Bottling, bottle sterilisation & rinsing?

[MDJ]

Hello,

I'm just about to bottle my first home-brew but I have what are probably some really newly questions. I hope people don't mind me asking!

I'm planning on bottling my beer. I know the importance of sterilisation but I have some questions about the basics.

1) I am planning on re-using old beer bottles - mainly badger beer bottles. I assume there's generally no problem with this?

2) as I used old bottles I have been rinsing them and also removing the old labels. I have been mainly just rising them out and soaking them to remove said labels.

3) For bottling, I am assuming they should be cleaned again. Is it generally OK to run them through the dishwasher to do this?

4) If so, I was then planning to rinse them again using Harris no-rinse steriliser and one of the bottle washers that will shoot said steriliser into the bottle. My main question is, how important is it to drain the bottles once I have done this. I don't currently have stand to drain the bottle once they've been rinsed with the steriliser. Is it OK to rinse them with the Harris no-rinse steriliser and then immediately fill them with beer without completely draining or will that potentially cause a problem? Eg. is it OK to still have some of the steriliser liquid (mainly just the wetness and drops you get on the side of the bottle) still in the bottle when I fill it?

These are probably basic questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcus

 

[Fil]

Hi Markus

1) no problem at all, some wytchwood bottles can be a sod to cap with a 2 lever capper iirc so a test capping of each bottle type you have may be prudent

2) sounds good the blunt back of a knife and a rapid scraping can remove stubborn glue..

3) if clean, a dishwasher run should be ok (dont have one this end..) theres nowt wrong being a bit OCD about cleanliness with brewing, tho many folk using persistent no rinse sanitisers will clean sanitise and cap with foil and store ready for bottling..

4) I dont know the harris sanitiser, starsan which i do use foams up and can be impossible to drain BUT thats not a problem as afaik it breaks down into harmless nutrients..
-- just googled the harris stuff, its basically Sodium Percarbonate, so no problem with a little residue in the bottles



- crates come in handy to drain bottles as well as store them, come bottle washing i have fun balancing my bottles upside down in buckets and storage boxes to drain them.. a bottling tree could be a worthwhile investment.. also consider using a few 2l ex pop pet bottles too it cuts down on the bottle washing (which gets tedious very quickly) and is great for when your pouring a few pints at a time,, though pet bottles are best decanted in one into a jug for serving as nothing kicks up sediment yeast like tipping a bottle up n down..

 

[Dutto]

Hello,

I'm just about to bottle my first home-brew but I have what are probably some really newly questions. I hope people don't mind me asking!

I'm planning on bottling my beer. I know the importance of sterilisation but I have some questions about the basics.

1) I am planning on re-using old beer bottles - mainly badger beer bottles. I assume there's generally no problem with this?

2) as I used old bottles I have been rinsing them and also removing the old labels. I have been mainly just rising them out and soaking them to remove said labels.

3) For bottling, I am assuming they should be cleaned again. Is it generally OK to run them through the dishwasher to do this?

4) If so, I was then planning to rinse them again using Harris no-rinse steriliser and one of the bottle washers that will shoot said steriliser into the bottle. My main question is, how important is it to drain the bottles once I have done this. I don't currently have stand to drain the bottle once they've been rinsed with the steriliser. Is it OK to rinse them with the Harris no-rinse steriliser and then immediately fill them with beer without completely draining or will that potentially cause a problem? Eg. is it OK to still have some of the steriliser liquid (mainly just the wetness and drops you get on the side of the bottle) still in the bottle when I fill it?

These are probably basic questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcus

Here goes ... for a start no-one minds you asking!

1. There is no problem whatsoever in using old beer bottles, assuming that you have a method for capping the said bottles.

2. Well done on the "rinsing immediately after use". It really helps to ensure that the bottles are clean.

3. I don't have a dishwasher but I don't think that they are recommended because A) They don't clean the important bit (i.e. the inside of the bottle) and B) If they are in there with other stuff then contaminants may be blasted inside the bottles.

4a. A steriliser is not a cleaner so the bottles need to be clean before you start sterilising something. i.e. It's no good sterilising a bottle with a dead snail in it. (An extreme example but a famous UK court case all the same!)

4b. I use a no-rinse steriliser (Chemipro Oxi) and from reading up on the Harris steriliser it appears to be very similar. In which case:

o Make up the solution as per the instructions. (5 grams per litre of water).

o Use the solution within one hour of preparation.

o Ensure that the bottles and caps are ALL in contact with the solution.

I have one of these and they are worth their weight in gold when you are bottling ...

http://www.homebrewcentregy.com/bottle-drainer-holds-45-bottles

What I do with the Chemipro is:

o Mix up about 5 litres of warm solution in a plastic bucket.

o Put the right number of caps that we intend to use in a small bowl of the solution.

o Check that all the bottles have been properly rinsed out.

o Part fill a clean bottle with the sterilising solution.

o Give it a good shake to ensure that the solution touches all parts of the inside, empty it back into the bucket, double check that there is nothing inside.

o Stick it on the bottle drainer and repeat until all bottles are sterilised.

o Syphon the beer out of the FV into a bottling bucket, stir in the priming sugar and get the syphon ready to fill the bottles.

o Starting with the first bottle sterilised, lift it off the drainer, give it another shake to get the last few drops of sterilising solution out of it and fill it with beer.

o When I have ten full bottles I cap them and start on the next batch of ten bottles.

o When the bottling bucket is empty I wipe the full bottles with a damp towel and put them in a nice warm place to carbonate.

Then comes the work of cleaning and sterilising the original FV, the bottling bucket, the air-lock, the syphon etc ready for the next brew!

After that it's time to put your feet up and go and get "one that you made earlier". :thumb: :thumb:

 

[grainy]

Hi all. I myself used to put my bottles in the dishwasher the night before bottling day, I bottle in the mornings. I use the hi heat dry cycle so the bottles are dry and only need a quick rinse with star san. Heads up on using detergents in the dishwasher, I've Heard that some washing powders/liquids can cause the brew to have no head. Never had any problems using this method but I do use a good bottle brush on the inside of the bottles before putting them in the dishwasher as it was said earlier the dishwashers do have there limits. Nothing beats cleaning the bottles as soon as the beer is in the belly. The saying "do as I say not as I do" comes to mind. Happy brewing.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I'm lucky enough to have access to used Old Mout cider bottles at my local WMC. I soak for 15 minutes in Oxy clean, sourced at B&M, filling each bottle and standing in a bucket of the stuff. This causes the labels to slide off, then a quick rub with a scouring sponge leaves the bottle spotless.
On bottling day, I clean again with Oxy clean and rinse well. I keep the cleaned bottles next to the bottling bucket and sanitise one bottle with StarSan, drain and fill immediately with the primed beer and cap it before moving on to the next bottle. I bought a bench capper because I read that some used beer bottles shatter when using a wing capper.

 

[Sonnal]

Agree with all of the above and you will definitely find it easier with a bottle rinser and a drainer.

One thing about reusing bottles. Try to stick to brown glass or pet. The clear ones can be used but you will need to store them in the dark. Light will cause the beer inside to "skunk" after a period of time.

I tend to use one clear bottle per batch though, so that I can check and see how clear the beer is.

 

[Dutto]

Here's a great link worth reading by anyone who cleans out bottles ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donoghue_v_Stevenson

Enjoy!!

 

[Bigcol49]

Newcastle Brown Snail :grin:

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi!
I've bought the bits to build one of these, but owing to CBA syndrome I've made no progress.
http://youtu.be/Zt3DAgyy4PA
Colin

 

[Dutto]

Hi!
I've bought the bits to build one of these, but owing to CBA syndrome I've made no progress.
http://youtu.be/Zt3DAgyy4PA
Colin

Colin,

I checked out the video ... :thumb:

... saw another one that had different sized templates for different sized bottles ... :thumb: :thumb:

... saw yet another one that did 24 bottles at a time ... :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:

... then my own CBA kicked in and thinking of the effort and the cost I checked out ...

http://www.homebrewcentregy.com/bottle-drainer-holds-45-bottles-596

... and suddenly it looked a lot better than it did the last time I checked! :whistle: :whistle:

Basically, I'm not so pushed for time that I need to rinse 24 bottles at a time; but after rinsing and sterilising 38 bottles today I'm ready to give that little machine a go! :thumb: :thumb:

Ian

 

[Bigcol49]

Hi, Ian,
I saw one of those in Boyes - sorely tempted, but SWMBO was with me, she said, "No", so that was decided upon :grin:
The Grand Strategy is to make a 20 bottle washer (I brew short to 20 litres) in a plastic under bed storage unit and modify an identical under bed unit to hold 20 bottles, rim down, so that I can lift off the bottles as one unit and leave to drain.
The plan is to have three buckets, one Oxyclean, one water and the other StarSan. Two sets of bottles could be washed, swap the pump to the water, rinse, swap to the StarSan, sanitize and drain, ready to bottle.
I even toyed with the idea of using plastic caps for the bottles so that they remained sanitized if I didn't get around to bottling that day; great idea but not cheap, so back burner for that!
Colin

 

[MyQul]

As others have said some sort of bottle drainer is a must/makes life much easier. Most people have a bottle tree, I have a FastRack system which is great if space is a problem

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Fast-Rack-24-Combo-Drainer.html#.VsdCtMtugQk

A bottle washer is also a must. You can use it on bottling day to squirt sanitser into your bottle to sanise them and use it to rinse them again. I use a no rinse saniiser, star san, so don't have to bother rinsing it out again.

http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Bottle_Rinser.html#.VsdC8ctugQk

 

[Dutto]

Hi, Ian,
I saw one of those in Boyes - sorely tempted, but SWMBO was with me, she said, "No", so that was decided upon :grin:
The Grand Strategy is to make a 20 bottle washer (I brew short to 20 litres) in a plastic under bed storage unit and modify an identical under bed unit to hold 20 bottles, rim down, so that I can lift off the bottles as one unit and leave to drain.
The plan is to have three buckets, one Oxyclean, one water and the other StarSan. Two sets of bottles could be washed, swap the pump to the water, rinse, swap to the StarSan, sanitize and drain, ready to bottle.
I even toyed with the idea of using plastic caps for the bottles so that they remained sanitized if I didn't get around to bottling that day; great idea but not cheap, so back burner for that!
Colin

Hmmmm!

I have a spare 12v Shurflo diaphragm pump that could put up the pressure and the flow ...

... and the 10mm copper piping that could provide the nozzles ...

... and the containers that could hold everything together ...

... and the know-how to solder everything in place so no need to buy a load of "T" pieces ...

... so I could probably do it for less than the �£11.99! :thumb: :thumb:

I think I will hold off buying a rinser until the summer when it gets a lot warmer and the CBA syndrome slacks off a bit! :thumb: :thumb:

 

[Bigcol49]

As others have said some sort of bottle drainer is a must/makes life much easier. Most people have a bottle tree, I have a FastRack system which is great if space is a problem

Hi!
What put me off Fastrack is the capacity - each tray can hold only 14 500ml beer bottles. It's specifically designed for 330ml bottles.
Colin

 

[MyQul]

Hi!
What put me off Fastrack is the capacity - each tray can hold only 14 500ml beer bottles. It's specifically designed for 330ml bottles.
Colin

True, it's cack for 500ml bottles, fortunately for me most of my bottles are 330ml. Oddly enough 500ml Cooper PET bottles are fine. You can still get 24 in there.

 

[Bigcol49]

Hmmmm!

I have a spare 12v Shurflo diaphragm pump that could put up the pressure and the flow ...

... and the 10mm copper piping that could provide the nozzles ...

... and the containers that could hold everything together ...

... and the know-how to solder everything in place so no need to buy a load of "T" pieces ...

... so I could probably do it for less than the ���£11.99! :thumb: :thumb:

I think I will hold off buying a rinser until the summer when it gets a lot warmer and the CBA syndrome slacks off a bit! :thumb: :thumb:

I think my pump is too powerful - I may have to put a diverter in the output. Reading posts about bottle washers, it's not high pressure that you need; what is more important is heavy flow so that the maximum amount of fluid floods the interior of the bottle.
I don't trust my soldering skills, so I bought some glue specifically for copper plumbing pipe.
http://youtu.be/OODbzJUWg-A
Colin

 

[Dutto]

........

I don't trust my soldering skills, so I bought some glue specifically for copper plumbing pipe.
Colin

I once welded up a boat and before starting asked a Lloyda A1 welder mate if I could do it.

"Of course you can. Just buy a big grinder!" was the reply. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Bigcol49]

I once welded up a boat and before starting asked a Lloyda A1 welder mate if I could do it.

"Of course you can. Just buy a big grinder!" was the reply. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

:lol::lol::lol:

 

[Fil]

soldering can prove deceptively easy as long as you can work well away from anything flammable, soldering pipes in place surrounded by timber with a flame torch is an art..

always sand the pieces to join to a brite finish

always apply a flux to cover all in and on the bits to join

clamp peices together, dont rely on friction when hot and wet with flux/solder bits will slip out of place if not held..

then heat up evenly focusing the flame on the heaviest piece (it will suck most of the heat up)

when the flux is bubbling touch the solder to the joint, as a rule of thumb the length of solder to use for a joint is just shy of about 1/2 the circumference so about 2cm for a 15mm joint,

dont worry about running solder all the way around the joint, as long as you fluxed liberally the solder will run all around on its own.



leave alone to cool while u make a cuppa

if u screw up insulated handle pliers can pull bits appart when reheated till the solder melts, so u get do overs..

 

[Dutto]

soldering can prove deceptively easy as long as you can work well away from anything flammable, soldering pipes in place surrounded by timber with a flame torch is an art....

This is the man that nearly burned down the golfer Tony Jacklin's house back in the 1960's!! :whistle: :whistle:

When I was on leave from the sea I used to help out a mate who ran his own plumbing business and he had won the job of installing a modern plumbing system into what was a lovely old house.

I was happily soldering a joint near to where it passed through a cavity wall when my mate pointed out that the wall was "lathe and plaster" and if the flame strayed any nearer to the hole it would probably ignite the wooden lathes on the inside of the cavity!

The "good news" was that we wouldn't know about it because we would be at home having a fag and a cuppa by the time the fire took hold and burned the house down.

I spent the next half-hour spraying water up inside the cavity to make sure that there was nothing burning in there; but it was a real relief to get back the next day and see that the house was still standing! :whistle: :whistle:

Great tips for soldering! :thumb: :thumb: