Possibl Dumb Question about Bottle Cleaning

[Bassman]

I have some bottles that were cleaned and then stored in a closet. Is there any reason to clean them again other than rinsing? If so, how long in PBW?

I am not looking to skip sanitizing in Star-San, just soaking in PBW.

Thanks!

 

[smizak]

Personally, I soak every batch of bottles overnight w/Oxyclean and use a bottle brush before I package. I had a significant portion of an IPA go bad because the damn Applewine yeast cements itself to the bottom of the bottles and I didn't notice when I bottled it. Gusher madness.

I cut the handle off the end of my bottle brush and stick it in my drill. That makes sure there's no schmutz stuck in my bottles.

Rinse well and Star-san.

 

[ScubaSteve]

This is why I went to kegging as fast as possible

 

[GRHunter]

How were they stored is the question. I store all my bottles upside down after soaking in Oxyclean so all they need come brew day is a quick Idophore rinse.

 

[Bassman]

I dried them on a bottling tree but then stored them right side up in 6-pack containers.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Referring to the original post, If you're sure they were cleaned well, you should be fine with only star-san.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i would just run them through the dishwasher then sanitize.

 

[Bassman]

i would just run them through the dishwasher then sanitize.

I'm the dishwasher but I do have a bottle washer attachment for my faucet.

 

[DrawTap88]

+1 Dishwasher.

If I didn't have the dishwasher, thouroghly cleaning them before storage and then a quick star san rinse should do the trick.

 

[iacrobat]

Hello all,

First post here.

I have a question in the same vein as Bassman. I read in the Joy of Homebrewing that you can sanitize with bleach, then cap your bottles with foil and pull them out whenever you need them. Just a rinse and off you go. I have done this before, a week or so in advance of bottling. Has anyone else done this? I am trying to get an idea of how long I can leave them, a 1-2 months? Does anyone else have experience with this?

 

[smizak]

Hello all,

First post here.

I have a question in the same vein as Bassman. I read in the Joy of Homebrewing that you can sanitize with bleach, then cap your bottles with foil and pull them out whenever you need them. Just a rinse and off you go. I have done this before, a week or so in advance of bottling. Has anyone else done this? I am trying to get an idea of how long I can leave them, a 1-2 months? Does anyone else have experience with this?

First off, buy Starsan. It's a no-rinse, food grade sanitizer that won't ruin your clothes. It's about $15 for 8 ounces, that will make 40 gallons of sanitizer. And above all, DON'T FEAR THE FOAM!!!

Second, I wounldn't risk it storing them. Starsan is meant to be still wet when you fill your bottles, so you know their sanitized. Just get a Vinator bottle rinser, makes it easy, I can sanitize 50 bottles in 10 minutes.

 

[DrawTap88]

In addition, bleach that isn't rinsed out of the bottle has the potential to kill any of the good yeast and/or provide off flavors in your beer. Star San on the other hand turns into a yeast nutrient.

I also wouldn't leave my bottles out for a month or two in advance of bottling day.

 

[TipsyDragon]

I am trying to get an idea of how long I can leave them, a 1-2 months?

i agree with others to use StarSan instead of bleach. as long as the foil is sanitized and you put it on tightly you can leave the bottles for as long as you want. bacteria are not ninjas they always grow down not up and the air born stuff cant make it past the foil.

if you want you can bake the bottles in the oven for an hour at 340F with the foil on the end. this will sterilize both bottle and foil. just be careful and don't try to touch the bottles before they are cool.

 

[iacrobat]

Thanks everyone. I do have Starsan, but I get annoyed with all the foaming, so I went back to using bleach, cheap and effective. I have never had an issue with bleach as I always thoroughly rinsed it. Maybe I'll give the Starsan a try again sometime, one less step...

 

[smizak]

Thanks everyone. I do have Starsan, but I get annoyed with all the foaming, so I went back to using bleach, cheap and effective. I have never had an issue with bleach as I always thoroughly rinsed it. Maybe I'll give the Starsan a try again sometime, one less step...

DON'T FEAR THE FOAM!!!!



In all seriousness, the foam is your friend. It's designed that way so it clings and creeps into all the nooks and crannies. It won't hurt anything to have foam in it, you actually want foam, whatever bugs are getting foam on them are dead. When I bottle, I purposely make a ton of foam in my bottling bucket by shaking it with some Starsan in it. That way when I rack my beer into it, a big Starsan foam blanket rides on top of the beer as it fills up. Whatever dust, hair, etc. that falls into it hits foam first and not beer. The inventor of Starsan, Charlie Talley, drank a pint of it on a Basic Brewing show to prove that it's totally non-toxic when mixed properly.

When you rinse off the sanitizer, you're defeating the purpose, unless you're using boiled water or something, which is a pain. Starsan FTW.

 

[DrawTap88]

SM, that's a really good idea of shaking the bottling bucket to get a layer of Star San to cover the beer. Never thought of that.

 

[iacrobat]

DON'T FEAR THE FOAM!!!!



In all seriousness, the foam is your friend. It's designed that way so it clings and creeps into all the nooks and crannies. It won't hurt anything to have foam in it, you actually want foam, whatever bugs are getting foam on them are dead. When I bottle, I purposely make a ton of foam in my bottling bucket by shaking it with some Starsan in it. That way when I rack my beer into it, a big Starsan foam blanket rides on top of the beer as it fills up. Whatever dust, hair, etc. that falls into it hits foam first and not beer. The inventor of Starsan, Charlie Talley, drank a pint of it on a Basic Brewing show to prove that it's totally non-toxic when mixed properly.

When you rinse off the sanitizer, you're defeating the purpose, unless you're using boiled water or something, which is a pain. Starsan FTW.

Okay,okay! I followed a few more threads relating to this one. A lot of arguments in favour of the Starsan. I will really try it again!

I will not fear the foam.

 

[smizak]

I will not fear the foam.

Very good.

Make sure you use distilled water to mix it up. The phosphoric acid in Starsan will react with any calcium in tap water and degrade, if not destroy, it's sanitizing power. It should be clear and foamy. I brewed two batches before I heard this, got lucky I guess.

 

[Bassman]

Very good.

Make sure you use distilled water to mix it up. The phosphoric acid in Starsan will react with any calcium in tap water and degrade, if not destroy, it's sanitizing power. It should be clear and foamy. I brewed two batches before I heard this, got lucky I guess.

I don't think that this is correct. It will sanitize fine but will last a long time if you use distilled water. I suppose if you have water that is very high in calcium there may be a problem. But regular tap water will work fine.

I wonder if one saves any money by using distilled water as opposed to just mixing a fresh batch.

 

[smizak]

I don't think that this is correct. It will sanitize fine but will last a long time if you use distilled water. I suppose if you have water that is very high in calcium there may be a problem. But regular tap water will work fine.

I wonder if one saves any money by using distilled water as opposed to just mixing a fresh batch.

You can listen to Charlie Talley himself.

http://media.libsyn.com/media/basicbrewing/bbr03-29-07.mp3

He says if it gets cloudy, it's through. It will work fine sometimes, but how is one to know if the tap water has raised the ph enough to wreck the Starsan solution without a ph meter? Just mixed with distilled and forget about it. I've been using the same 3 gallons of Starsan for months now, that cost me ~$2.50 for the water.

 

[eanmcnulty]

I have some bottles that were cleaned and then stored in a closet. Is there any reason to clean them again other than rinsing? If so, how long in PBW?

I am not looking to skip sanitizing in Star-San, just soaking in PBW.

Thanks!

I soak all my bottles in Sun Cleaner (Generic Oxyclean), then I let them dry upside down. When they are dry, I put a small square of foil on each one and store them right side up in cases or 6-packs. When I go to bottle I put my bottles in the dishwasher with NO soap. I keep the drying cycle on. I tested mine with a thermometer probe. It gets past 170F for over 15 minutes. That is long enough to sanitize them. I sit next to the dishwasher and pull the bottles to fill. Works like a charm.

 

[TipsyDragon]

He says if it gets cloudy, it's through.

StarSan works by lowering the PH of the surface to below 3 which will kill most things we need to worry about. StarSan can still be cloudy and be below 3PH. i always check before i use a stored batch just in case.

 

[JNye]

i clean my bottles in oxy clean once. i store them upright, open air. i star san them with a vinator right before i bottle them. Some of these bottling procedures I read about are ridiculous IMO. to each his own i guess.
After the bottle is delabeled and oxyed it doesn't need to be cleaned like that again, cuz right after i pop a top i do a triple rinse and shake and into the case it goes ready to be star sanned and bottled when the next batch is ready. just me though.

 

[eanmcnulty]

i clean my bottles in oxy clean once. i store them upright, open air. i star san them with a vinator right before i bottle them. Some of these bottling procedures I read about are ridiculous IMO. to each his own i guess.
After the bottle is delabeled and oxyed it doesn't need to be cleaned like that again, cuz right after i pop a top i do a triple rinse and shake and into the case it goes ready to be star sanned and bottled when the next batch is ready. just me though.

Yeah, I agree. I want to make it as easy as possible. For me, throwing it in the dishwasher is even easier than using the starsan, because I fill the bottles fill DW. Some of the things it sounds like brewers go through seems like so much work. I have never had a bad beer yet.

 

[smizak]

To each his own.

I don't mind the work, I want my bottles immaculately clean so there's no question. Only one way to do that. I triple rinse all of my bottles after pouring one too, it doesn't get all the crud out all the time. I just used Safbrew T-58 for my bottling yeast on my Tripel, it also cements itself to the bottom. You can rinse and shake all day, when you look down the neck into a light, there's a film that has to be scrubbed out. Starsan might take it out next time around, but it didn't take out the Apfelwein yeast that continued to ferment my IPA, turning them to gushers and adding all kinds of weird, yeasty phenols.