Bottle Questions

[wesd25]

So I picked up some Oxy clean powder today because I heard that it gets the labels off of the bottles the best.

What should I put the bottles in?
In hot or cold water?
How many scoops of Oxy clean?
Once the labels are off should I clean the bottles with my brush or just sanitize them?
Also is it ok to leave the bottles on a bottle tree after you sanitize them until your ready to bottle? Or should you resanitize right before you bottle?
What kind of priming sugar is the best to use?
And should you mix the sugar in with the beer in bottling bucket or add to each individual bottle?

Sorry for all the questions it will be my first time bottling and just want it to be a good experience rather than terrible.
Thanks for advice!

 

[Upthewazzu]

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a combination of oxi-clean and star san. I think i used about a 1/4 of a scoop of oxiclean and half the recommended star san. After about an hour, the labels would pretty much fall off. You can use a brush, I did not, but make sure you rinse with water after this step. SANITIZE THE BOTTLE TREE, then re-sanitize the bottles! Yes, leave on the bottle tree if bottling the same day. Add the simple syrup to the bottle bucket, and then rack beer in on top of it. Once done racking, GENTLY stir the beer to make sure the sugar solution is evenly distributed.

 

[unionrdr]

I soak mine in PBW,but I also use a bottle brush inside & a dobie to get the softened glue that's left off the outside. I use dextrose for priming most of the time. And this priming calculator to get the right amount for the style weighed out; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
I dissolve in 2C of water that's boiled a few minutes,then cover & cool while getting the the rest ready to go. Then prime,stir lightly,& bottle away.

 

[ajf]

So I picked up some Oxy clean powder today because I heard that it gets the labels off of the bottles the best.
I've found that plain hot water works perfectly well for most labels. Some labels are water resistant, and it helps to use a scraper to score those prior to soaking. If hot water doesn't work on your labels, Oxi Clean may help.

What should I put the bottles in?
Anything that holds water and big enough. I've used the kitchen sink, a washing up bowl, a bucket, and a Rubbermaid bin.

In hot or cold water?
Hot.

How many scoops of Oxy clean?
I use ~ 1 tbsp per gallon.

Once the labels are off should I clean the bottles with my brush or just sanitize them?
I virtually never use the bottle brush. I give them a good blast with a jet bottle washer http://www.midwestsupplies.com/jet-bottle-washer.html and if there is any crud left in them, give them a soak in a weak chlorine breach solution for 24 hours. Then give them another blast with the bottle washer.

Also is it ok to leave the bottles on a bottle tree after you sanitize them until your ready to bottle? Or should you resanitize right before you bottle?
You should sanitize the already clean bottle tree and bottles immediately before starting the bottling session. Then place the bottles on the bottle tree till they're ready to be filled.

What kind of priming sugar is the best to use?
Table Sugar, Corn Sugar, or DME all work well for me, but you need different amounts to achieve a certain level of carbonation. If you use the tastybrew calculator, make sure you pick the required level of carbonation. You generally want about 2.5 volumes CO2 for a bottled beer. The volumes of CO2 for some beer styles (typically English) specified in Tastybrew are for draught beers, and are not suitable for bottled beers.

And should you mix the sugar in with the beer in bottling bucket or add to each individual bottle?
It's much easier and more accurate to dissolve the sugar in a cup or two of boiling water, cool it a little, add to the bottling bucket, rack the beer on top of it, and (some say) stir gently to get the sugar evenly dispersed. If you add the sugar to each bottle, it takes a lot longer, is less accurate, and it is possible to get grains of sugar stuck on the neck which could compromise the sealing of the cap.

-a.

 

[Squirrels]

I agree with the Hot Water - I've found that the best to use for the water is a cooler. I can manage to get a couple rounds of bottles through the water - waste less!

The Jet Bottle washer is awesome! Just don't lose the little gasket. I then run the heat cycle in the dishwasher.

One last thought - you'll learn certain bottles that the labels just aren't worth it. For me - I toss Great Lakes as they take too much work.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,great lakes,smithwick's,& sapporo to name a few. What a pita. But those lower priming sugar amounts are meant to emulate English ales on draught that are low carbonation regardless. Even there bottled ales are not much higher carb. It comes from that 14th century ferment it for four days & toss it in a keg kinda carbonation levels. I found that even 1.8 volumes of co2 is a little low. but since the low carb is traditional,& brings out the malt flavors that ales are intended to do...

 

[wesd25]

Thanks for advice. My ol man gave me 4 cases of old Miller Lite bottles (they are even pry off bottles) so I am soaking them in a 12 gallon cooler full of hot water and put 2 full scoops of Oxi Clean in as well. Does this sound about right or did I go overkill with the Oxi or not enough? I am doing 24 bottles at a time.

 

[unionrdr]

Def overkill on the oxycleanfree. After scrubbing off the glue that's left (I use a dobie) & a bottle brush,rinse real well with hot tap water. Then onto the ol' bottle tree to dry before boxing & storing.

 

[NivekD]

I think 2 scoops is overkill, I use about half a scoop for five gallons and it works fine.

 

[wesd25]

owell ill stick to one scoop for my 12 gallon cooler now, and what is a "dobie" uniondr?

 

[bleme]

I pile all my bottles in a 40 gallon trash can. I mix a little less than a half scoop with 5 gallons of hot water and pour over until covered and leave for 24 hours. The next day the labels that haven't fallen off get scraped with an old credit card then rinsed with a jet bottle washer (to get inside) and run through the dish washer (outside).

Also, you should always make sure that the bottles are still wet with sanitizer when you bottle.

 

[Squirrels]

owell ill stick to one scoop for my 12 gallon cooler now, and what is a "dobie" uniondr?

A brillo pad or green scrubbie - just something abrasive that will take the glue off. I personally use my finger nails as they scrape pretty well (I also chew them off, so the glue really doesn't matter).

 

[unionrdr]

"Dobie" is the trade name for a scrubbing sponge that has a tough,fine weave nylon on the outside. They come three to a box & last a long time. we used them when I worked at Zeibart as a rustproofer/cleaner. I love'em. Great with PBW for cleaning my HLT & BK clean as new again. Bottle cleaning is easier with'em as well. Even gets the lip of the bottles clean too. Crud can build up a layer in that area that keeps the caps from sealing 100% under pressure from the head space imo/e.

 

[wesd25]

So the Oxi Clean worked gret labels came off no problem. Now my problem is this white residue left on the outside of the bottle (its not glue). Does anyone know what this is and how to get it off? These bottles are prob 20+ years old just been stashed away. thanks for input.

 

[LBussy]

It's not residue, it is just scratched glass. Most used returnables will have these marks.

 

[wesd25]

Ok thanks I can live with that. Should I be concerned about the inside of the bottle? I ran my brush through them all and just waitin till they dry on the bottle tree before storing them until bottling day

 

[LBussy]

No unique worries, no. The scratches on the outside have no bearing on the inside

 

[bleme]

Starsan has had some success in getting rid of some of that white but it is aesthetic only.