Sanitizing bottles the right way

[carloscede2]

So, for some reason in all my batches Ive found that some bottles taste weird while some others would taste awesome. I will, instead of blaming my corona bottles, blame myself for poor sanitation when bottling. I usually rinse the bottles once I finish drinking them, store them and on bottling day I would use sulphuric acid to sanatize them. I wouldnt soak them in the solution, I would only make 2 litters of it and pour in 6 bottles, shake them, and pour the solution back to the jug. Id rinse them again with water, let it dry and bottle, wouldnt even sanatize the caps.
So, the most convenient way that I found was to bake my bottles at 200 degrees to SANITIZE, not sterilize. An hour should be good enough for that purpose. No, san star is not an option for now and yes, I have bleach as well but I think for the bottles is better to use the oven.
Let me know what you guys think.

 

[jstaas]

Post on this issue and even some experience from people:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=187261

 

[Jim311]

The oven method is basically autoclaving. At the right temperatures and times it will sterilize (not sanitize) the bottles as long as they are clean.

 

[Mexibilly]

I'd use starsan and definitely not rinse.
It's never failed me

Edit: Didn't read through. It's unfortunate that starsan isn't an option. It's my go-to throughout every step from post-boil to bottle.
I can't speak to any other methods

 

[No_Nrg]

I'd use starsan and definitely not rinse.
It's never failed me

+1 on this

I soak my bottles and caps (mr beer 16oz plastic bottles) in star-san for 15 minutes before bottling, making sure to fill the bottles up a bit. I give each one a shake and dump them out. I shake out as much as I can, towel off the outside and fill.

Never had a single issue.

edit: also saw Star-san wasn't an option. Any reason you can't order some on Amazon? It makes sanitizing so much easier for anything touching your beer post boil.

 

[carloscede2]

+1 on this

I soak my bottles and caps (mr beer 16oz plastic bottles) in star-san for 15 minutes before bottling, making sure to fill the bottles up a bit. I give each one a shake and dump them out. I shake out as much as I can, towel off the outside and fill.

Never had a single issue.

edit: also saw Star-san wasn't an option. Any reason you can't order some on Amazon? It makes sanitizing so much easier for anything touching your beer post boil.

I'd use starsan and definitely not rinse.
It's never failed me

Edit: Didn't read through. It's unfortunate that starsan isn't an option. It's my go-to throughout every step from post-boil to bottle.
I can't speak to any other methods

Its like 26$ in lhbs and I already spend a lot of money in the brew kettle amd ingredients for the beer. I guess Ill buy at some point but I wanted to use something different this time.
PD: Im in canada and the currency is f*** up

 

[Sailingeric]

When you buy Starsans, buy the big bottle. Cheapest per unit and a bottle will last well over a year for the average brewer. When I bottle, I fill my sink with starsans, soak the bottle, and what ever is less is used to fill up a spray bottle for reuse.

 

[stratslinger]

Its like 26$ in lhbs and I already spend a lot of money in the brew kettle amd ingredients for the beer. I guess Ill buy at some point but I wanted to use something different this time.
PD: Im in canada and the currency is f*** up

"It's an expensive option" and "it's not an option" are two different statements!

If you can, try to think of it as a long term investment. I have a container of Starsan that I've been working on for literally 3 years now. I pick up a 1 gallon jug of distilled water, mix in the appropriate amount of starsan into that, then fill a spray bottle from the gallon jug. Every two-three months or so, I need another jug.

Sure, Starsan is a little pricey up front. But if you use it right, it'll last you a LONG time!

 

[zachattack]

Its like 26$ in lhbs and I already spend a lot of money in the brew kettle amd ingredients for the beer. I guess Ill buy at some point but I wanted to use something different this time.
PD: Im in canada and the currency is f*** up

$26 is likely less than the cost of the batch of beer you can easily ruin without the proper sanitizer. Buy the star san.

Dilute it properly, don't rinse, fill while still wet. It's foolproof.

Not sure how big of a bottle you'll get for $26 but you use a tiny shot to mix up 5 gallons of sanitizer, and if your water is soft you can reuse it for months. Things don't have to soak or be immersed, just wet, so you can mix up a spray bottle and just give things a mist.

 

[bruteforce]

You may be able to find food grade phosphoric acid elsewhere for less, which is really all star-san is. But a big bottle star san lasts me about 60 brews, and i'm pretty liberal with it.

 

[beernbourbon]

Its like 26$ in lhbs and I already spend a lot of money in the brew kettle amd ingredients for the beer. I guess Ill buy at some point but I wanted to use something different this time.
PD: Im in canada and the currency is f*** up

Yes, Starsan is expensive. However, sanitation is the #1 concern, above temp control, above PH, even above water quality, etc. Without proper sanitation not one other thing matters. Maybe wait to brew another batch until you can afford the Starsan first, then the ingredients.

As an aside, I'd get rid of the clear Corona bottles too. There's a reason everyone but Corona uses the brown bottles. (let's not even talk about Heineken and their green ones. )

 

[tallguybrewer]

StarSan becomes really cheap once the alternative is to dump batches of beer because of contamination in the bottle. I used to have issues with bottling as well, now I just fill up a 5 gallon bucket with sanitizer and the bottles sit in there until beer goes in the bottle (e.g., while filling one, the solution gets dumped out of the next bottle to get filled). Haven't had a problem since.

Just be glad you can use StarSan (I'm stuck with really hard water so it basically falls out of solution). Though, Iodophor works just fine regardless of people's bias towards StarSan.

 

[Durso81]

Star San is worth it's cost for sanitation, to clean my bottles I soak in oxi clean free. And sanitize with star San.

And definitely use brown bottles and not the clear corona bottles, the clear bottles let in light which is not good for beer.

 

[beernbourbon]

StarSan becomes really cheap once the alternative is to dump batches of beer because of contamination in the bottle.

Yes, this

Just be glad you can use StarSan (I'm stuck with really hard water so it basically falls out of solution). Though, Iodophor works just fine regardless of people's bias towards StarSan.

Good point. Yes, Iodophor works great too. Nothing against it, other than I don't like seeing the color. Lol, just a personal preference on that one.

Another thought..... How much in electricity or gas are you spending to 'autoclave' your bottles? May not be much at a time, and I don't really care to know the number, I just mention it as a point of reference to give thought to other things, if the dollars are an issue.

 

[m00ps]

I have starsan ad used to do that to sanitize before bottling. Now I just use the rinse/high heat cycle on my dishwasher. It works so much better in terms of time and effort saved

 

[carloscede2]

Yes, this




Good point. Yes, Iodophor works great too. Nothing against it, other than I don't like seeing the color. Lol, just a personal preference on that one.

Another thought..... How much in electricity or gas are you spending to 'autoclave' your bottles? May not be much at a time, and I don't really care to know the number, I just mention it as a point of reference to give thought to other things, if the dollars are an issue.

I dont pay for hydro as it is included in the rent so I can let the oven on the whole day if I wanted to. I just thought I could use something else other than star san just for this time. If star san is that necessary then Ill buy it, I just thought there were other alternatives to sanatize like the oven or bleach.

 

[zachattack]

Bleach can lead to some pretty nasty off-flavors if not rinsed thoroughly, and rinsing with tap water can result in contamination. So it's not ideal.

Heat can work for bottles, but it also shortens their lifespan if you don't do it very slowly, and it doesn't work for siphon tubing, carboys, bungs, etc.

 

[dstockwell]

I have starsan ad used to do that to sanitize before bottling. Now I just use the rinse/high heat cycle on my dishwasher. It works so much better in terms of time and effort saved

Yep... Using the sanitize setting on the dishwasher...

 

[BowAholic]

you can even get starsan on eBay for less than $13/shipped for 8 oz.

 

[WrQth]

As an aside, I'd get rid of the clear Corona bottles too. There's a reason everyone but Corona uses the brown bottles. (let's not even talk about Heineken and their green ones. )

Newcastle Brown Ale is in a clear bottle...

 

[mattdee1]

now I just fill up a 5 gallon bucket with sanitizer and the bottles sit in there until beer goes in the bottle (e.g., while filling one, the solution gets dumped out of the next bottle to get filled). Haven't had a problem since.

This is exactly what I do. I'm pretty religious about cleaning the sediment out of bottles immediately after pouring, and then allowing the bottles to dry upside down. Speaking of which, Investing in one of those inverted "bottle washer" jet thingies that attaches to your faucet was probably the best $5 I've spent in this hobby yet.

I don't even bother with any "cleaning" step with PBW or whatever, since I don't ever allow gunk to sit in the bottles. On bottling day I just dunk/submerge 8-10 bottles at a time into the starsan bucket, take them out one by one, fill them with beer, and seal with a sanitized cap. The process goes very quickly, and if I have an assistant, I can get a 5gal bucket bottled in about 15 minutes (that of course doesn't include racking to bottling bucket, preparing priming sugar, clean up, etc.)

 

[mongoose33]

I'm not sure it's just a Star-San thing.

So you rinse them out. Do you use a bottle brush to clean them? Or clean them in any other way?

When you rinse your bottles after filling them with sulphuric acid, do you use sanitized water or just water from your tap?

I rinse my bottles too, but then they go in the dishwasher for cleaning. Then they're stored either in a closed box or upside down in a fastrack before bottling. Then sanitized w/ Star San.

I understand the issue w/ costs--and the Loonie is way down. But you can save a lot of Star-San solution. I have 4 gallons of it in a 5-gallon bucket in my garage, left over from brewing on Saturday. I'll likely use it to sanitize a keg before I fill it, and will let the CO2 push it out, leaving behind...well, CO2.

When it goes cloudy, it's not supposed to be effective, so watch on that.

 

[Aristotelian]

I keep Star San in a squirt bottle and just give a couple squirts per bottle then rinse with a small amount of water. The squirt bottle makes the amount of Star San I use almost negligible for any given batch.

 

[carloscede2]

I'm not sure it's just a Star-San thing.

So you rinse them out. Do you use a bottle brush to clean them? Or clean them in any other way?

When you rinse your bottles after filling them with sulphuric acid, do you use sanitized water or just water from your tap?

I rinse my bottles too, but then they go in the dishwasher for cleaning. Then they're stored either in a closed box or upside down in a fastrack before bottling. Then sanitized w/ Star San.

I understand the issue w/ costs--and the Loonie is way down. But you can save a lot of Star-San solution. I have 4 gallons of it in a 5-gallon bucket in my garage, left over from brewing on Saturday. I'll likely use it to sanitize a keg before I fill it, and will let the CO2 push it out, leaving behind...well, CO2.

When it goes cloudy, it's not supposed to be effective, so watch on that.

I didnt use a bottle brush because there wasnt any visible dirt or mold. I used tap water with the sulphuric acid. I dont have a dishwasher but I thougt it was enough with just rinsing. Again, I have only brewed 5 batches and 3 of them were bottled that way so Im pretty new with all this. Some of them would have a metallic flavor, some others would have a skunky sour flavor and some others would just taste amazing. No head retention in the ones that tasted funny. So for my two batches fermenting I want to bottle them the right way.

Yes, Starsan is expensive. However, sanitation is the #1 concern, above temp control, above PH, even above water quality, etc. Without proper sanitation not one other thing matters. Maybe wait to brew another batch until you can afford the Starsan first, then the ingredients.

As an aside, I'd get rid of the clear Corona bottles too. There's a reason everyone but Corona uses the brown bottles. (let's not even talk about Heineken and their green ones. )

Im trying to get rid of those too! Thats why Ive been drinking a lot more lately. My friends suck at liking beer so they would only buy beer bottles (or cans) that are not god for homebrewing (corona, budweiser, canadian, labatt blue, etc)
Ive been buying grolsh bottles and so far I got 17 swing tops, 10 hacker pschorr and 7 grolsh. Oh and a bbq sauce bottle that came in a swing top, lol. So heinnekens are nit good eh? I thought they were, green shouldnt be as much as an issue as clear bottles

View attachment 1456249226789.jpg

 

[beernbourbon]

Newcastle Brown Ale is in a clear bottle...

Ha! did not know that. Not seen those around here. 'Course I haven't had a NBA in probably 20 years, but I do, oddly enough, pay attention to bottles. Guess that falls under the "you know you're a home brewer when....." category

 

[carloscede2]

Can any of u walk me through the process of using star san? I know its 1oz per 5 gallons, so do I have to pour those 5gallons into the bottles? Also I dont have a bottling tree nor a vinator, I'll get them at some point. How do I use the spray bottle? Spray the inside of the bottle and thats it?

 

[zachattack]

That's it. Or mix up 2.5 gallons in a bucket, dunk each bottle, pour it out, fill while still wet.

 

[mongoose33]

I didnt use a bottle brush because there wasnt any visible dirt or mold. I used tap water with the sulphuric acid. I dont have a dishwasher but I thougt it was enough with just rinsing. Again, I have only brewed 5 batches and 3 of them were bottled that way so Im pretty new with all this. Some of them would have a metallic flavor, some others would have a skunky sour flavor and some others would just taste amazing. No head retention in the ones that tasted funny. So for my two batches fermenting I want to bottle them the right way.

Tap water is not sanitized. It's safe to drink but not sanitized, so you may be introducing bacteria into the bottles that way. Probably are. Even if the water is sanitary, the spout may not be.

Since some are ok and some are not, that suggests to me that perhaps some have residual gunk in them, some do not. Even though you can't see anything in the bottles, there still may be stuff there. Since some taste "amazing" and others have issues of metallic or skunky flavor, that leads me to believe your beer is OK going into the bottles....it's the bottles that are the problem, and more specifically, the cleaning and sanitation thereof.

That's my 2 cents. YMMV.

 

[Aristotelian]

How do I use the spray bottle? Spray the inside of the bottle and thats it?

That's how I do it. Also works for the inside of the carboy or any other equipment. Gives you a fine layer to sanitize the surface and that's all you need.

 

[Rolsom]

I my half fill my bottles right after they have been emptied, shake well, rinse and repeat. If it was commercial beer I have a large plastic container that I keep with oxyclean, and I'll throw the labeled bottles (and bottles I'm not sure are clean) into.

The day before bottling, I run the bottle through a dishwasher cycle.
Empty the oxyclean from the plastic container, and rinse it well.
I put in my measured amount of Starsan, add water, and half fill a case of bottles at a time in the plastic tub.
Open the dishwasher and roll out the bottom tray onto the door.
I empty six bottle and place them in my silverware tray, and start filling, replacing each full bottle with a newly emptied bottle from the star san container.

That's the easiest and cleanest way I have found, never had off flavors or issues.

 

[jojacques]

I am in Canada too (Quebec), and I get my StarSan at OntarioBeerKeg dot come.

Not sure where you are located, but a32oz (big bottle) of StarSan is 30$ + around 10$ shipping!
You can also try Beergrains do com. Same great prices!

 

[GuldTuborg]

Get yourself one of these and save time and money when bottling. You have to use all of a pint/quart of Star San for as many bottles as you're using. Plus, you can reuse the Star San in your bottling bucket or to sanitize other equipment. It makes that bottle last much longer, and your per-batch sanitizer cost will be tiny.

Then get a spray bottle to spray down anything with larger surfaces (also like a bucket). Might cost you, quite literally, a few pennies to sanitize a bucket.

 

[Jim311]

The absolute cheapest sanitizer you can find is bleach. I use it almost exclusively for my brewing. 15 ML per 1 gallon of water is a no-rinse solution. It's in John Palmers "How To Brew" book. I used it when I bottled. Soak the bottles at least 30 minutes as it has a longer contact time to sanitize than some of the other more expensive options. Make sure you drain the bottles as well as you can. It works very well and many old school brewers still rely on it to this day. Otherwise, your oven or dishwasher will work fine too.

 

[carloscede2]

The absolute cheapest sanitizer you can find is bleach. I use it almost exclusively for my brewing. 15 ML per 1 gallon of water is a no-rinse solution. It's in John Palmers "How To Brew" book. I used it when I bottled. Soak the bottles at least 30 minutes as it has a longer contact time to sanitize than some of the other more expensive options. Make sure you drain the bottles as well as you can. It works very well and many old school brewers still rely on it to this day. Otherwise, your oven or dishwasher will work fine too.

Finally someone not actually telling me to buy star san. I am a guy who likes experiment, I'll try different methods and see how they work out, some bottles will be in the oven, some in bleach. At some point I guess it wouldnt hurt to get the bottle tree, vinator and star san. They look pretty cool actually and I can see myself saving some time. But its some money that I have to put aside first and I am still a student meaning my budget is not the biggest so I try to work with anything within my range

 

[fuelish]

Sanitizing bottles the right way

The only "right way" is the one that works best for you and doesn't lead to infections, whatever.....I know my "right way," and continue on my way ....

 

[slym2none]

Newcastle Brown Ale is in a clear bottle...

When's the last time you had a good Newcastle?

:fro:

 

[slym2none]

So heinnekens are nit good eh? I thought they were, green shouldnt be as much as an issue as clear bottles

Clear, green, blue, they all let in whatever wavelength of light it is that interacts badly with the hops & skunks a beer. Brown is the way to go, if you are worried. However, just keep the green flip-tops out of the light and they should be fine.

 

[carloscede2]

The only "right way" is the one that works best for you and doesn't lead to infections, whatever.....I know my "right way," and continue on my way ....

Thats what Im trying to find out bud! Lol

 

[carloscede2]

Clear, green, blue, they all let in whatever wavelength of light it is that interacts badly with the hops & skunks a beer. Brown is the way to go, if you are worried. However, just keep the green flip-tops out of the light and they should be fine.

So when people say out of the light, do they mean direct sunlight? Or just light at all? Its kind of confusing honestly

 

[slym2none]

I would keep them out of all light, but I am not really sure if UV bulbs give off the same thing that sunlight does for skunking beer, same for incandescent bulbs. Better safe than sorry. I even keep my brown-bottled beer in the dark!