Sanitizing bottles

[GRHunter]

I am a few weeks away from bottling my first batch of beer. Given the number of mistakes and difficulty I encountered in my initial brew I figured I would use the time before bottling to see what I could learn to simplify that process. All my bottles are were given to me by a fellow home brewer who has evolved beyond simple beer bottles. Free bottles are good, but they are used and therefore quite dirty. So here is my plan:

For washing I plan on soaking all the bottles over night in a TSP bath, giving them a good scrubbing with the bottle brush, and then running them through the dishwasher without any soap or drying agents. Because the bottes are old and dirty I don’t really want to skimp on the cleaning process, at least for their initial use.

For sanitizing I was planning on using Iodophor and doing a 2 minute soak and then drip dry on my bottle tree. For the 60 bottles I plan to prepare I figured that this process would take about an hour, maybe slightly less. Then my friend told me about this bottle sanitizer that in a single motion squirts the Iodophor solution up into the bottles and then you just put them on the tree to dry. That sounds great, now we’re talking about 5-10 minutes to sanitize. But how does the sanitization take place without the Iodophor recommended 2 minute soak? The bottle squirter thing sounds like a real time saver, but I am concerned that in my haste to save a few minutes of work I might ruin a beer that I have been waiting almost 2 months for.

So is the bottle sanitizer squirter a viable option? Or should I just go ahead and do my 2 minute soak like the Iodophor instructions recommend?

 

[archiefl98]

I believe Iodophor recommends 2 minute contact time, not soak. (I use Star-San and that's the way I figure it) So as long as it is WET for two minutes you should kill everything nasty.

Your bottle squirter should be a viable option. I'm looking at picking up a vinator eventually, but for now I just use a small funnel that fits into the opening of a beer bottle.

1. I fill one bottle with star-san and sanitize the funnel as well.
2. Then move the funnel to an empty bottle
3. Dump star-san from first bottle into next bottle
4. Dunk lip of first bottle into funnel to sanitize outside of lip
5. Invert empty bottle onto sanitized dishwasher rack
6. Continue process through next 55 bottles or so

So far it's worked for me.

 

[kmack747]

I use the vinator with Iodophor all the time and never have had a problem. I spray the inside if the bottle than dip the rim in the solution and place on the bottle tree. Total time for me to bottle a 5 gallon batch is less than an hour. It does help that i have some one capping as I fill the bottles.

On a side note I use the same cleaning method when I buy returnables.

 

[wyzazz]

Over-night soak in warm/hot Oxi Clean free to clean, then give them a good rinse. I then fill up a 5 gallon bucket with StarSan solution and drop as many bottles as I can fit in there. I dump them out and bottle while they are still wet, if you let them dry they are no longer sanitized.

 

[Pappers_]

+ 1 on soaking in oxyclean

and

+ 1 on using idophor with a vinator - I love that piece of equipment!

Good luck!

 

[llazy_llama]

+ 1 to Pappers' +1s.

Vinator = amazing. Simple as that.

 

[skarude]

+1 on StarSan in a bucket. I use the foam to gage when I am getting close to full. When the foam starts coming out the top you better start paying attention.

 

[Brew-boy]

A+ on vinator with Sani-Clean or Star San

 

[northernlad]

+ 1 to Pappers' +1s.

Vinator = amazing. Simple as that.

+1. I should not have waited so long before getting one. I will pay for it with all the sanitizer I am not wasting.

 

[MonkeyWrench]

...if you let them dry they are no longer sanitized.

Funny, my iodophor and starsan both say to alow to air dry. Wouldn't they still be sanitized unless exposed to un-sanitary conditions?

.....oh and I oven sanitize after soaking in oxy-clean for days or whatever. 300 deg for 20 min with foil over them.

 

[wyzazz]

I've listened to two separate podcasts (BN and BBR) where Charley Talley (from 5 Star Chemicals) has said it's not necessary to let anything dry. StarSan in the proper concentrations will not adversely affect your beer if the bottle is wet when you bottle your beer.

 

[MonkeyWrench]

It's not neccessary to let it dry, but then again I don't think it's un-sanitary if you do.

 

[ReeseAllen]

Oxiclean. Star-san.

Soak all the bottles in a heavy oxiclean solution overnight (as in, one scoop to 5 gallons) then drain them out and give each bottle two or three rinses with water from the tap. The oxiclean will take off labels in the process, as well. At that point the bottles are ready to be stored.

Once you are ready to use the bottles, bring them out of storage and dunk each of them in a bucket of star-san solution. Spray down a dishwasher rack with star-san and put the bottles on it upside-down to drain on the rack. Give them a couple of minutes to drain/dry and then start bottling.

It's a pretty foolproof procedure as far as I can tell.

 

[wyzazz]

Maybe I'm just paranoid when I bottle, but I figure there's nasties floating in the air that are going to get in my bottles and drink all my beer. I bottle them wet just to make myself feel better.

Bottom line is there are a million ways to bottle, just find the procedure that works for you, and do what you are most comfortable with!

 

[remilard]

Maybe I'm just paranoid when I bottle, but I figure there's nasties floating in the air that are going to get in my bottles and drink all my beer. I bottle them wet just to make myself feel better.

Bottom line is there are a million ways to bottle, just find the procedure that works for you, and do what you are most comfortable with!

You are being paranoid, but there is no downside to what you are doing.

If the bottles are upside down as they dry this is not a sanitation concern (absent a very drafty room) as bacteria do not fly, they fall.

When you are filling the bottle, any bacteria that fall in will land on the surface of the beer, not any surface of the bottle, so unless you figure out a way to keep the surface of the beer covered in sanitizer you probably have to live with this exposure.

You could probably rig some sort of small "umbrella" at the top of the bottle filler that would prevent bacteria from falling in while the bottle is being filled.