bottles and cleaning

[Bubbles2]

Question Please,
I wanted to know about cleaning bottles. I used San Sans whatever it is using the required 1oz to 5 gallons, suds OK. I washed em for a minute submerged and then placed them in the 12 pack cartons they came in. But a week ago... Closed up the boxes and they sit in the kitchen. Should I re sanitize or would you rack em?
Thanks for sharing the wisdom and experience.

 

[UncleAvis]

StarSan is not a cleaner. Sanitizer only. I use oxyclean free to clean, then store bottles. I put foil on them, probably overkill but it helps me sleep. Starsan soak in a bucket for a minute or 2 immediately before bottling then bottle while wet. I like the beer to push the foam out. I would not trust sanitized bottles that had been allowed to dry especially not covered. Ymmv.

 

[jheinikel]

When I bottled, I cleaned and sanitized right before bottling. I sense in deviating from that just to save some time. You could end up ruining your brew due to dirty bottles.

 

[kh54s10]

Agreed. Starsan is for sanitizing. Use PBW, Oxyclean or other for cleaning. IMO if you sanitize then store you are just wasting you time and sanitizer. Once Starsan is dry it is no longer effective.

I also suggest you get one of these:

Vinator.

It makes sanitizing your bottles so much easier.

 

[Bubbles2]

All right then Consensus says, sanitize right before. Id did not know once it's dry it is no good. The bottle says to "air dry"...
FWIW, bottles are clean, used from factory, rinsed good and stored, no beer smell or cig butts in em. LOL

 

[AJinJacksonville]

I concur with the above. When finishing a beer, I rinse it out thoroughly and then stick in a box with the others. Before bottling, I soak them in a warm Oxyclean bath, then use the bottle brush to do a quick pass-through. I fill my sink with 10 gallons of water along with 2 oz of Star San. I put 12 in at a time, sink them in the sink, then pull them out to bottle. Like UncleAvis said, I also let the beer push them foam out. Have never had any issues using this method...no floaties in the pour, etc.

Good luck!

 

[Bubbles2]

Good to know, I took the pre sanitized bottles as mentioned above and tossed em in the dishwasher and set it on heated dry cycle. This is done in 'Canning' if one does not want to boil the jars. I Can or Jar all the time.
For the life of me, if the bottle is cleaned, rinsed well, soaked in Star san with a bottle brush ran through it, let to drip dry, and then put in a box and closed up. I do not see how there would be anything that would kill the yeast....
We leave bread out to rise in the air, the beer is made with all the "living organisms around us", transferred and some even have the lid off the bottling bucket while adding prime sugar and then to bottle for the hour it takes.

Is there something I have not taken into consideration in regards to universal protection? Not to argue with the input, just consideration of a debatable subject. Remember to be a great debater, one could be considered a master debater....LOL

 

[UncleAvis]

Once your going into bottles the yeast is not super active and not able to outcompete wild yeast/microbes. This is not the case at the beginning of fermentable with appropriate pitch rate where the yeast are really busy. That's why open fermention works, but once krausen starts falling it needs to be covered or infection potential increases.

I don't think wild stuff has time to work/funk on rising bread in a standard 1-3 hour rising procesd, which is why sourdough takes longer.

 

[Bubbles2]

I reserved one bottle to test... the others got the dishwasher treatment....I'll update this when it's all over...

 

[flars]

I rinse bottles after pouring. Inspect for stuck yeast. Some yeasts do stick in the bottle. These I soak in PBW for a couple of hours or until the bucket is full and then rinse again. I dry the bottles in a Fast Rack then store upside down in clean cases. Use the Vinator with Star San solution and the Fast Rack to let excess foam drip from the bottles just before filling.

 

[Bubbles2]

Yeah I like that Vinator Gizmo... Got to get me one. I was trying to 'lighten' the load on bottle day. I'd be curious to see one of these bottling plants in action... whether or not they rinse prior or do they trust the sanitation and boxing... Bearing in mind dust, elements, mold, etc.

Also the bottles I refer to are 2nd run the 1st being Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, rinsed after done. Then the steps above. Not homemade stuff with trub or flocculated debris.

 

[brewcat]

Cleaner for bottles. Ha! Just rinse them out with hot water. Sanitize right before bottling. If you sanitize two weeks before they won't be sanitized when bottling. On bottling day they'll be exposed to dust so a potential for wild yeast. You're still going to have to sanitize the bottling equipment. So what's the point?

 

[kh54s10]

For the life of me, if the bottle is cleaned, rinsed well, soaked in Star san with a bottle brush ran through it, let to drip dry, and then put in a box and closed up. I do not see how there would be anything that would kill the yeast....
We leave bread out to rise in the air, the beer is made with all the "living organisms around us", transferred and some even have the lid off the bottling bucket while adding prime sugar and then to bottle for the hour it takes.

Is there something I have not taken into consideration in regards to universal protection? Not to argue with the input, just consideration of a debatable subject. Remember to be a great debater, one could be considered a master debater....LOL

It is not about something that will kill the yeast. It is wild organisms that will grow in your wort that you don't want to. Wild yeasts and bacteria. None of them will harm you but they can ruin your beer.

Bread does not sit around for weeks or months allowing the growth.

Even cleaned and sanitized, once dry the sanitizing is no longer active. A bacteria can sit on the surface of the bottle waiting for food (your beer) It is a lot more likely that you will have an infection before bottling since the alcohol level in the beer to be bottled will inhibit most organisms - but not all of them.

So clean - store - (clean again maybe) - sanitize then bottle right away. As said, with contact sanitizers, once they are dry they are no longer working.

 

[triethylborane]

When I crack open a bottle, I put an inch or two of water in the empty bottle, cover the top with my thumb and shake it. Rinse a few times. Quick visual check to see if any sediment.

I have a few FastRacks that the bottles dry on. I store them inverted in beer cases with six pack holders. Larger bottles get the same treatment and are stored inverted in cases with dividers.

On bottling day, I pull out the case of bottles, I give a quick rinse with water on the dedicated hot water faucet with faucet jet, put them in the fast rack to lose as much water as possible.

Then when finished with the bottles I am going to use, dunk the bottles in star san a couple times, then put back on the fast rack to await filling.

It goes pretty quick too.

 

[flars]

Cleaner for bottles. Ha! Just rinse them out with hot water. Sanitize right before bottling. If you sanitize two weeks before they won't be sanitized when bottling. On bottling day they'll be exposed to dust so a potential for wild yeast. You're still going to have to sanitize the bottling equipment. So what's the point?

Checking for left over gunk is a precautionary step. Sanitizer can't reach bacteria which may be in the gunk which has dried by bottling time.

 

[Bubbles2]

I had no idea about "Wild Yeast" I am pretty far away from the strip club... Maybe it comes from the airport...muwahhaha

 

[ncbrewer]

When I crack open a bottle, I put an inch or two of water in the empty bottle, cover the top with my thumb and shake it. Rinse a few times. Quick visual check to see if any sediment.

I used a rinsing method like this, but with hot tap water, for several years without an infection. But not long ago I got curious about how clean they were. I left two of these hot rinsed bottles filled with OxiClean for two hours, and they got a brown foam on top. I decided there was a chance of infection even though I hadn't had one yet. So later, after pouring, I tried a hot rinse along with scrubbing with a bottle brush. I let these soak in OxiClean for two hours, and had no brown foam. So I changed my evening routine. I rinse and keep them full of water during the evening. When finished, I hit them with a jet washer, scrub with a bottle brush, and then the jet washer again. I still don't use OxiClean - just hot tap water and a bottle brush. OxiClean is for bottles that have sat around after pouring, or otherwise suspect.

And I agree they need Star San immediately before bottling. Another vote for the vinator.

 

[Bubbles2]

So after the wild yeast info...and re inspecting the bottles. I am going to do as you all do; star san before bottling.
I assume Oxy is the laundry detergent?

 

[triethylborane]

I used a rinsing method like this, but with hot tap water, for several years without an infection. But not long ago I got curious about how clean they were. I left two of these hot rinsed bottles filled with OxiClean for two hours, and they got a brown foam on top. I decided there was a chance of infection even though I hadn't had one yet. So later, after pouring, I tried a hot rinse along with scrubbing with a bottle brush. I let these soak in OxiClean for two hours, and had no brown foam. So I changed my evening routine. I rinse and keep them full of water during the evening. When finished, I hit them with a jet washer, scrub with a bottle brush, and then the jet washer again. I still don't use OxiClean - just hot tap water and a bottle brush. OxiClean is for bottles that have sat around after pouring, or otherwise suspect.

And I agree they need Star San immediately before bottling. Another vote for the vinator.

Lol I use hot water.

 

[kh54s10]

Oxyclean is often used as laundry cleaner. It does a lot more. I use any generic version that has no scents or other additives. Oxyclean Free and Versatile I believe are the ones with no scents. Sun is the generic brand I believe you can get at Wally World. Dollar General sells on under their DG brand.

 

[Bubbles2]

Good to know, Sun Brand, after further review, I am glad I got all this input. I went through the "what I had thought were clean" and found 8 with mold spots at the bottom...Bleaching now and will pick up some of that detergent.