washing bottles

[fishoe]

is there anything else i can use to wash/sanitize my bottles before bottling other than the little packets you get from a kit ?

 

[JMSetzler]

What little packets are you talking about?

In my procedure, wash and sanitize are two different steps. I clean bottles with hot water, mild soap solution, and a bottle brush and rinse thoroughly. I sanitize with right before I bottle.

 

[fishoe]

in my beer kits i buy their are two little packets, one for washing other for sanitizing, was just wondering if i could use something else or is that it :rockin:

 

[jackson_d]

Straight A or OxyClean. I guess basically the same thing. Best cleanser and label peeler I have ever worked with. Very quick label peeling results, just make sure you rinse well. Follow the easy instructions on the label on the bag of Straight A... Super easy.. Rinse well..

 

[Brewmasters Warehouse]

For washing a soak in oxyclean, and for sanitizing I use the dushwasher with the sanitize cycle.

Ed

 

[cclloyd]

I soak my bottles in a PBW (powdered brewers wash) solution and scrub with a bottle brush to clean and then rinse them in StarSan to sanitize. The PBW will eat up almost anything (including mold and asstd detritus that sometimes remains in recycled bottles) and facilitate easy label removal for first use bottles, and the StarSan is an excellent sanitizer.

 

[Yooper]

Exactly like the others said! Washing and sanitizing are two separate things. Now, I know many kits come with "one-step" which is supposed to clean and sanitize. It's an ok product, but I like doing it a bit differently.

If an item is clean, then it's not necessary to clean it again. If the item is dirty, then it must be cleaned before it's ready to sanitize. So, for dirty items, you can give them a soak in any cleaner. Many of us like oxyclean (unscented) because it works well. I got a 7 pound of a cleaner that I love: Our Powder Cleaner 7 lb. tub Hugh_Jass has a company that sells it, and it's awesome.

The items can be cleaned as you use them. In my case, whenever I empty a bottle, I rinse it well right then so there isn't any scrubbing to do later.

Once you have the clean items, then you can sanitize. I like star-san. It's a no-rinse sanitizer that you can just spray/dunk/immerse your items and then they're ready to be used for your beer.

 

[craven_morhead]

Yep, I do the oxyclean for old/scuzzy bottles, and then a heated dishwasher wash to sanitize. Once you have cleaned bottles and you're using them again for homebrewing, I often won't even do another oxyclean wash if I'm good about washing each bottle as I use it.

 

[rico567]

Yep, I do the oxyclean for old/scuzzy bottles, and then a heated dishwasher wash to sanitize. Once you have cleaned bottles and you're using them again for homebrewing, I often won't even do another oxyclean wash if I'm good about washing each bottle as I use it.

This is essentially my method. I get a batch of bottles (I use almost all commercial nonreturnables), they go into PBW for label removal and cleaning. It's then rinsed thoroughly, then I use Star San with a vinator (plastic pump gizmo made for sulfiting wine bottles, works like a dream with Star San on beer bottles) to sanitize the inside of the bottle, and they take a trip through the dishwasher.
The dishwasher will raise the temperature of the bottle to sanitizing temperatures, once it has been cleaned- but obviously, the dishwasher will not clean the inside of the bottle.
When I open a bottle of my homebrew, I pour, and then immediately rinse the bottle well with cold water. The next time I bottle, the evening before I only run the bottles through the vinator and Star San them, placing them directly in the dishwasher. This takes maybe 10-15 minutes. The next morning I get up and immediately run the dishwasher (if you use this method, be sure not to use soap and turn the Jet Dry dispenser OFF), so by the time I'm ready I have the sanitized bottles, good to go.

{NB: I have used this method practically since I started brewing, over 50 batches, and it has worked just fine. The resulting beer is very good, and is very consistent in taste, carbonation, etc. from bottle to bottle, so I conclude that this method works.}

 

[Homercidal]

I used to just wash with bottle brush and then starsan before bottling (rinsing bottles right after pouring too of course).

Then I discovered the power of PBW and OXIclean. No more bottle brush! Now I just soak over night in hot Oxi and rinse well with hot water, then hang upside down in top rack of washer. The bottles go upside down in cardboard cases until bottling day, when they get another shot of Starsan.

I've also heard that you can heat the bottles in the oven to sanitize, but they still need to be cleaned first.

 

[Karle]

I've also heard that you can heat the bottles in the oven to sanitize, but they still need to be cleaned first.

Yes, I do it that way. I first clean them thoroughly and then rinse them. I then put them in the oven at 170 degrees Celsius (about 340 Fahrenheit) for one hour, that not only sanitises them but makes them sterile. Before I put them in the oven I make sure that the bottles are as dry as possible and then I put some tinfoil on the top to seal them.

It is important to increase the temperature quite slowly until you reach 170 Celsisus, otherwise the glass may crack. I usually increas by around 15/20 degrees Celsius per 10 minutes, so it takes a little while. However, I noticed that it's fine to put the bottles in the oven when it's around 80 Celsius (176 F), bottles never crackedt that way. It's also important to cool them down slowly. I simply turn the oven off and leave the door closed, take them out when they are cold enough to touch.

The great thing about this technique is that is less work than sanitising and that the bottles are potentially sterile forever because they're sealed with alumnium foil.

One thing I noticed that is important is that bottles need to be as dry as possible. Otherwise, for some reason, sometimes a funny smell develops in there. That's not a biggy though, if that happens I just rinse them with some water that's been boiled for a while immediately before bottling.