or four times filling half way with warm water and shaking with your thumb over it does a good job. You'll be pleased when bottling day comes and all you have to do is rinse the dust off and sanitize.

J187 said:

Also, when you start drinking the beers, be DILIGENT about rinsing the bottles immediately after the pour. Three or four times filling half way with warm water and shaking with your thumb over it does a good job. You'll be pleased when bottling day comes and all you have to do is rinse the dust off and sanitize.

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Big ups to this one. I get bottles from my buddies a lot and I always rinse and inspect them before I clean/sanitize. Sometimes there is black gunky crap in the bottom that is so gross. Not to mention the occasional cigarette butt...

Check out the stickies for a cleaning/sanitizing process.

I used the dishwasher for my first brew, but I don't have any way to turn off the jet-dry. After doing some research into why my beer has no head I saw that jet-dry could cause this. So now I use star-san, but I use the dishwasher as a bottle tree and bottle over the open door and it catches my spill overs. Works great.

above has great suggestions.. rinse right after using then just use a vinator with idophor or starsan and you're good to go.. i do like the tree as well so before i go to bed any empties i have already rinsed i let hang there until dry so i can pack them away in my crates for further use

I'm still green, but what I do is I soak the bottles overnight in a clean plastic garbage can with an oxiclean and water mixture. The next day I rinse thoroughly. If I'm not using them right away, I dry them and store them covered so that nothing gets inside the bottle. When bottling I'll give the bottles a dunk in a couple gallons of starsan mixture sitting in a 5 gallon bucket. I pour out any starsan, let them sit for a few minutes (while I'm dunking other bottles) and then I fill them from the bottling bucket and cap them with bottle caps that have been soaking in starsan solution.

Oxi clean seems to leave a residue on my bottles, so if oxi clean gets on the inside of the bottle I use hot water and a bottle brush to remove it. Soap is detrimental to head retention.

Oxi clean is great for removing labels from bottles.

WoodlandBrew said:

Oxi clean seems to leave a residue on my bottles, so if oxi clean gets on the inside of the bottle I use hot water and a bottle brush to remove it. Soap is detrimental to head retention.

Oxi clean is great for removing labels from bottles.

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If there's a residue, (we call it scale) soaking it in a little weak acid solution, such as lemon juice and water, vinegar and water, or a slightly stronger starsan solution then rinsing will usually do the trick.

I tell people if they give me back nasty bottles it will be the last free sample they get! I rinse mine after use, run them through the dishwasher, and then sanitize before filling.

I use the Dishwasher and have not yet experienced any issues.

+1 to the vinator and Revvy's bottling thread. I was a little stressed about my first bottling day, but thanks to Revvy's thread it was a breeze.

One thing I learned as a newbie that has really helped me is remembering that cleaning and sanitizing are too different processes. A bottle can be clean but not sanitized and sanitized but not clean.

Like a lot of folks have already said, I rinse the bottles well right after I use them, then soak them in oxyclean. On bottling day I just rinse them and soak in a bucket of star san, pull them out, and bottle away.

I also agree that Revy's bottling sticky is an excellent resource