Best way to Sanitize bottles without dishwasher

Hello there,

I have seen posts about sanitizing bottles in their dishwashers. I have also seen posts that people make about 1 gallon of Star-San mix and sanitize everything with that.

I do not have a dishwasher, and every time I bottle or brew I have to make about 5 gallons of star-san mix, what methods to you all use in order to sanitize your bottles using the least amount of star-san? I plan to get 5 gallons of distilled water and just have a bucket of it on hand at all times that I can keep reusing, but is this overkill? When I mix my star-san it becomes cloudy with tap water. I also plan to pickup so PH strips tomorrow for testing.

Thanks,
Lorne

 

I only make a gallon at a time of Star-san. Oh, and a vinator will be your best friend. You put Star-San in it and with a couple of pumps your bottles are sanitized. Uses hardly any sanitizer.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/vinator-bottle-rinser.html

 

I mix up my starsan in a spray bottle. Two shots through the neck coats the inside of the bottle. No need to fill the bottles up with the sanitizer as long as you coat it well. One of the regular sized spray bottles from Home Despot full of starsan lasts me though multiple brew sessions. Makes one bottle of starsan concentrate last a LONG time.

 

This is what I do. It works like a charm.

http://www.boomchugalug.com/knowledge/beer/baking-beer-bottles

 

+1 on Star-san and Vinator. Best way I've found to do it.

 

I dip the bottles in statsan and dry on a bottle rack (that is rinsed in starsan). A spray bottle of starsan is great for quick object sanitation during bottling, or anytime.
this makes it really quick without having to wait for drying or cooling.

 

Why are you mixing up so much? Not criticizing, just curious. I mix up a gallon at a time, and sanitize all equipment and 54~56 bottles. I use the "full immersion baptism" method, first dunk the bottles in a sink full of clean water, than a second dunk in a plastic dish-washing tub with the star san, and drain on a bottle tree.

 

to the baking bottles guy and all who want to do this, it'll weaken the glass especially around the neck so when you cap a bottle which has gone thru the heat/cool cycle, more than likely it'll crack and break eaisly break.
Just Saying>

Hecliff

 

Starsan is a leave-on sanitizer. Once it dries, it's not working anymore. Better to sanitize the bottles right before bottling and bottle while they're still wet.

 

I think if it's cooled slowly, it will mitigate this problem.

Does anyone have experience with baking bottles, and leaving them for a few weeks before bottling? I would be too scared to allow this much time to pass.

 

You'd have to cover each one with a bit of foil, but there's nothing wrong with it. It's what scientific laboratories do with glassware after autoclaving.

 

I rinse my clean bottle in hot water. Then fill them up with star san dump back in bucket and bottle while wet. Never had a infection yet. Knock on wood just curious why let star san dry. Like someone already said it works best when wet. And i have bottled on a bottle full of foam never any off flavors or problems. Baking your bottle in the oven seems like a heck of alot of work compared 2 dunk and bottle IMO. And working with hot glass that isn't pyrex seems dangerous.

 

The night before I bottle I soak all (56) bottles in oxiclean. I the rinse and let the dry overnight In milk crates. Bottling day I fill by bottling bucket with star San mixture and proceed to run every bottle through mock filling. I only fill each about an inch or two and the swirl around to get complete coverage. I dump back in my star San bucket and rack my beer into bottling bucket that is now empty or has a little foam left. I know it's probably a bit overkill but I'm yet to have an infection and it ensures all of my bottling equipment is sanatized.

 

On bottling day,I pull out the number of boxes of bottles needed for a batch. I have a vinator on top of a bottling tree. The vinator is half full or better with starsan. 5 pumps on each bottle,drain,& onto the tree. It's a 45 bottle tree,so I know I need only a few more bottles to complete a 5 gallon batch. Then start bottling immediately.
Starsan is a wet contact sanitizer that only takes 15-30 seconds to work. It's government law that states 1 minute.

 

I do the baking method, and it has worked for me through many batches. Foil over the top of clean bottles, 1 hour in the oven at 340 degrees, then leave them in the oven overnight to cool slowly. I save up my clean bottles until I have enough to fill the oven, and then 20 minutes of effort gets me several cases of sterile bottles I can use at any time.

I especially like the method since I bottle from the keg, so I don't have to do all my bottling in one session - can just do a few at a time anytime I have a few minutes. The only prep I need is to put a handful of caps in a dish of star san and away I go.

Never had a problem with broken bottles, etc.

 

Seems like a lot of overkill in this thread.

I mix starsan in RO water and keep it sealed in a gallon jug and I have a spray bottle full for when I need it. It lasts a looooooong time.

If I am bottling a bunch of bottles, I take clean bottles, a bit of starsan in a vinator, a couple of pumps, hang them on a bottle tree of put them top down in the dishwasher and I'm good to go.

If I want to bottle out of a keg, I take a clean bottle and spray a bit of starsan in it, dump the drips out and bottle then fill.

 

This

 

I StarSan them as I use them. Pour a beer, rinse a couple times, 2-3 squirts of StarSan from a spray bottle, seal with a bit of foil and put away. I bottle to empty off kegs but this way I always have a bunch of sanitized bottles ready for use with the effort spread over a longer period.

 

Agreed. I have done the same with the same slow cool about 10 times and never had an issue.

 

I rinse after pouring, let them sit for a day or so then pour out the drops of water and throw them in a plastic bin. On bottling day I just give them a couple squirts with the vinator. I do the same thing with bottles containing sours and haven't had any bottle infections, so I figure it's a good system.

 

Not trying to be a smart a$$, I am curious. I have heard this claim before, but have not seen any science behind it. Is this urban legend or can you point me to an article that puts some science behind this.

 

I rinse all bottles right after I pour a beer. When I need to bottle, I dump my Star-San bucket into my bottling bucket. Hook up the tubing and fill each bottle 1/2way. When all are done I flip the bottle and then return. Dump remaining Star-San back into Star-San bucket. Siphon beer to bottling bucket. Dump 12 bottles in Star-San bucket (last coating) fill, cap, rinse and repeat.

From start-finish, it takes me 90 minutes including clean-up. With the siphoning from the fermenter being the big time-drain, actually filling & capping is 15-25minutes.