Cleaning Beer Bottles

[Thejbj13]

Hey guys

I was just curious on how some of y'all clean out your bottles after you use them. I know some people like the dishwasher but that doesn't always clean the inside. I'm just trying to prevent mold from sporing inside and finding a giant ass mold spore in a bottle as I'm sanitizing them for the next batch

 

[doug293cz]

I usually clean bottles right after they are emptied and just rinse several times with plain water. Make sure you shake the rinse water in the bottle to loosen up the yeast cake. If you can't clean them immediately, they should be cleaned with OxyClean (or generic equivalent), PBW, or something similar to remove any dried on gunk.

Brew on

 

[Rockn_M]

Best practice is to rinse them out right after they are emptied. However if they have been stored for a long time or they were not rinsed out I will make a solution of Oxclean Free with hot water fill them up about half full of the solution and let them sit for a few hours. Then dump out rinse with clean water.

I've also had pretty good success with putting them in the dishwasher and run a cycle.

 

[balrog]

I:
Rinse immediately after serving, set aside in 5G pail, when pail full, mix very warm water and PBW (DIY with OxyClean & TSP/90) and fill all bottles and bucket, 30m, bottle brush, 3x rinse in very warm water, drip dry upside down, on bottling day starsan with Vinator and fill.

Maybe overkill but I once noticed something very faint growing inside a single bottled beer 2 mo after bottling and I've been freakishly overdoing the cleaning ever since.

Also, when I get empties back from those I've given homebrew, I can't always keep theirs separate from mine and *NOBODY* seems to rinse after serving and I'll get some real furballs back (those go out, I can't be bothered trying to clean that kind of mess).

 

[pdxal]

I rinse out and shake with plain water immediately after drinking, store, and immediately before bottling run all bottles through the dishwasher without detergent and with heat drying. The immediate rinse removes any nutrients that mold would feed on. If I find one that hasn't been cleaned out by my wife or friends I soak in hot water with oxyclean (also removes labels well), rinse a million times, then do the dishwasher sanitizing on bottling day.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Like most here, I rinse immediately so that I don't have to do more. But, when I don't get to it, or get some back from friends, I break out my jet washer and a bottle brush and just clean them with Dawn. When I get a batch I need to soak labels off of, I use Oxyclean to soak and follow up with the bottle brush and jet washer. Then I put them upside down in the cases so I know they are ready to be sanitized and used.

 

[thaymond]

Immediate rinse with hot water, then store in a case. When it's bottling day I will run through the dishwasher on the pots and pans setting without detergent. I'll then hit with starsan immediately before bottling. Any bottles with any growth get tossed. I had way too many bottles anyway.

I used to be super paranoid with several oxyclean soaks (for labels and gunk), bottle brushing, rinsing, starsan prior to storing, dishwasher, then starsan again. Since I got kegs, I haven't really bottled much.

 

[unionrdr]

I dump the dregs, rinse, then fill to the shoulder & bottle brush'em. Then rinse & onto the bottle tree to dry before storage. I have a vinator on top of my bottletree for Starsan on bottling day.

 

[jjcoolj]

This procedure has served me well. YMMV!

Questionable bottles get washed (PBW or similar) and rinsed vigorously. If I know the bottles were rinsed immediately after consumption then I skip the wash and just give them a good rinse with a bottle washer. Following the rinse I hold all bottles up to the light for visual inspection. If the inspection shows them to be clean then I cover the bottle mouths with a little square of aluminum foil and run them through a pressure canner for 15 minutes at 15 psi.

The bottles do not have to be completely dry inside before going into the canner - in fact a little rinse water in the bottom of the bottle will turn to steam and improve the sterilization process. As long as the foil stays tightly over the bottle then (theoretically) it should remain sterile inside until the bottle is filled again. When it comes time to bottle beer I just pop the foil off, fill it with starsan and drain and then fill up with beer; the starsan film inside the bottle helps reduce foaming..

I will grant that the pressure canner procedure is probably overkill but I usually have yeast starter flasks or mason jars full of water (for yeast cake rinsing) or starter wort jars in there too..

 

[flars]

Triple rinse after pouring. Some time later downstairs to jet rinse and upside down in drying rack. Stored in cases after drying. Bottling day do a jet rinse then sanitize.

Bottles with labels and returns from other people.
Into bucket with PBW. Jet rinse and inspect inside. If there are any suspect bottles fill with PBW solution and scrub with bottle brush chucked in battery powered drill. Rinse, reinspect, dry, and then store.

I don't use Oxy anymore. Seems to leave a slippery film that is harder to rinse off than regular unscented dish soap.