Question About Steril Bottles

[TexasPrairieDogMan]

I used to brew my own beer many years ago and I remember Sterilizing bottles is no doubt VERY important.
Is there any possibility that a person could sterilize ahead of time keeping bottles clean and covered with "say" a clean towel or Turn them upside down in a rack? My gut tell me just do it when I get ready to bottle,but how do you keep them sterile for say even an hour before bottling?? Larry

 

[jschein]

Well... welcome back! Anything post boil needs to be sanitized

 

[RedlegEd]

I used to brew my own beer many years ago and I remember Sterilizing bottles is no doubt VERY important.
Is there any possibility that a person could sterilize ahead of time keeping bottles clean and covered with "say" a clean towel or Turn them upside down in a rack? My gut tell me just do it when I get ready to bottle,but how do you keep them sterile for say even an hour before bottling?? Larry

Larry, welcome back! Actually, you don't "sterilize" them, rather, you "sanitize" by using a no rinse sanitizer like Star-san or Iodaphor right before you bottle. A "vinator" type works really well and is fast. When I bottled (I keg now,) I also used a bottling tree after the vinator to let them drain and keep them clean until I filled them during bottling. It's best to clean them thoroughly beforehand (i.e. always rinse your homebrew bottles as soon as you're done pouring.) I like to store them upside down to keep little nasties from dropping in until ready to use (covering is not important.) The best practice is to thoroughly rinse your bottles after use, to prevent unwanted growth in the bottom, then sanitize right before refilling. Ed

 

[J0EBEER]

I rinse bottle after pour, then store upside down. On bottling day, I run them through the dishwasher. I sanitize a drying tree, then use a spray bottle and give each beer bottle a couple shots of sanitizer mixture. Hold bottle on its side and spin so you sanitize all around, place on drying tree. Maybe over kill but I've yet to have a problem.

 

[kh54s10]

 

[TexasPrairieDogMan]

Thanks everyone,will sure take the great advice,thanks a million!! Loved the video to!!Larry

 

[mongoose33]

I use a vinator as well--one of the best purchases I've ever made. I fill mine with Star-San, then as I'm bottling I'll dip the mouth of the bottle in the Star-San, then 2 or 3 squirts inside the bottle. I'll let it drain for 20 seconds or so, then take it off the vinator. I then immediately take another bottle, dip the mouth in the Star-San, 2 or 3 squirts, then let it sit while I fill the first bottle. Meanwhile the second bottle is draining, and at that point, they're all drained to my satisfaction as I pull each one off the vinator.

BTW, I stumbled onto an interesting way to do it. Chill the Star-San, then it chills the bottle as it sanitizes it.

That vinator seems pricey for what it is, but after buying it, I can't imagine bottling without it.

 

[RM-MN]

You can't keep bottles sterile. Not even for a few minutes. There is bacteria in the air and it will settle on any surface and now it isn't sterile.

You don't need sterile, you need sanitized. I use a sanitizer that is a wet contact no-rinse sanitizer (Starsan). The bottle stay sanitized as long as they are wet so I sanitize a dozen, fill and cap those, then sanitize another dozen. Works for me.

 

[sportpak]

Immediately before racking beer to bottling bucket....
1. soak in o2 type cleaner.
2. rinse thoroughly
3. dip bottle mouth & couple squirts on vinator with star-san
4. drain on clean & star-saned bottle rack.

Rack beer to bottling bucket, prime, gentle stir...
5. re-dip bottle mouth and squirt on vinator.
6. shake excess star-san from bottle.
7. fill & cap immediately.

Fear no foam. If anything, make sure you have star-san foam prior to filling.
This my procedure, and have not really had any infection issues.
It's all in the process. Practice before bottling actual beer.

 

[ThomasO5608]

One note to bottle sanitizing. Speaking from my own mistake. If the concentration of Star Sans is too high it will impart a "soapy" taste in the beer. I bottled a couple of cases of beer from a keg using the pump reservoir as show in the video above to sanitize the bottles (works great) and sent them off to a couple of friends to critic my beers. That was quite embarrassing to hear the feedback. Great beers turned into **** over one stupid mistake.