Sanitizing bottles ?

[beekeeperman]

Does anyone not rinse their bottles in sanitizing solution before
bottling beer?
I rinse my bottles well with water after emptying them and after they dry store
them in the covered carboard container.
All ready to go on bottling day.
No problems yet, You ?

 

[thehaze]

I bottle as well and all the bottles I use come from a local pub. I take the bottles the day after they were opened, meaning they are fresh. I come home, I pour some organic wash disher in hot water, I fill the bottles and sink them in buckets. They stay like this for 12-24 hours, at which point I take the labels off and then thouroughly rinse the bottles from any residue. I always check the bottles in light, in order to make sure that they are really clean, as sometimes yeast residue/specks can settle at the bottom of the bottles.

I leave them to dry out ( during summer, it's easier, as I leave them in the sun and they will be dried ut quickly ) and then store them in cardboard boxes, leaving a bit of space for air to go in, but no major/big openings, so the bottles do not get exposed to anything that might crawl, fly, etc.

On bottling day, I rinse them with hot water a few times and check again if really clean. I dip them in Star-San, let them drain and bottle essentially. ( I use a bottle rinser - AVVINATORE - and a draining tree for th sanitiser to drain out, although foam will remain on the sides, but that's not an issue )

Never had any issues.

 

[Lefou]

I soak mine in a bucket filled with One Step, brush them out, rinse them, then hit 'em with a light mist of StarSan prior to bottling. Properly stored they won't collect bugs or dust.
Quite a bit of my collected glass consists of commercial 12oz bottles. If I give beer away I don't want to be handing out dirty containers. No screw tops in the bunch.

 

[HopHeavy]

Does anyone not rinse their bottles in sanitizing solution before
bottling beer?

Not those among us who want to be assured they can drink uninfected beer...

 

[mongoose33]

You pays your money and you takes your chances.

I haven't had any problems using your method because I triple-rinse my bottles before cleaning in the dishwasher, then use a vinator to rinse them with Star-San just prior to bottling.

 

[HopHeavy]

I like to oxy soak and rinse my empties before reuse but I might occasionally forego this wash if the bottles were rinsed, high heat, immediately upon serving. Would I skip the Starsan right before bottling? Never.

 

[GHBWNY]

Immediately after pouring beer into glass, rinse bottle 3X in hot water and store upside down. On bottling day, soak bottles in StarSan few min., shake each bottle so it foams inside, pour it/flick it out, fill bottle with something else foamy.

 

[beekeeperman]

How will I know if the beer in the bottle is infected ?
Looks? Taste ? smell ?
Don't think I have ever had one.

 

[day_trippr]

How will I know if the beer in the bottle is infected ?
Looks? Taste ? smell ?[...]

Possibly one, two or all of those, possibly none of them (see "Bottle Grenade")...

Cheers!

 

[GHBWNY]

How will I know if the beer in the bottle is infected ?
Looks? Taste ? smell ?
Don't think I have ever had one.

Prior to the aspects of looks, taste or smell, unfortunately it may be one of two things: your beer bottle will be in the form of small, sharp pieces OR, when you pop the cap, the beer will auto-empty from the bottle in a continuous gush of foam. While these things can be an indication of over-priming, it might also be an infection, esp. if the beer smells/tastes bad, in which case nothing can be done to save it. If you get a gusher that otherwise smells/tastes ok, then it's likely an over-priming issue and you can try super-cooling the bottles and then very slowly releasing some pressure by gradually popping the cap and letting it foam into the sink. Sanitize new crowns and re-cap. You'll lose some beer, but I've done it and it works.