Leaving Bottles After Sterilizing

[LanceDeepwood]

Hi,

I was going to bottle my Cooper's Mexican Cerveza today, so I sterilized (with StarSan) all my bottles, second fermenting bucket, syphons, etc, but after taking a gravity reading (my first since pitching the wort 8 days ago), I thought to leave it another 24 hours to ensure that the two readings are constant (I live in fear of the exploding glass bottle).

My question is, considering that my sterilized bottles have all been sealed (glass bottles are flip-top, PET are screwed shut) and placed in a plastic storage crate (which I also sanitized) - would I be okay to just re-open them tomorrow (or the day after) for bottling? Also I have left my syphons in a mixture of StarSan - although my StarSan seems to start out 'milky' I guess because of my water - would these still be sterile tomorrow or do I need to mix more StarSan and re-do everything?

 

[pittsy]

Hi , it will be fine as long as your water is soft enough for star san to work , i just use di-ionised water then i know for sure it's working .

 

[wigwamheed]

If I were you I'd leave at least 14 days before bottling, what was your fg?

 

[LanceDeepwood]

Well I'm abit unsure about my last gravity reading. My hydrometer always seems to lean to one side and it's quite a tight fit inside the test tube, so I'm not quite sure if my readings are correct.

When I just put the hydrometer in the test tube and just left it, it would stop at around 1020 (it started at 1048), but if I tilt the test tube slightly inorder to keep it balanced and prevent it from tilting to one side, it reached 1015. Perhaps I need either a new hydrometer or a wider test tube?

My main concert is the sanitizing though and whether the equipment I sanitzed yesterday will still be good without me having to mix up some more StarSan. Am gonna try and get some distilled water for next time. I shy'd away from StarSan at first because at first it can seem quite expensive compared to other sterilizers, but when you take into account it's re-use properties, it probably becomes one of the cheapest.

 

[bottler]

Well I'm abit unsure about my last gravity reading. My hydrometer always seems to lean to one side and it's quite a tight fit inside the test tube, so I'm not quite sure if my readings are correct.

When I just put the hydrometer in the test tube and just left it, it would stop at around 1020 (it started at 1048), but if I tilt the test tube slightly inorder to keep it balanced and prevent it from tilting to one side, it reached 1015. Perhaps I need either a new hydrometer or a wider test tube?

My main concert is the sanitizing though and whether the equipment I sanitzed yesterday will still be good without me having to mix up some more StarSan. Am gonna try and get some distilled water for next time. I shy'd away from StarSan at first because at first it can seem quite expensive compared to other sterilizers, but when you take into account it's re-use properties, it probably becomes one of the cheapest.

I would not bottle yet lance, 10 20 is way to high, maybe even a stuck fermentation! And i wouldnt tilt the test tube :thumb:

 

[carl_saint]

Wine needs to finish nearer to 1.000, maybe even lower like 0.990. I would leave it at least 14 days in the FV, maybe even longer!

 

[bottler]

Its not wine carl, its a sort of lager :thumb:

 

[Hirsty]

I'd re-sterilise when ready to bottle. The general rule of thumb is that sterilant is effective for 24 hours maximum in optimum conditions.

 

[winelight]

Bear in mind you do not need to sterilise bottles at all. Someone on here said his dad has made beer for donkey's years and only sterilises the bottles once a year, not between each brew, so to try it out I bottled one brew without sanitising the bottles and of course they are all fine.

 

[Moley]

When I just put the hydrometer in the test tube and just left it, it would stop at around 1020 (it started at 1048), but if I tilt the test tube slightly in order to keep it balanced and prevent it from tilting to one side, it reached 1015. Perhaps I need either a new hydrometer or a wider test tube?

It certainly sounds like you might need a wider trial jar, but you should never "just put the hydrometer in the tube".

Lower the hydrometer into the test sample - you don't drop it in in case it sinks further than you expect, hits the bottom of the jar and cracks the bottom of the bulb. Then you should spin the hydrometer stem between your thumb and forefinger. This helps to keep it vertical and dislodges any small gas bubbles which collect on the glass and give a false reading. Take your reading just as it is coming to a stop.

Regarding the bottles, when I was using bleach / Milton, etc. I have sterilised a batch, rinsed, drained and dried them, then covered the necks with tinfoil or cling film and left them for anything up to a month before filling them. Now I use Videne I just give them a quick spray immediately before filling, but I would still be happy to leave them for a few days if the brew wasn't quite ready.