Bottling day sanitizing

[biggubba]

I read or heard some where that you can sanitize your bottles in the dishwasher on a high temp wash. Is there any truth to this? Also need tips on the cleaning and sanitizing of used bottles. Any help is appreciated.

 

[alexmatt86]

It depends on your dishwasher. Some have a sanitize or high heat option and that has worked for me in the past. Bottled and didn't have any problems.

If you use a dishwasher without the sanitize button I would just use high heat and no soap.

Here is a link.. Hope this helps.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/sanitizing-bottles-dishwasher-42042/

 

[MalFet]

It really depends on your dishwasher. If you have a sanitize setting, it might work. That said, I still prefer a faucet mount jet washer and a vinator filled with starsan. I wouldn't trust enough water to get into the narrow necks of the bottles to work.

 

[FifteenTen]

I think you can sanitize clean bottles with high temps or a sanitize setting but I think Jet Dry or equivalents are evil to beer.

 

[Tall_Yotie]

I would suggest against it, if anything for piece of mind. It doesn't take too long to sanitize bottles, especially with a vinator, and then you will be certain that it is sanitized. For me, it is one of those "better safe than sorry" things. As MalFet said, I doubt that enough hot water will get into the bottles themselves to sanitize (especially without any soap residue).

 

[unionrdr]

That's why I soak labels & gunk off in PBW,then use a vinitor & bottle tree to sanitize before filling. Takes no time at all.

 

[Fennis]

I've used my dishwasher to sanitize my bottles, but I do have a high heat/sanitize option. I also wash out every bottle first with hot water in the sink to make sure there is nothing in the bottles themselves. It may be redundant, but at least I know my bottles are cleaned and I am just using the dishwasher's high heat to sanitize. I run the dishwasher through once, completely empty with no detergents in it to make sure no residue is left over, then I load it full of bottles. After the bottles are done, before I bottle, I swish around starsan in each bottle before filling it up. I may be taking too many steps, but I'd rather not lose beer because I was lazy or didn't clean properly.

 

[gruffudd]

I use the same procedure that Hagelini does. Haven't had a problem with it yet. The only other thing I do is run it empty on a rinse cycle to get rid of any food particles that may have stuck around. Redundant, probably but it makes me feel better

 

[Hang Glider]

Living alone, my dishwasher isn't necessary. Therefore, it is my bottle washer. Once through with Cascade to assure it's clean (they're pre-rinsed thoroughly after use anyway), - and I must use Cascade purely because of it's brand name!!! - then once through on high heat, no soap. Leave the door closed for cool-down, then open when I'm ready to bottle.

Oh, and Revvy's idea of the bottling wand stuck in the spigot hanging over the open dishwasher door is worth gold.

 

[AfternoonReview]

I sanitize my bottles in my dishwasher, but I don't have a dishwasher with a "sanitize" setting. I rinse out the bottles immediately after pouring the beer out of them and then just store them in a box in the kitchen. Then, on bottling day, I put them in the dishwasher and run it through a short cycle (my washer has a "water miser" cycle that I use for this) with no detergent. I don't run the dishwasher empty beforehand, either. So far, this has worked for me. But that being said, I've only done it on a couple of batches. I don't foresee running into trouble though. As long as the bottles are clean beforehand, I'm pretty sure the heat of the dishwasher + the length of time the bottles are in there (about 30 min.) will kill any microbes.

 

[unionrdr]

My cooper's micro brew FV is set up that way. But I went to a bottling bucket to bulk prime,so I have an even more comfortable set up now. I rack to the priming bucket with a piece of tubing stuck on the cooper's bottling wand tube. Ease in the priming solution,set bottle on my 12 pack cooler,& sit there bottling away. I have everything I need at arms reach,& below shoulder level (save for the bottling bucket/fermenters on an old printer stand). The printer stand is large enough to contain all my brewing stuff too.

 

[rycov]

i rinse the bottles when i drink them, then put them in the dishwasher with no soap when i'm going to use them. its way too easy.

 

[EddieB428]

Being a biology major and having taken microbiology I just want to point out something with the dishwasher. The necks on bottles are small so not a lot of the water gets into them. But it's not the hot water that does the sanitizing, it's the steam. As long as steam gets into the bottle they will be sanitized.

I've been tempted when I get to bottling day to ask one of my professors if I could bring a case of bottles in and use the autoclave to sterilize my bottles...but I don't think the college powers that be would like that too much

 

[rico567]

The day before bottling, I take my bottles (which were all rinsed thoroughly immediately after pouring the beer) and us a vinator to sanitize with Star San. As they come off the vinator, I place them in the dishwasher. This whole process takes maybe 15 minutes.
The next morning when I get up, I run the dishwasher, no soap, Jet Dry turned off. I then make my run into town, when I get back, bottles have cooled down enough to handle, and I bottle.

 

[Hang Glider]

The day before bottling, I take my bottles (which were all rinsed thoroughly immediately after pouring the beer) and us a vinator to sanitize with Star San. As they come off the vinator, I place them in the dishwasher. This whole process takes maybe 15 minutes.
The next morning when I get up, I run the dishwasher, no soap, Jet Dry turned off. I then make my run into town, when I get back, bottles have cooled down enough to handle, and I bottle.

you might be wasting StarSan - just sayin'

it's a no-rinse wet-contact sanitizer. StarSan should not be rinsed, and the item sanitized should be used "wet"

 

[rico567]

you might be wasting StarSan - just sayin'

it's a no-rinse wet-contact sanitizer. StarSan should not be rinsed, and the item sanitized should be used "wet"

Yep, for the record, I'm aware of this. Trouble is, I've been torn either/or on how to do the bottles. They can sit around a while and get dusty between uses. So if I just Star San the interior and bottle immediately, the outside of the bottle is somewhat dirty. If I just use the dishwasher, not much of any effect inside the bottle. So at least I've run sanitizer inside the bottle, and the dishwasher the next morning cleans the outside. I'd cheerfully drop one process or the other, but until another satisfactory procedure (with me, "satisfactory" mainly means it satisfies the KISS principle) suggests itself, I'm stickin' with this.

 

[unionrdr]

After soaking the labels & gunk off,I scrub them in-n-out real quick,then dry them on my bottle tree. I then put them in boxes with flaps I can close. They stay clean & dust free till time to sanitize & bottle. There you go. Principle suggested. Works well,& it's quicker.

 

[dunard2]

I posted this a few days ago on another thread . . .

Once I have enjoyed a bottle's contents and rinsed it thoroughly, I run it through the dishwasher. After it's washed, I seal the top with Glad Press-n-Seal. Then on bottling day, I run all of the bottles through the dishwasher again -- and that's it. The only reason I'm comfortable with this (and have never had a problem) is that my dishwasher (a Bosch) also sanitizes with heat.