Bottling best cleaning practice

[neil007]

Hi

I need to bottle tonight and wondered what the best practice to do this is? I have a load of de-labelled bottles that havent been cleaned. Im assuming I need to use washing up liquid, rinse and then sterilize, but not sure.

cheers :

 

[Dunfie]

I wouldn't bother with the washing up liquid. I usually just rinse out and then hold them up against the light and see if there is any obvious dirt on the inside. As long as they are clean you can sterlise and them use for bottling.

 

[Hawks]

Depends on how you sanitise.

I use videne which does not clean at all, so I'd be tempted to clean them - although washing up liquid can be a PITA to rinse off properly. Soak in a hot solution of soda crystals or Oxyclean - this will probably get a load of your labels off as well depending on which bottles you have.

Then rinse and sanitise

If you are using something like VWP, this cleans as well so you can just chuck them in a hot solution of that ( for around 10 - 15 mins IIRC? ) , rinse and you're done. :thumb:

 

[neil007]

cHEERS :

 

[Wendy1971]

We clean bottles with oxi action stain remover then sterilise with videne :thumb:

 

[klaus]

Hi

I need to bottle tonight and wondered what the best practice to do this is? I have a load of de-labelled bottles that havent been cleaned. Im assuming I need to use washing up liquid, rinse and then sterilize, but not sure.

cheers :

Hi there, I use VWP, not cheap but a 15 minute soak will remove everything whch might be lurking and sanitises in the process, and rinses off cleanly. Also remember, when emptying bottles (i.e. drinking), rinse them out straight away or soon after this will avoid effort later. Also I recommend you get organised well before the bottling event, i.e. sort out which bottles you need, check all your gear, etc.

 

[Swift Pint]

I do a long soak in oxyaction, maybe get the bottle brush in there if it looks really bad, rinse several times and then sanitise with an iodophor solution and rinse again a couple of times.

The best thing you can do to save time & effort in cleaning bottles is to rinse them as soon as you've poured the beer out. That way you avoid the annoying crud that builds up and takes ages to get rid of.

 

[Wolverine]

Best practice is to throw all your bottles in the bin and buy a cornelius keg. Then you only have to clean 1 thing : ) I hate bottling beer/wine I even keg wine now.

 

[luckyeddie]

Put me down for VWP too.

I'm a stickler for clean bottles, and after I've poured myself a brew I will give the bottle a vigorous shake with hot water (2 or 3 really good rinses) - I then put a bit of clingfilm over the top of the bottle and put them away. If I've got a thirst on, this is an exercise that may be repeated 3 or 4 times, of course.

When it comes to getting them ready for the next batch, VWP is very good. A quick soak then 2 or 3 rinses in cold water does the trick. When I've given beer away, some of the bottles come back with really clagged-on yeast cake and stinking - obviously they've never even been riinsed. They get a 24 hour soak with VWP and the yeast just lifts off.

It's one of the reasons I'm moving over to PET 1 litre clear bottles. So much easier to check after emptying - the beers are stored cool and dark anyway so I'm not too bothered about light-strike from UV light.

 

[luckyeddie]

Best practice is to throw all your bottles in the bin and buy a cornelius keg. Then you only have to clean 1 thing : ) I hate bottling beer/wine I even keg wine now.

There's only 1 drawback to Cornies as I see it - I would want about 20 - and I'd be a bit nervous about keeping beer in them for a year. But for the 'sipping' beer - perfect.