Do I really need a bottle tree?

[cwiseman77]

I've never used a bottle tree and wonder how important guys think they are. My procedure for bottles is to give them a good wash and rinse after I use them and then on bottling day I sanitise with wvp and rinse thoroughly. I don't really drain them properly, just leave them on the draining board and directly before filling each bottle I shake out any remaining drops from the bottle. My theory is that if a few drops of water make it into a pint bottle it's not going to have any impact on the beer. It's the same water I use to make the beer so what's a few drops? Why do so many guys invest in bottle trees/drainers?

 

[prolix]

no you don't, it is just convenient takes up less room and makes bottling slightly quicker

 

[Runwell-Steve]

I will happily sell you mine for a small fee. I dont bottle any more.

 

[Robbo100]

I have just got one and find it very useful indeed. They stop the bottles rolling around and generally make life much easier.

 

[fbsf]

If you are doing a big batch (30+ bottles) then the space it saves on the worksurface is really handy. also, it means that the bottles are kept upside down so nothing else can get into them from the air.

If I'm only doing 5-10 bottles alongside the corny, then I usually don't bother, but if I'm bottling the whole batch then it does make life a lot easier.

And picking it up secondhand for a tenner was also a big plus point!

 

[pittsy]

+ 1 to that i have a bottle tree and i would buy 1 tomorrow if i didn't have it.

 

[Gayle]

I'd quite like one, it's so annoying to have glass bottles falling over and rolling around, and I've broke a few. It doesn't help that I have very limited surface space for holding bottles so a batch bigger than a gallon is awkward to do, and I worry that dust and stuff might get in the bottles. I find the price a bit too expensive right now though so haven't got one yet, but if you're bottling most of your brews then you might find it worth it!

 

[Loetz]

 

[Moley]

Santa brought me a bottle tree and steriliser squirter for Christmas 2011.

Prior to that I had a piece of 1" chipboard which fitted over the utility sink and had 17 x 35mm holes drilled, through which I could insert the neck of a bottle. That sink was regularly covered over and not available for other uses for days at a time. This rather irritated Mrs. Mole, so when I suggested that I might like a bottle tree the idea was seized upon.

Now I wash bottles as soon as they have been emptied and leave them on the tree until I either want to fill them again or cap them with cling film and crate them up.

Disinfecting, draining and bottling now takes me around 45 minutes for a 5 gallon brew.

You don't NEED a bottle tree, but I find one very useful indeed :thumb:

 

[jonnymorris]

I sanitise my bottles (videne) and stand them up-side-down on a tea towel, 16-20 at a time immediately prior to bottling. There's a risk one will topple taking all others with them but its not happened yet.

I bottled 41 pints last Friday in 90 mins start to finish inc. racking to bottling bucket and cleaning up the flood after I forgot to close the tap whilst washing up. Schoolboy error.

I don't know where I'd store a tree though have pondered the same question.

 

[cwiseman77]

I bottled 41 pints last Friday in 90 mins start to finish inc. racking to bottling bucket and cleaning up the flood after I forgot to close the tap whilst washing up. Schoolboy error.

Been there!

 

[cwiseman77]

I think I'll leave it for now, I dont really have trouble bottling with space etc..., just wanted to make sure I wasnt missing something

 

[ScottM]

I personally wouldn't be without mine. If it broke, I'd buy another the next day. Great bit of kit.

I wouldn't recommend using VWP without giving a thorough rinse though. Leaving even the tiniest amount in the bottle will taint the flavour as the stuff is ridiculously strong. I would suggest using starsan, or another no-rinse sanitiser, to sanitise your bottles prior to use. That way you don't need to worry about any drops left in the bottle :)

 

[cwiseman77]

I personally wouldn't be without mine. If it broke, I'd buy another the next day. Great bit of kit.

I wouldn't recommend using VWP without giving a thorough rinse though. Leaving even the tiniest amount in the bottle will taint the flavour as the stuff is ridiculously strong. I would suggest using starsan, or another no-rinse sanitiser, to sanitise your bottles prior to use. That way you don't need to worry about any drops left in the bottle :)

After sanitising with wvp I rinse once with hot water and once with cold so should hopefully be ok. Although I did have a batch that tasted pretty weird once, didn't think it was infected but did taste strange. What kinda taste do u think a few drops of wvp would leave in a brew?

Anyway, I have been thinking about switching to starsan for my bottles. Because it's no rinse is draining more important?

 

[cwiseman77]

I personally wouldn't be without mine. If it broke, I'd buy another the next day. Great bit of kit.

I wouldn't recommend using VWP without giving a thorough rinse though. Leaving even the tiniest amount in the bottle will taint the flavour as the stuff is ridiculously strong. I would suggest using starsan, or another no-rinse sanitiser, to sanitise your bottles prior to use. That way you don't need to worry about any drops left in the bottle :)

After sanitising with wvp I rinse once with hot water and once with cold so should hopefully be ok. Although I did have a batch that tasted pretty weird once, didn't think it was infected but did taste strange. What kinda taste do u think a few drops of wvp would leave in a brew?

Anyway, I have been thinking about switching to starsan for my bottles. Because it's no rinse is draining more important?

 

[hong]

I will happily sell you mine for a small fee. I dont bottle any more.

Steve check your pm

 

[ScottM]

I personally wouldn't be without mine. If it broke, I'd buy another the next day. Great bit of kit.

I wouldn't recommend using VWP without giving a thorough rinse though. Leaving even the tiniest amount in the bottle will taint the flavour as the stuff is ridiculously strong. I would suggest using starsan, or another no-rinse sanitiser, to sanitise your bottles prior to use. That way you don't need to worry about any drops left in the bottle :)

After sanitising with wvp I rinse once with hot water and once with cold so should hopefully be ok. Although I did have a batch that tasted pretty weird once, didn't think it was infected but did taste strange. What kinda taste do u think a few drops of wvp would leave in a brew?

Anyway, I have been thinking about switching to starsan for my bottles. Because it's no rinse is draining more important?

I noticed an off taste in one of my beers a while back. I can only describe it as being a little bit like a faint swimming pool water taste lol. Chlorine, very faint but noticeable in the after taste.

Starsan makes the whole process an absolute doddle. The stuff is magic. No joke, a bottle of starsan, a bottle tree and a bottle washer will cut your cleaning times in half.... easily, I haven't timed it but it may even 1/4 your time. Using starsan on it's own without the bottle washer will be a little tricky and perhaps wasteful. I know it's a bit of an outlay for the kit and the steriliser but if you plan on keeping up the hobby it will be more than worth it.

 

[winelight]

Starsan makes the whole process an absolute doddle. The stuff is magic. No joke, a bottle of starsan, a bottle tree and a bottle washer will cut your cleaning times in half.... easily, I haven't timed it but it may even 1/4 your time. Using starsan on it's own without the bottle washer will be a little tricky and perhaps wasteful. I know it's a bit of an outlay for the kit and the steriliser but if you plan on keeping up the hobby it will be more than worth it.

I have timed it and I don't use Starsan, don't have a bottle washer or tree, don't even have a second bucket to batch prime, and it still doesn't take me much more than an hour to sanitise, rinse, prime, fill and cap 40 bottles. Honestly I don't see that as a problem, not for 40 pints of beer!

 

[winelight]

After sanitising with wvp I rinse once with hot water and once with cold so should hopefully be ok.

I rinse three times just to be on the safe side. What's important is to drain out as much as possible between each rinse.

 

[ish1349]

I've got a bottle tree with bottle rinser. If your bottles are already clean from major dirt and only need sterilisation. Just use a no rinse mix of videne with the bottle rinser and it saves so much time.

The bottle rinser fits on top of the bottle tree. Very good indeed at speeding things up IMO. [THUMBS UP SIGN]