Is it possible to sterilize bottles after bottling?

[mcgster]

Is it possible to sterilize a beer after its in the bottle?

It may seem like a stupid question but even with thorough sanitation techniques when i produce a beer to age i end up with gushers. After i bottle if i consume all of the beer within 3 to 4 months everything is great but when i try to age any bottles i end up with almost universal gushers (force carbed and primed). I live in a 130 year old house with exposed beams in my basement and all i can think of is that low levels of brett or pedd. are settling in from the air and after awhile they are able to establish enough of a population to destroy my beer.

The next two brews i had planned are an epic stout at 12% and a barleywine at 14%. Given the luck i have had over the past year with my aged bottles i'm worried about making the investment. I brew quite frequently at least every other week, and only have an issue with the aged bottles.

 

[Howhownow]

I have a similar issue. Stovetop Pasteurization is an option that would work, but I have never tried.

 

[Minbari]

sure, its called pasteurization. heat the bottles to at least 170° F, just keep the pot covered in case you get a bottle bomb or two.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I apologize in advance, I am still new to the process but maybe there is a safer way to store them. You likely could sanitize them but if the duration is the issue, I could imagine it would make little difference unless you constantly sanitized them. I've recently purchased some quite large tupperware totes at very low cost and they hold nearly everything. I even use an empty tote to sanitize my gear in on brew day and then when I clean and store it back in the tote afterwards, the tote is already sanitized as well. It seems a safer location is your best bet.

 

[mcgster]

I was thinking about pasteurization but i figured the bottles would explode! I guess you could probably calculate the change in pressure. If the beer was carbed at 40F and you were raising it to 170F the pressure would increase predictably.

Just curious if anyone has tried it!

 

[mcgster]

If the bottle is sealed properly pasteurization should only have to be done once as no new microbes would be able to get in. Kill them once they are in the bottle and its sealed and you shouldn't have to worry about it again.

I apologize in advance, I am still new to the process but maybe there is a safer way to store them. You likely could sanitize them but if the duration is the issue, I could imagine it would make little difference unless you constantly sanitized them. I've recently purchased some quite large tupperware totes at very low cost and they hold nearly everything. I even use an empty tote to sanitize my gear in on brew day and then when I clean and store it back in the tote afterwards, the tote is already sanitized as well. It seems a safer location is your best bet.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I'm sorry. Disregard. I completely misunderstood the question, long day.

 

[mcgster]

No worries at all!

 

[mcgster]

So this link describes a commercial beer pasteurization process

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer-edu/beer-pasteurization-aid-123.html

According to this link beer only needs to be held at 140F for 3 minutes.

If i were to force carb my beer to 10PSI at 40F then raise the temperature after bottling to 140F according to Guy-Lussac's law (good old physics) i would only see a pressure increase of 2 PSI?? This is far less than i would have assumed... i could easily prepare a water bath at 140 and raise the temp that way. I used P1/T1 = P2 /T2 to calculate the pressure change.

 

[Howhownow]

If you are not bottle conditioning another option would be dose with something to kill all nasties (and yeast), then force, carb, then bottle.

So far my answer to this issue: drink fast.

 

[mcgster]

If you are not bottle conditioning another option would be dose with something to kill all nasties (and yeast), then force, carb, then bottle.

So far my answer to this issue: drink fast.

I've never considered this. Are there products that do this without affecting flavour?

 

[heckels]

You can add sulfites to the beer to help stifle yeast/nasty reproduction. It's not as guaranteed as good 'ol pasteurization but works.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[helibrewer]

Is it possible to sterilize a beer after its in the bottle?

It may seem like a stupid question but even with thorough sanitation techniques when i produce a beer to age i end up with gushers. After i bottle if i consume all of the beer within 3 to 4 months everything is great but when i try to age any bottles i end up with almost universal gushers (force carbed and primed). I live in a 130 year old house with exposed beams in my basement and all i can think of is that low levels of brett or pedd. are settling in from the air and after awhile they are able to establish enough of a population to destroy my beer.

The next two brews i had planned are an epic stout at 12% and a barleywine at 14%. Given the luck i have had over the past year with my aged bottles i'm worried about making the investment. I brew quite frequently at least every other week, and only have an issue with the aged bottles.

Is there any particular odor to the gusher beer? Do you reuse yeast or top crop? Are you able to measure the pH of the gusher beer?

 

[mcgster]

Is there any particular odor to the gusher beer? Do you reuse yeast or top crop? Are you able to measure the pH of the gusher beer?

Im on the road now but i'll try to determine what the off flavor is once i'm back. Its two different yeast strains cultured using starters. One is a starter that i continually split and use over / over but the other one was a new pack.

 

[helibrewer]

Im on the road now but i'll try to determine what the off flavor is once i'm back. Its two different yeast strains cultured using starters. One is a starter that i continually split and use over / over but the other one was a new pack.

I have a suspicion that you might have a Obesumbacterium infection. It is a yeast and wort spoiler and one of the most common contaminants in breweries. It can have a parsnip or fruit like odor. It is also capable of producing DMS.

During fermentation it can result in slow fermentations or higher than expected finishing gravities. It is this bacteria that acid washing was invented for and top cropped yeast is very susceptible. If you bottom crop the risk is much lower. If it is in your main culture, it would just perpetuate from one pitch to the next.

Lacto or Pedio should give a distinct sour or vinegar taste with possible biofilm ropiness.

 

[mcgster]

I have a suspicion that you might have a Obesumbacterium infection. It is a yeast and wort spoiler and one of the most common contaminants in breweries. It can have a parsnip or fruit like odor. It is also capable of producing DMS.

During fermentation it can result in slow fermentations or higher than expected finishing gravities. It is this bacteria that acid washing was invented for and top cropped yeast is very susceptible. If you bottom crop the risk is much lower. If it is in your main culture, it would just perpetuate from one pitch to the next.

Lacto or Pedio should give a distinct sour or vinegar taste with possible biofilm ropiness.

I should just switch to brewing sours!

Are you aware of any downsides to pasteurization? I have the ability to maintain a water bath at a set temp quite easily because i use a heat stick hooked up to a PID for my mash control. I was thinking i could probably fit 24 in at a time.