Sanitizing Bottles

[brewinggirl]

So over the weekend I decided to remove the labels from 5 cases of empties a good friend had donated to me. Don't worry, I plan to repay his generosity w/some homebrew when ready Anyway, I used warm water and oxyclean to remove the labels which did a great job, but I still need to sanitize before bottling of course. So, if I put the bottles in my dishwasher, which has a “sanitize” option, would that do the trick? Or …do I still need to soak them in Star-san as well just to make sure no baddies are still attached to those bottles? Thanks for the input!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

as long as there's nothing like jet dry in the dishwasher, you should be fine. i personally use a vinator to sanitize bottles (no dishwasher ). i really like it, it makes it quick and easy. i got the vinator at Midwest for like $10, well worth it.

 

[unionrdr]

Plus a zillion on the vinator & bottle tree. Works better than a dishwasher to me. Get's deep inside the bottle with just a few pumps. Drain & onto the bottle tree. Then fill. I use starsan in mine. Dishwashers can't get into the small bottle opennings very well.

 

[brewinggirl]

Thanks! I'll def order one right away

 

[klnosaj]

Another option: clean the bottles with a bottle brush, allow excess water to drip dry (i.e., the inside of the bottles don't have to be bone dry), place aluminum foil over the mouths of the bottles, place them in cold oven, set to bake at 300 degrees and cook them for an hour after temp is reached. Then you can store them for weeks if not months!

 

[wailingguitar]

Another option: clean the bottles with a bottle brush, allow excess water to drip dry (i.e., the inside of the bottles don't have to be bone dry), place aluminum foil over the mouths of the bottles, place them in cold oven, set to bake at 300 degrees and cook them for an hour after temp is reached. Then you can store them for weeks if not months!

That is an excellent idea.

 

[GDRMaille]

What does the aluminum foil help with in that process?

 

[mtk6006]

Personaly if i heated glass at 300 i be worried about its structure being altered. I know it might sound dumb but do that enough times and the glass will become britle correct? Just like heating and cooling metal at a rapid temps Call me paranoid but i would air dry it

 

[beergolf]

Or you can use the poor man's Vinator.......a turkey baster.

A good squirt, thumb over bottle, a quick shake, drain and put in the dishwasher rack to drain. Easy since I bottle over the open dishwasher door.

 

[wailingguitar]

The aluminum foil is to prevent anything from getting into the bottle.

The idea with the oven thing is to bring the glass up to pasteurization temps slowly and then allow it to cool, again, slowly... 300 degrees wouldn't be necessary, although I have heard people using that kind of temp, 200 (which is the low end of most ovens) would work just fine.

 

[derte]

i use dish washer on high heat and heat dry (no detergent!). This should get all the unseen nasties... but you still need to have star-san contact on the inside of that bottle for good sanitation. Dont forget to soak your bottle caps as well

 

[brewinggirl]

Or you can use the poor man's Vinator.......a turkey baster.

A good squirt, thumb over bottle, a quick shake, drain and put in the dishwasher rack to drain. Easy since I bottle over the open dishwasher door.

Hmm ...I may just have to go with this route for now. Been spending more $ on beer/wine brewing supplies than I thought What an addictive, but fun hobby!

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Been spending more $ on beer/wine brewing supplies than I thought What an addictive, but fun hobby!

spoken like someone who's totally caught the bug!! :rocking: get used to it, this hobby's amazing, and it's real easy to spend $$ on fun brewing toys. the turkey baster will work fine, as will your dishwasher. now you can use that $$ saved to buy more ingredients.

 

[Skagdog]

I usually have a couple gallons of starsan in my bottling bucket so I just rack a small amount (oz or two) of starsan into each bottle, give it a shake, then place it upside down in the rack. It might not be the most efficient process but it works for me. The bottles, the bucket, and the tubing all get starsan-ed on bottling day.

 

[Just-a-Guy]

This is also helpful to me, thanks.

I have been using the dishwasher. But I am ordering a vinator and tree. Assuming I plan to do both, should the sequence be -- dishwasher, then vinator with Star-San solution, then onto tree, then fill and cap? Or should I do the vinator/Star-San first, then dishwasher?

Thanks!

Mark

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

This is also helpful to me, thanks.

I have been using the dishwasher. But I am ordering a vinator and tree. Assuming I plan to do both, should the sequence be -- dishwasher, then vinator with Star-San solution, then onto tree, then fill and cap?

Thanks!

Mark

do this. BTW, you'll love the vinator and tree, it cut a lot of time out of my bottling days, and the vinator saves starsan.

 

[GASoline71]

I don't run my bottles through the dishwasher. But I use my dishwasher racks as my "bottle tree". I just spray them down with some Star-san prior to placing the bottles on the posts on the racks.

I use a 5 gallon bucket with a Star-san mixture, and just submerge the bottles to about halfway full then dump that out back in the bucket, and place on the dishwasher racks. Then just leave the dishwasher door open to let them air dry a tad before I bottle. This is of course after i have already cleaned them with bleach earlier.

I don't even wait for all the Star-san foam in the bottles to go away. Just fill, cap, and wait for carbonation.

Gary

 

[unionrdr]

Since starsan is a wet contact sanitizer,it shouldn't be allowed to dry.

 

[ajf]

So over the weekend I decided to remove the labels from 5 cases of empties a good friend had donated to me. Don't worry, I plan to repay his generosity w/some homebrew when ready Anyway, I used warm water and oxyclean to remove the labels which did a great job, but I still need to sanitize before bottling of course. So, if I put the bottles in my dishwasher, which has a “sanitize” option, would that do the trick? Or …do I still need to soak them in Star-san as well just to make sure no baddies are still attached to those bottles? Thanks for the input!

I hope you rinsed the bottles really well after soaking in oxyclean.
Yes, the dishwasher should be good for sanitizing providing you don't have any jet dry in there. It's the heat that does the sanitizing, not the small amount of water shat will get in the bottle, and drain out again.

-a.

 

[klnosaj]

The aluminum foil is to prevent anything from getting into the bottle.

The idea with the oven thing is to bring the glass up to pasteurization temps slowly and then allow it to cool, again, slowly... 300 degrees wouldn't be necessary, although I have heard people using that kind of temp, 200 (which is the low end of most ovens) would work just fine.

I took the method from John Palmer:
Oven
Dry heat is less effective than steam for sanitizing and sterilizing, but many brewers use it. The best place to do dry heat sterilization is in your oven. To sterilize an item, refer to the following table for temperatures and times required.

Table 3 - Dry Heat Sterilization

Temperature Duration
338°F (170°C) 60 minutes

320°F (160°C) 120 minutes

302°F (150°C) 150 minutes

284°F (140°C) 180 minutes

250°F (121°C) 12 hours (Overnight)

The times indicated begin when the item has reached the indicated temperature. Although the durations seem long, remember this process kills all microorganisms, not just most as in sanitizing. To be sterilized, items need to be heat-proof at the given temperatures. Glass and metal items are prime candidates for heat sterilization.

Some homebrewers bake their bottles using this method and thus always have a supply of clean sterile bottles. The opening of the bottle can be covered with a piece of aluminum foil prior to heating to prevent contamination after cooling and during storage. They will remain sterile indefinitely if kept wrapped.

One note of caution: bottles made of soda lime glass are much more susceptible to thermal shock and breakage than those made of borosilicate glass and should be heated and cooled slowly (e.g. 5 °F per minute). You can assume all beer bottles are made of soda lime glass and that any glassware that says Pyrex or Kimax is made of borosilicate.

 

[GASoline71]

Since starsan is a wet contact sanitizer,it shouldn't be allowed to dry.

Yep... When I bottle... there is still foam in the bottles.

Gary