Bottle Sanitization

[delcosansgluten]

Is this way of sterilizing bottles legit? Does anyone do it?

https://boomchugalug.com/pages/baking-beer-bottles

 

[BrewZer]

Looks legit to me. But it seems just as much trouble as dunking the bottles in a bleach bath then rinsing them with a jet sprayer.

 

[day_trippr]

Most beer bottles are now intended for single-use before crushing to cullet for recycling. I would be leery of repeated thermal stress for the purpose of sanitation when much less temperature-intensive solutions exist - like a quick soak in a cold Star San bath when bottling...

Cheers!

 

[pdxal]

Can be done, you can also run them through a dishwasher with heat drying/steam to sanitize as long as they are clean.

 

[Eric_dsm]

I've done it a few times and never had any problems. A quick dip in sanitizer is faster. Plus you can only fit so many bottles in the oven. It's legit, though.

 

[rock_n_herm]

Clean is top priority - make sure there isn’t any residue of previous brew left in the bottle. I have heard oven sanitizing works, but never tried it. I just go with clean (scrubbed with a bottle brush and some dish soap), drip dry, then a 2 minute soak in StarSan. Works every time.

 

[hotbeer]

I know what I find in my dishwasher's filter. So that's a no for me, both for cleaning and sanitizing. Ovens just seem like the bottles will be too long cooling.

I'll go with iodophor or star-san. Chlorine bleach for the first time I bring in bottles from less than trusted sources like bars. Or anytime I have a run of infected bottles.

 

[Ninoid]

Watter, brush and Starsan.

 

[Gorm]

I do the water, brush as bottles are consumed. Starsan right before bottling. All equipment get a day long soak in a chlorine solution. Helps burn off biofilm which can/does occur even with the jet wash and brush.

 

[ncbrewer]

I've tried many methods of bottle cleaning. I was never completely satisfied until I tried a Papazian method. He wrote about cleaning carboys with 2 oz bleach in 5 gallons of water, with an overnight soak. I use this bleach concentration, but scaled down for just the bottles I am cleaning (one session of beer bottles) - still an overnight soak. It cleans better than anything else I've tried - spotless and no film. Then on bottling day, I spray one bottle with star san using a vinator, while I'm filling the previous bottle - very little extra time involved. For the star san, I give it 30 seconds contact time plus a safety factor - that is what the inventor, Charlie Talley stated is required.

 

[Rish]

I've done the oven sanitation method for over 3 years with no problems. But I don't go nearly as hot or nearly as long since I'm not trying to sterilize, just sanitize. I rinse well when I finish a bottle, let it dry, put on the foil and stick it in a beer carton. When I have enough for a n oven load, I put them in a cold oven, bring the temp up to 180*F, hold for 20 minutes, then let cool with the oven closed. Less stress on the bottles, less for me to mess with on bottling day. I recommend it.

 

[Ninoid]

I've done the oven sanitation method for over 3 years with no problems. But I don't go nearly as hot or nearly as long since I'm not trying to sterilize, just sanitize. I rinse well when I finish a bottle, let it dry, put on the foil and stick it in a beer carton. When I have enough for a n oven load, I put them in a cold oven, bring the temp up to 180*F, hold for 20 minutes, then let cool with the oven closed. Less stress on the bottles, less for me to mess with on bottling day. I recommend it.

Starsan is easier and perhaps more effective.

 

[madscientist451]

I keep things simple, make sure the bottles are rinsed out and cleaned before they are put away, then on bottling day, inspected, (although this is redundant, as they've already been cleaned) , rinsed, immersed in bucket of Starsan, dumped out and filled.

 

[emac813]

I run them through the dishwasher with no soap on a short cycle with heat dry. The hot steam is plenty hot enough to sanitize them. Then you can put your bottling bucket right over the open dishwasher to not make a mess.

 

[DuncB]

PBW and brush to get the crud off if resurrecting a bottle then starsan before bottling.
Same for kegs as well although those have the starsan purged out with late ferment CO2.

 

[Bramling Cross]

I've tried many methods of bottle cleaning. I was never completely satisfied until I tried a Papazian method. He wrote about cleaning carboys with 2 oz bleach in 5 gallons of water, with an overnight soak. I use this bleach concentration, but scaled down for just the bottles I am cleaning (one session of beer bottles) - still an overnight soak. It cleans better than anything else I've tried - spotless and no film. Then on bottling day, I spray one bottle with star san using a vinator, while I'm filling the previous bottle - very little extra time involved. For the star san, I give it 30 seconds contact time plus a safety factor - that is what the inventor, Charlie Talley stated is required.

I couldn't agree more! I know bleach gives contemporary brewers the heebie jeebies, but I brewed in glass carboys for twenty years with bleach as my primary cleaner (there were a few short-lived experiments with PBW and oxy).

Bleach works! Best of all it requires zero effort, it's cheap as chips, and you simply soak the vessel, rinse thoroughly, then move on to the sanitation step. There's zero scrubbing, everything simply falls to the bottom of the vessel and remains there as a powdery white layer that rinses out. It's so elegant!

My fermenters are currently stainless and the only gripe I have about them is the fact that I can't fill them with bleach and let them soak for a week. I really miss the simplicity and effectiveness of bleach.

 

[davidabcd]

There was a big to-do about baking them on the UK sister site. A lot of them do it and say they get good results.
I find it easy enough to rinse them well after they've been poured and an easy next step of starsan using the

 

[estricklin]

I keep things simple, make sure the bottles are rinsed out and cleaned before they are put away, then on bottling day, inspected, (although this is redundant, as they've already been cleaned) , rinsed, immersed in bucket of Starsan, dumped out and filled.

This simple but highly effective method has served me well for years. I’ve tried so many other things, but I just kept going back to this.

 

[MaxStout]

I keep things simple, make sure the bottles are rinsed out and cleaned before they are put away, then on bottling day, inspected, (although this is redundant, as they've already been cleaned) , rinsed, immersed in bucket of Starsan, dumped out and filled.

That's my process to a tee.

I had previously used a Vinator thingy, but after busting 2 of them (that cheesy plastic they make them from cracks easily), I just dunk in a bucket of Starsan, dump, set in a Fast-Rack, fill and cap.