How Do You Sanitize Your Bottles?

[premington]

For those who reuse bottles, I'm curious to read how you clean and sanitize them?

I'll start...

I put 5 gallons of hot water in my sink and put 1 oz. of Star San in the water. I fill and soak about 12 bottles for 2 to 4 minutes in the water/Star San mixture, transfer them to the dishwasher, and then continue to the next 12 bottles. I find, in my sink, 12 bottles is about the max.

After all the bottles are in the dishwasher, I DO NOT wash them with Cascade or any dishwashing liquid, which I suspect might mess with head retention due to rinsing agents. Instead, I put a small amount of Star San in the soap dispenser.

I then do a full hot-water wash and heated dry with all the bottles. Nothing else is in the dishwasher except bottles.

This method has worked excellently for me. I've never had any infections, and the bottles come out looking fantastic!

How do you clean your bottles?

 

[flars]

I clean my bottles with a solution of PBW if they need cleaning after quadruple rinsing. After rinsing the PBW store upside down to dry in a FastRack, then to cases.

I sanitize bottles with Star San solution using a vinator just before bottling.

Star San is not a cleaner. It's a sanitizer. I save my Star San solution in gallon jugs after use. If there is some debris in the bottom of the container holding the used solution that part is dumped.

 

[triethylborane]

PBW in 10 gal rubbermaid tote, diluted to water volume added. Soak for few days, then use a bottle washer. Store upside down in carriers. Starsan to proper dilution right before bottling.

 

[cmpk24]

I use the Wash/Rinse/Sanitize Method

on bottling day:

1. wash the bottles in the sink with bottle brush and soapy water.
2. rinse in clean water in the 2nd half of my sink.
3. sanitize by filling bucket with water and starsan. dunking each bottle into the solution, filling each bottle about halfway before shaking them up and pouring the solution back into the bucket. stand them upside down in my dish rack to drip dry.

 

[stylus1274]

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

 

[njohnsoncs]

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

This is exactly what I do and haven't had a problem.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I fill up both of my sinks which hold around 5 gallons each. In the first sink I put a half a cup of oxyclean free versitile. In the second sink I put in 2 ounces of Saniclean. I let the bottles soak for 20 minutes in the oxyclean then scrub a little with a bottle brush. Then the bottles are emptied and soak in the Saniclean for at least 3 minutes. Then the bottles are emptied an go in a Fastrack to dry. If the bottles have a small amount of sanitizer on them I don't care, but they are on the Fastrack drying for at least 20 minutes. I think my method is overkill, just cleaning 20 bottles for my 2 gallon batches is a huge pain in the ass. I'd have to re-think my method if I was bottling 5 gallons.

 

[Mainer]

My wife insists on washing my bottles as I go along, and she does it with dish detergent.

I know. Believe me. I know.

So anyway, because of that, even after they're clean, the day before bottling day I give all of my bottles a good soak (like at least 15 minutes in a sink full of hot water and PBW followed by a rinse), then set them up on the counter to dry (upside down, if possible).

Then on bottling day, I fill two five gallon buckets, one with star san solution (1 oz / 5gal) and one with tap water for rinse.

I soak 6 bombers or 8 12-ouncers in the Star San, then move them to the rinse bucket and line up another batch in the Star San. Each time I take a batch out of the rinse water, I move the Star San batch into the rinse bucket and a new set into the star san. That way everything gets at least a 5 or 10 minute soak and a 5 or 10 minute rinse.

It might be overkill, but it seems to work.

 

[mpolybius]

I wash them after drinking. On bottling day I put them in the dishwasher (with no other dishes) on Sanitize and heat dry with no detergent or rinse aid. Seems to work well for me and quite simple.

 

[Yooper]

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

This is exactly what I do and haven't had a problem.

Me, too.

I clean them after using (usually just rinsing very well, to get rid of any residue), and store them upside down to inhibit any mold growth or anything falling in the bottles.

At bottling day, rinse if they are dusty, inspect to make sure they're clean, and use the vinator thing to sanitize. Hang on bottling tree, and start bottling. It takes a couple of minutes.

Make sure you clean, then sanitize. Not the reverse. Clean bottles with something like oxiclean or bleach if you have too, then rinse well. Sanitize just before bottling.

 

[kh54s10]

I also rinse out the bottles after pouring and drinking. On bottling day I rinse off any dust. I put about a quart of Starsan solution in my Vinator.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=407281&stc=1&d=1499891828 I then pump a few times, dip the neck in the solution and place the bottle on my dishwasher rack. When I have enough bottles sanitized, I fill them. I have had ONE infected bottle in somewhere approaching 2500 bottles.

I sincerely don't think it takes that much to get the bottles sanitized.

5 gallons in the sink is a huge waste of Starsan. You can reuse it if the pH stays under 3. I use a 5 gallon batch for months. I am still on my first 16 ounce bottle after 6 years.

 

[Murphys_Law]

I'm pretty much in the "rinse, store, sanitize when bottling" club, except I will occasionally soak in a bucket of water and oxi.

But that's about it. I have around 10 cases of bottles and I don't bottle that much so if one of the bottles is dirty enough to require a brush I just toss it into the recycling bin and go about my business.

 

[Brownalemikie]

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

^^^This...minus one step. I rinse and shake the bottle twice right after pouring the beer into a glass. THEN, store until next bottling session where I simply submerse in Starsan solution, drain and fill with beer. I've done this method with 160 bottles that have been re-used dozens of times without any issues. The trick is to rinse IMMEDIATELY after pouring the beer. JMO

 

[fofusak]

+1 to the rinse immediately after pouring. I rinse with water like 4 times right after pouring, even before drinking. Put them upside down to let them dry.

On bottling day I used to rinse once more and santize (with starsan in a water sprayer, shooting inside and at the mouth). Now I bought some plastic boxes at costco. I'm storing them there. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to skip the rinse at bottling day and just sanitize. After all, how much dust/stuff can get into my bottles that are enclosed in a plastic box, and are perfectly clean?

Haven't had a single infection yet.

 

[Jtk78]

I've been ripped for going overboard here, but here's what I do.

- Rinse right after pouring beer with hot tap water, shake vigorously and dump. Repeat 3-4 times.

- on bottling day, fill up wash sink with hot water/oxi-TSP solution, fill bottles, let soak a min or two, dump, rinse, and put on bottle tree. My sink can hold 12 easily.

- When that's done & I start bottling, I grab from bottle tree, pump on Vinator 3 times, dunk neck, shake bottle out, and fill with beer.

 

[BrewZer]

Wow, I feel decidedly deficient, but I haven't had any contamination issues I can pin on the bottles. Day before bottling, I wipe out and fill the utility sink with cold water and add about a cup of standard unscented household bleach. I then add the bottles and let them sit for an hour or two, then siphon into my bottling bucket until it's full, then drain the rest of the sink and bottles and hit with a hot water rinse from a brass bottle rinser. Then I drain well and store in the case overnight with a clean dish towel over the open bottles. For swing tops, I swing but don't snap down the tops.

Bottling as usual the next morning.

 

[premington]

^^^This...minus one step. I rinse and shake the bottle twice right after pouring the beer into a glass. THEN, store until next bottling session where I simply submerse in Starsan solution, drain and fill with beer. I've done this method with 160 bottles that have been re-used dozens of times without any issues. The trick is to rinse IMMEDIATELY after pouring the beer. JMO

This is *exactly* what I do also! I didn't say, at the top of this thread, that I also thoroughly rinse out each bottle immediately after pouring the beer into a glass. When dry, I store them upside-down in the case they were purchased in. When I go to use them, then I do the Star San thing. Never had a problem.

It's really interesting reading everyone's methods. And each one works fine for each person. That tells me, there are many different and correct methods to bottle one's beer, and a new brewer can try each of them and decide which works best.

When I was a kid, my father made homemade ginger ale. When he bottled, he washed the bottles and then put them in the oven at a super high temp and left them there for a half an hour or so. I've been reading each post and haven't seen this method discussed. I suppose, with Star San and bleach available, everyone realizes there are easier methods that don't use so much heat energy.

 

[MyQuL]

I rinse after pouring a beer (like most seem to do here) then put them in my fast rack to drain and dry. One the fast rack it full up I put the bottle in the oven, turn it on to 150C then leave them for 40 mins. Once cool I put a little cling (I think you Americans call it saran wrap) film cap on them. Then on bottling day just take the cling film off and fill the bottle

 

[EagleScout]

I put them in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes after I drink the beer to clean them and then run them, alone with no soap, through a sanitize cycle in the dishwasher the night before I bottle.

 

[kjf45]

I'm in the rinse and shake vigorously after pouring, place in dishwasher with all other dirty dishes crowd. Store upside down wherever I can find space. A day or two before bottling fill dishwasher with bottles only and wash on high heat and dry. Bottling day starsan in the vinator a couple pumps per bottle dip the neck in starsan place in fast dry rack spray outside of bottles with starsan. Knocking on wood, I haven't had any issues.

 

[passedpawn]

I put them in the dishwasher with the rest of the dishes after I drink the beer to clean them and then run them, alone with no soap, through a sanitize cycle in the dishwasher the night before I bottle.

I used to use the dishwasher. Later I found it was easier to just use the vinator and bottling tree. I liked the idea of sanitizing just before bottling that way. I'd do a quick internal rinse right after pouring a bottle of beer.

 

[EagleScout]

I used to use the dishwasher. Later I found it was easier to just use the vinator and bottling tree. I liked the idea of sanitizing just before bottling that way. I'd do a quick internal rinse right after pouring a bottle of beer.

I still use a vinator for small batches but when I have 5 gallons to bottle I run 2 cases through the dishwasher in the morning or the night before. I bottle on the door of the dishwasher to catch any overflow so the bottles are right there and ready to go once I get everything else ready.

 

[KaptainKarl]

I rinse out the bottles after pouring, not always right away.

They sit in closed boxes, mostly, depending on my storage situation. Sometimes open to the air.

Bottling day I submerge them in starsan and let them drain out on the dishwasher rack. No problems yet.

 

[Jim311]

I hate bottling now that I have kegs but when I did I'd fill up a cooler with the sanitizer of my choice. I personally used a weak bleach dilution, 15ML per gallon if I recall correctly, as recommended in John Palmer's book. There are better options for sanitizing but not cheaper ones! I never noticed any off flavors. I'd fill a cooler or big rubermaid tote up with the mix and then soak the bottles for about half an hour. Rinsing your bottles after use makes any scrubbing unnecessary. Did I mention I hate bottling? Not only the process of sanitizing all the bottles but rinsing them, saving them, and having my whole freaking house full of them. It's a real PITA.

 

[thedon986]

I rinse after pouring/drinking and store in the case after drying. A day or so before bottling day I rinse and run a bottle brush through each, just in case. Load up the dishwasher and run with no detergent, with dry cycle on. Then I bottle right in front of the dishwasher grabbing from the rack. I used to cap them with aluminum foil squares after the dishwasher but just re-located my bottling equipment and cut that out.

 

[MHBT]

After my bottles are clean i put them upside down on a drying rack then i add a very small amount of star san to each bottle and shake them dump out the star san back into my gallon jug and proceed with bottling..i do not bottle much so i find this method is ok for small batches..larger batches might be too tedious

 

[dstockwell]

Rinse, store, run through dishwasher no soap, and sani-rinse cycle.

 

[BrewZer]

Did I mention I hate bottling? Not only the process of sanitizing all the bottles but rinsing them, saving them, and having my whole freaking house full of them. It's a real PITA.

I tried 5L cans (mini-kegs) for a couple of batches until one day, I found a mini-keg creased across the top from overpressure.

I decided at that time that if I'm going to lose beer to overpressure, 20 oz was better than 5L.

 

[shallywag]

I do the same thing.

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

 

[Kent88]

I go overboard with my bottle cleaning/sanitizing routine.

I always try to rinse my bottles as soon as they're empty. I put them away until I have a bunch to clean, then (usually within a day of when I want to bottle) I put my oven rack to the lowest setting, turn the temp to around 200F, fill my bottles with HOT tap water, and let them bake for a few hours. I sanitize with EZ Clean immediately before bottling.

Sometimes I will bake them in prep for outside cleaning (removing labels, adhesive, etc). After they've been in the oven for a few hours I'll mix up some PBW in a kettle and get that to about 155F, kill the burner, then I'll stand the bottles up in the kettle because I don't want PBW in the bottles. Wait until the cleanser temp drops to as hot as you can stand it, and start peeling and scrubbing the labels and adhesive away.

 

[Jim311]

The oven is one of the few ways you can actually STERILIZE your bottles. Somewhere online there's a list of times and temperatures for doing it, I think it was in Scott Palmers book "How To Brew" also.

 

[Hopsimus]

I too do the 'rinse after consumption' and then dry the bottle on a Fastrack.
The day before bottling, I put the bottles in the dishwasher, by themselves with no detergent, and run it on high heat, sanitary rinse and heated dry.
On bottling day I dunk each bottle in a Starsan solution, and let drip on a Fastrack (though I don't care if they dry out at this point).
After dunking every bottle, I then begin filling with beer and capping.

I do inspect each bottle before filling. Any which have a cloudy appearance I set aside and do a more thorough cleaning later on with PBW and a bottle brush.

So far haven't had any issues. And, a good portion of my bottles are reused commercial sours, so I must be doing something right!

Cheers!

 

[Kent88]

I think it was in Scott Palmers book "How To Brew" also.

Scott Palmer? Is he related to John Palmer?

 

[Tommydee]

I am totally going to get ripped for this but here goes.

Let me start by saying my bottles never touch my mouth. Every beer I drink that is poured from my bottle goes into a glass.

After I pour my beer into my glass I simply heavily rinse the beer bottle with water and put into a bottle dryer and store.

Come bottling day I do another simple rinse with water and then sanitize the bottle before adding the beer to it.

I have been doing this for 6+ years without issue. My thoughts are that water is more than enough to wash out the residual yeast/beer leftover from your pour. Now if you wait a week to rinse then yes, that is a problem.

I also have a weird paranoia about soap or other cleaners in my bottles that may leave behind residue.

+1. (Though only 6 months experience!) I found an unused small iron wine rack that a put on its side near my sink. So, I pour beer, fill 1/4 with water, shake, dump 3x, and store on the sink inverted so it drains and dries....when the rack is full, they go in the basement to join the clean herd, inverted to prevent particulate entry...then on bottling day, they get Starsans vinator just before.

For bottles that get neglected with resulting nastiness, I collect or dump. I only use PBW if I want to De-label bottles, or defunkify the neglected bottles.
I posted a pic on this forum sometime this year, but I found for PBW, I saved time, water, and detergent by ignoring the 5 gallon bucket on YouTube, and instead loaded a Home Cheapo under bed plastic storage bin (large but shallow) first with bottles, then a few scoops of PBW, then some hot water to easily submerge the bottles. That set to the left of the sink, and I could do a full process of soak, sink rinse, drain on my sanitized dishwasher rack, vinator, fill, cap. It was a thing of beauty.....then I started kegging

 

[geoffm33]

For those who reuse bottles, I'm curious to read how you clean and sanitize them?

I'll start...

I put 5 gallons of hot water in my sink and put 1 oz. of Star San in the water. I fill and soak about 12 bottles for 2 to 4 minutes in the water/Star San mixture, transfer them to the dishwasher, and then continue to the next 12 bottles. I find, in my sink, 12 bottles is about the max.

After all the bottles are in the dishwasher, I DO NOT wash them with Cascade or any dishwashing liquid, which I suspect might mess with head retention due to rinsing agents. Instead, I put a small amount of Star San in the soap dispenser.

I then do a full hot-water wash and heated dry with all the bottles. Nothing else is in the dishwasher except bottles.

...

I would definitely cut the star san bath from your routine. They won't be sanitized after the dishwasher from the bath. They may be sanitized from the high heat and star san in the soap dispenser, but not from the star san bath.

 

[Jim311]

Scott Palmer? Is he related to John Palmer?

No you're thinking of Arnold Palmer.

 

[rhys333]

I use Grolsch flip-top bottles and do the following:

1) Triple rinse after use, cap and put away in boxes;
2) Day before bottling, I inspect bottles and soak any with residue with Oxiclean solution. Usually that's about 18 or so that I stand in the sink;
3) On bottling day I dump the Oxi solution, flush 40-50 bottles using my tap-mounted bottle washer, sanitize with Star San, then leave on the bottle tree while I rack and prepare priming solution.

I love beer, but bottling SUCKS!

 

[Clef051]

I rinse good when i open the bottle, store upside down, put them in a bucket of star san when I'm going to bottle. I keg now, only bottling of the keg for the last couple years.

I keep some around for if I want to take it somewheres

 

[worpion]

i do the same and never had an issue

 

[beermanpete]

The oven is one of the few ways you can actually STERILIZE your bottles. Somewhere online there's a list of times and temperatures for doing it, I think it was in Scott Palmers book "How To Brew" also.

I have baked the empty bottles at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes with good results. Delabel with TPS and allow to dry (if required). Place a foil cap on each. Start with the oven and bottles cold. Put as many bottles in the oven as will fit. I put stainless steel wire racks (the kind you cool cookies on) with a finer mesh than the oven shelves over the oven racks so the bottles won't tip so easily. Turn on the oven and start timing after it gets to temp. After the 30 minutes ends turn of the oven and let it cool naturally without opening it. Doing this the night before bottling works well. Leave the foil caps in place until ready to fill. They peel off really easy.