arghhh! - (bottle sanitation)

[newbrewr4fun]

Today I was ready to bottle my stout. I sanitized all of the bottles bottle caps bucket and necessary equipment. Boiled and cooled my priming sugar. Then I discover that the bottle filler I have does not fit my 1/2" autosiphon. I don't have a racking cane so I can't bottle my beer.

What a waste. I ordered a 1/2" bottle filler and ended up buying a pale ale while I was at it. So I should be bottling in a couple days.

How long will my bottles stay sanitized for? I put them back in the box and am assuming they only stay sanitized for a day or so, do I need to re sanitize them before I bottle?

 

[SavageSteve]

D'oh! That sucks...

You should sanitize the bottles again-- you can't be too careful with sanitization.

-Steve

 

[damrass]

Between now and the time you actually fill the bottles, they could become contaminated. The risk of contamination increases by the minute between the time you sanitize them and the time you fill them.

So unless you can store them in a verified 100% sterilized environment until then (like an autoclaved enclosure), go ahead and sanitize before using em.

 

[Revvy]

Why are you filling with a siphon and not racking to an actual bottling bucket with a spigot?

And where are you adding the priming solution, right to your primary or secondary? ZIf you are doing that then you are going to kick up all the gunk you patiently let settle out of your beer?

You use the autosiphon to rack over to you bottling bucket.

This is the setup I use...bottling bucket with wand attached directly to the spigot on the bucket. I set it on a pot so it's at eye level. I hated having the hose of the bottle wand hooket up to the spigot, this way works better for me becasue the beer is at eye level.

I also have a dip tube in my bucket, which means I only miss a couple of ounces of beer when filling, and don't have to tilt the bucket. As you can see, there's very little left in the bottom of the bucket.

 

[Maine Homebrewer]

What he said.

 

[Powchekny]

I sanitize my bottles by covering the tops with squares of aluminum foil, then baking them for an hour at 375 deg. F.

The upside to this is that if the foil tops are tight, the bottles will stay sanitized (probably nearly sterile, actually) for quite some time. The downside is that you need to wait for them to cool afterwards, and the electricity you use running your oven for an hour.

 

[BrianP]

+1 on the bottle bucket. If you use a short section of tubing between the spigot and the wand, it makes it easier since you don't have to sit the wand down between fillers - you just let it hang there.

 

[GunnerMan]

Yes get a bottle bucket, go to your local hardware store and pick up your standard white 5 gal bucket and throw a spigot on it, very cheap that way. I just attach a 1' section of tube to my spigot, stick my tube to the bottom of the bottle and open her up. I don't have a bottle filler so I just use the valve on the spigot.

 

[talkingmonkey]

Today I was ready to bottle my stout. I sanitized all of the bottles bottle caps bucket and necessary equipment. Boiled and cooled my priming sugar. Then I discover that the bottle filler I have does not fit my 1/2" autosiphon. I don't have a racking cane so I can't bottle my beer.

What a waste. I ordered a 1/2" bottle filler and ended up buying a pale ale while I was at it. So I should be bottling in a couple days.

How long will my bottles stay sanitized for? I put them back in the box and am assuming they only stay sanitized for a day or so, do I need to re sanitize them before I bottle?

Similar situation...I dumped a 1/4 of my beer from my bottling bucket onto my hardwoods, (Winner!!!) This just in-lots o' beer warps hardwoods...So, I had many sanitized bottles left over-I put them in a box and covered the tops with Saran Wrap. Do you guys think that's good enough?

 

[Yooper]

Similar situation...I dumped a 1/4 of my beer from my bottling bucket onto my hardwoods, (Winner!!!) This just in-lots o' beer warps hardwoods...So, I had many sanitized bottles left over-I put them in a box and covered the tops with Saran Wrap. Do you guys think that's good enough?

Good enough for what? To bottle with in the near future? Well, I wouldn't. Sanitizer just sanitizes while wet. So, once it's dry, it's fair game for wild yeast spores and bacteria and mold spores.

It's super easy to resanitize- I have something called a "vinator" which squirts some sanitizer up into the bottle, then stick them on a bottle tree. It takes like 7 minutes to sanitize 50 bottles (if you start with clean bottles, of course). I wouldn't risk a batch to save a few minutes.

 

[talkingmonkey]

Good enough for what? To bottle with in the near future? Well, I wouldn't. Sanitizer just sanitizes while wet. So, once it's dry, it's fair game for wild yeast spores and bacteria and mold sores.

It's super easy to resanitize- I have something called a "vinator" which squirts some sanitizer up into the bottle, then stick them on a bottle tree. It takes like 7 minutes to sanitize 50 bottles (if you start with clean bottles, of course). I wouldn't risk a batch to save a few minutes.

Yeah, bottling. I don't even have a batch close, so I will resanitize. I've been using C Brite, (came in the kit), but I'm looking at better options. I'll check out the vinator. Thanks!

 

[Warrior]

Today I was ready to bottle my stout. I sanitized all of the bottles bottle caps bucket and necessary equipment. Boiled and cooled my priming sugar. Then I discover that the bottle filler I have does not fit my 1/2" autosiphon. I don't have a racking cane so I can't bottle my beer.

What a waste. I ordered a 1/2" bottle filler and ended up buying a pale ale while I was at it. So I should be bottling in a couple days.

How long will my bottles stay sanitized for? I put them back in the box and am assuming they only stay sanitized for a day or so, do I need to re sanitize them before I bottle?

Best to bottle soon after you sanitize them. I have bottled the next day sometimes when they are sitting upside down on a bottle tree. Of course the bottle tree was sanitized also. With the bottles upside down chances are nothing got in them but of course a bug could've crawed in that you didn't see.

 

[noisy123]

It's super easy to resanitize- I have something called a "vinator" which squirts some sanitizer up into the bottle, then stick them on a bottle tree. It takes like 7 minutes to sanitize 50 bottles (if you start with clean bottles, of course). I wouldn't risk a batch to save a few minutes.

+1 vinator

 

[newbrewr4fun]

I was going to rack the beer back into my primary fermenter over the priming solution and bottle with the siphon. The beer kit I bought came with a standard bucket and carboy, the bucket does not have a spigot on it. Do I have to have a bottling bucket or can I just use the bucket that came with my kit?

 

[Revvy]

I was going to rack the beer back into my primary fermenter over the priming solution and bottle with the siphon. The beer kit I bought came with a standard bucket and carboy, the bucket does not have a spigot on it. Do I have to have a bottling bucket or can I just use the bucket that came with my kit?

It's really a Pita to try to maintain a siphon and bottle. Like several of us have said go to a hardware store and get yourself a 5 gallon bucket. You can get plastic spigots through your lhbs, maybe the hardware store, and I think even in the camping department of big box stores (Someone on here has a picture of the spigot they got a walmart for a dollar.)

Save yourself the hassle of doing it with a siphon, and take the route that probably 99% of us take, with a bottling bucket. Don't do it the hard way! .

 

[Loweface]

Well I've done it the hard way each time so far... Siphon and bottles...

That said I've had the bottling wand on my list for awile, I'm actually just waiting on having enough 500ml bottles for my next batch... (330ml bottles easy collect - 500ml bottles not so easy)

 

[Revvy]

Well with the setup I pictured and a vinator to sanitize bottles with, I can bottle and cap a 5 gallon batch in 40 minutes, not counting boiling the priming sugar...

 

[noisy123]

Well with the setup I pictured and a vinator to sanitize bottles with, I can bottle and cap a 5 gallon batch in 40 minutes, not counting boiling the priming sugar...

Do you top the bottles off in some way? I find the spring-loaded bottling wand, while perfect for wine leaves too much airspace for beer. Am I filling them too full or do you have a strategy for this?

 

[Yooper]

Do you top the bottles off in some way? I find the spring-loaded bottling wand, while perfect for wine leaves too much airspace for beer. Am I filling them too full or do you have a strategy for this?

That spring loaded bottling wand leaves the perfect amount of headspace for beer, too- at least in my experience. It works for 12 ounce and 22 ounce bottles perfectly.

 

[noisy123]

That spring loaded bottling wand leaves the perfect amount of headspace for beer, too- at least in my experience. It works for 12 ounce and 22 ounce bottles perfectly.

I am using the returnables and they seem to have longer necks, but maybe I am filling them too full. Hmmm. That could be why my carbonation is taking so long.

 

[Revvy]

I fill all bottles the same, no matter what the size, I fill it till the liquid comes right to the top lip of the bottle, (maybe even overflows a few drops) and immediately pull it out...The displacement of the wand is pretty much going to be the same no matter what size the bottle is...I have longnecks, pints, stubbies, 22 ouncers, wine and champagne bottles, and I've never had any problem...Are you not filling them to the brim before you pull out?

 

[noisy123]

I fill all bottles the same, no matter what the size, I fill it till the liquid comes right to the top lip of the bottle, (maybe even overflows a few drops) and immediately pull it out...The displacement of the wand is pretty much going to be the same no matter what size the bottle is...I have longnecks, pints, stubbies, 22 ouncers, wine and champagne bottles, and I've never had any problem...Are you not filling them to the brim before you pull out?

[Well maybe 1-2 cc's less depending on the bottle ]

Yep, then I have been using some beer in a measuring cup to top them to 3/4-1" below the very top of the bottle.

 

[conpewter]

As Revvy said it is very important to pull out in time

As for a bottling bucket and wand, they do work great. I suggest a 6 gallon bottling bucket though, I used to loose a few beers because I would have to have my bottling bucket on the floor to siphon to from the primary/secondary and then pick it up and put it on the counter to bottle from, if I filled to the brim I'd spill when picking it up.

 

[Revvy]

[Well maybe 1-2 cc's less depending on the bottle ]

Yep, then I have been using some beer in a measuring cup to top them to 3/4-1" below the very top of the bottle.

You really want around 1- 1.5 inches of headspace....I think (though I haven't measured) the line done by pulling out the bottling wand is 1.25 inches give or take....anyone got their wand and a bottle handy to measure.

Too much head space leaves too much room for oxygen and too little head space leaves not enough room for the bottle conditioning and the carbon dioxide that's created as a result.

That's why I like my wand and setup, it leaves it consistant from bottle to bottle.

 

[newbrewr4fun]

Got the bottling bucket today. Now I am having issues with my brand new autosiphon. It is not drawing enough liquid into the tube. I have to pump it fast numerous times to get a siphon. Will this be bad for my beer?

 

[Revvy]

Got the bottling bucket today. Now I am having issues with my brand new autosiphon. It is not drawing enough liquid into the tube. I have to pump it fast numerous times to get a siphon. Will this be bad for my beer?

No, but you should only need 2 -3 pumps to get it going...

Have you practiced with water?

Do you have your receiving vessel low enough? Some people don't realize that you need the bottling bucket far below the carboy/fermeter.

 

[newbrewr4fun]

I bottled tonight. It took a few pumps with the siphon to get to the bottling bucket but everything went ok. It was a hassle to get the spigot to the bucket attached snugly though and I struggled a little bit with getting the bottle filler attached with tubing to the spigot. I ended up just connecting the bottle wand directly to the spigot and that proved to work better. I would practically have to lay on the floor If I were to use the tubing that my LHBS guy gave me. It was a little messier than I thought but it went well. I had my mom help me with some of it so it went a lot quicker.

Now if only I could speed up time....

 

[joejaz]

Why are you filling with a siphon and not racking to an actual bottling bucket with a spigot?

And where are you adding the priming solution, right to your primary or secondary? ZIf you are doing that then you are going to kick up all the gunk you patiently let settle out of your beer?

You use the autosiphon to rack over to you bottling bucket.

This is the setup I use...bottling bucket with wand attached directly to the spigot on the bucket. I set it on a pot so it's at eye level. I hated having the hose of the bottle wand hooket up to the spigot, this way works better for me becasue the beer is at eye level.

I also have a dip tube in my bucket, which means I only miss a couple of ounces of beer when filling, and don't have to tilt the bucket. As you can see, there's very little left in the bottom of the bucket.

Nice setup Revvy, that sure beats having to move that wand and keep putting it down. I'm going to set mine up. The pick up tube great idea also.

 

[EvilTOJ]

What size is that stopper, Revvy? And the copper tubing too?

 

[newbrewr4fun]

Did you glue those brackets to the pot Revy?