Sanitizing Grolsch style bottles

[jgalak]

I got some 1/2L Grolsch-style bottles, and I'm wondering about the best way to sanitize them. For cleaning, I have a Fermtech bottle washer (http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_56_151&products_id=906) which is probably adequate for bottles that are fairly clean to begin withm but then I need to sanitize.

I really like the method Revvy describes in his sticky, using a Vinator and StarSan, but I'm concerned about the caps. The rubber seal can be removed and soaked, but what about the ceramic part? Can that be removed without damaging the wires? Is it enough to just dab it with StarSan?

Another option is to dry heat sanitize, as per Palmer's book, in the oven, but again I'm concerned about the caps/wires and how they'll react to that. Also, isn't there a risk of contamination as the bottles cool back down?

Any other options for (reasonably quick) sanitizing of a bunch of these bottles?

Thanks,
Juliean.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Just dunk the ceramic head in the starsan in the Vinator. If it's clean, there's no reason starsan won't sanitize it.

 

[dozer5454]

I use the Grolsch bottles all the time and have never had a problem. I dunk the ceramic in the starsan and soak the rings. No problems.

 

[finsfan]

just make sure it is clean prior and that every part is soaked or touched in sanitizer and you should be fine

 

[Jayslay]

I've been bottling with this bottle style exclusively for over ten years. I start with a pre-rinsed bottle from my shelf. Visual inspection for beer residue, bugs, mold etc. All my bottles are pre-cleaned but I check anyway in case one slips in.

I do a quick water rinse to remove dust, then spray the insides and cap with no rinse sanitizer, and use a clean brush to get the nooks and crannies of the cap. Rinse again with hot water, santizier-spray, and let drip until ready (only needs to drip for a minute or two tops) and then set the cap without securing clamp until bottling time. I use a spray bottle on mist setting for all above "sprayings", but a vinator is the more professional equivalent. I just spray the mist into the bottle 5-10 times and it does the same.

I've had to replace maybe 20 rubber seals out of around 100 bottles. I almost never have to bottle brush, I don't use a vinator and I've never had an infection since my first batch. As long as you at one point clean and then santize your bottles, and don't let dust or airborne contaminants in (Thats why I set the cap after they are clean and dripped somewhat dry).

The only way my process could be easier is if I had a decent bottle tree and perhaps a bigger sink so I could have more bottles in there getting rinsed simeltaneously.

 

[funnycreature]

Just yesterday I filled a dozen or so swing-top bottles. I always submerse the entire bottles in StarSan, let it sit for a minute or so. When I take them out I remove the rubber seal and "wash" it with StarSan quickly and put it right back on. No need to remove the wires IMHO.

 

[rhys333]

I've been rinsing and cleaning with hot water after emptying bottles, then just before bottling the next batch, sanitizing in a mild bleach solution followed by a hot water flush using a tap-mount bottle rinsing nozzle. I realize this last step could potentially introduce new bacteria, but no issues so far (which admittedly isn't very long). According to the Charlie Papazian book, technically you can can just wash with mild bleach solution and let drip dry due to the extreme low concentration.