Bottling with Star San

[marksa222]

I thought I'd share by bottling routine. It's probably not the quickest, but it was stress free and an awful lot quicker than using Wilko sanitiser because nothing needed soaking for 10 mins. All bottles were cleaned and rinsed before sanitising.

I mixed 7.5ml of Star San into a 5l bottle of water and emptied the mixture into a clean bucket.

I dunked the bottles in the sanitiser, filled and then emptied

I stacked the bottles upside down in the top drawer of my dishwasher. The mesh was fortunetly suitable to fit the neck of the bottles allowing them to stand freely upside down without touching any part of the drawer.

Using a sanitised measuring spoon and back of a knife to level, I emptied the sugar through a funnel (also sanitised) into the bottles.

Using a bottling wand I filled the bottles.

The bottles were capped.

Because the bottling wand leaves the right amount of headspace when filled to the brim, some beer did run down the side of the bottles. To prevent a stale beer smell when I open them, I rinsed them with cold water and left to drain. I also gave them a little shake to mix the sugar in.

I recycled the sanitiser for next time. Just went back in to the 5l bottle with the help of a funnel.

All done ready to be stored under the bed for a few weeks before moving in to the cold for a few more weeks.

Any feedback is welcome :

 

[PD]

Same process that I've used for my last numerous brews, except that I use a bottle tree to drain the bottles ( no dishwasher ) and the wife can only hold so many !

Last 2 brews I've tried batch priming the sugar and I must say it was much faster, and the beers seemed to carbonate quicker...

 

[marksa222]

Last 2 brews I've tried batch priming the sugar and I must say it was much faster, and the beers seemed to carbonate quicker...

I will be doing this in future. Only the one FV just now.
Btw has anyone else had trouble capping wychwood bottles? I had some from Hobgoblin that were a pain in the **** this time and last. I thought I had a dodgy capper but it's fine with everything else.

 

[Will12283]

Where is the cheapest place to get starsan? Seen it online but high p&p costs

 

[Will12283]

Btw has anyone else had trouble capping wychwood bottles? I had some from Hobgoblin that were a pain in the **** this time and last. I thought I had a dodgy capper but it's fine with everything else.

Yes I had a problem in the end I just got rid of them to much hassle for me.

 

[dennisking]

Where is the cheapest place to get starsan? Seen it online but high p&p costs

Our sponsor the maltmiller sells it, buy it as part of an order and the p&p a less of an issue.

 

[marksa222]

Where is the cheapest place to get starsan? Seen it online but high p&p costs

They all seem to be the same price. Take your pick. To be fair, I paid about £12 including delivery, but I only used a tiny amount and what I did use I will use again. I can see it lasting years. The wilko stuff however cost about £2 but I used it all in one brew. Half putting it on and the other half when bottling. This will be cheaper in the long run, and better.

 

[Will12283]

Been thinking about getting starsan for a while, sounds like its really worth it. Been using the Milton we have to clean baby bottles and swmbo has started to notice. Might be an excuse to order a few things and get away with it :thumb:

 

[WelshPaul]

+1 for Starsan.
I give each of my bottles a quick spray inside with the stuff before draining on a bottle tree prior to bottling. No need to rinse at 1.5ml/l. The only caveat is to make sure to also spray and sterlise the bottling tree itself since each arm will be resting inside the bottle neck.

 

[morethanworts]

Anyone just drain bottles upside down in a crate?

 

[marksa222]

+1 for Starsan.
I give each of my bottles a quick spray inside with the stuff before draining on a bottle tree prior to bottling. No need to rinse at 1.5ml/l. The only caveat is to make sure to also spray and sterlise the bottling tree itself since each arm will be resting inside the bottle neck.

Just used the amount suggested on another thread on here. What dilution would you recommend?

 

[graysalchemy]

Btw has anyone else had trouble capping wychwood bottles? I had some from Hobgoblin that were a pain in the **** this time and last. I thought I had a dodgy capper but it's fine with everything else.

Yes they are nigh impossible unless you have a bench capper.

Nasty bottles anyway I don't like the shape of them.

 

[WelshPaul]

Just used the amount suggested on another thread on here. What dilution would you recommend?

I use 1.5ml per litre of water.

 

[marksa222]

Btw has anyone else had trouble capping wychwood bottles? I had some from Hobgoblin that were a pain in the **** this time and last. I thought I had a dodgy capper but it's fine with everything else.

Yes they are nigh impossible unless you have a bench capper.

Nasty bottles anyway I don't like the shape of them.

Oh good not just me then... I managed to get them on eventually but had to pull the arms down about 5 times, turning the bottle each time. Big fan of Wychwood though, Goliath, Hobgoblin and Scarecrow are probably all in my top 10, so would have been worth getting one if they weren't £30! That's 2 kits of beer, or just short of half a stockpot for AG!

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes but it means that you will be able to use all those lovely bottles that no doubt you have kept. I paid less than that for mine and it was an italian one as well. They are also faster and a lot easier to use. I have struggled for 3 years with one of the others nearly slicing my thumb of on numerous occasions with breaking bottles. In th eend I changed and wished I had bought one 3 years ago. :thumb: :thumb:

 

[marksa222]

Fair enough. I must admit I lost a beer last time with the neck of a bottle snapping off, there's just much more I want to buy first. I can get by with the capper I have for now. I need to make a list and prioritise what I need, I'm trying to get my brother interested so he'll go 50/50 haha.

 

[barry44]

once finished pouring my beer i rinse out the bottle and cap three times with hot water and once with cold.

This goes on the draining rack beside the sink with any dishes and once dry i spray 10 pumps of starsan in the bottle and 3 in the cap, leave for 30 seconds, put the lid on and shake the bottle til it foams.

When bottling comes round i pour out the starsan and fill the bottle.

Seems to be working so far, 9 brews in

 

[tazuk]

all i use is starsan dont fear the foam its the dog dangly bits as far as i can see :thumb: +1

1.5 mils of starsan with 1ltr of dionised water :thumb:

i use one of these :thumb:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veR-l55LMMg

 

[chastuck]

Anyone just drain bottles upside down in a crate?

That's what I do. I've got a couple of the old red milk crates and can get 16 of the old quart bottles in each.

 

[magick777]

Another +1 for StarSan, used it on 3 batches last year and all three were great. Also, a note: the previous advice "don't fear the foam" can be taken quite literally. It works fine as a no-rinse, no-drain, no-wait sanitiser.

Using Grolsch bottles and wanting to sterilise bottle, cap and washer in one operation right before bottling, I simply made up 20L of StarSan in an empty fermenter, dumped the clean bottles into it (in batches of 8-10), then took individual bottles from the bucket, dumped the StarSan out and filled immediately with beer, in some cases pushing foam out of the neck of the bottle. No rinsing, draining or drying - straight out of a bucket of StarSan and bottle.

This has worked flawlessly for three brews - no off flavours or effect from the Star San was noticeable, and no sanitation problems either.