Please tell me...

[Cwrw666]

Oh good God no...rinse out with tap water and line up 40 bottles. Boil a kettle on fill each bottle 1/8 full of boiling water. Leave for 10 mins...empty prime with sugar and your ready to bottle. Out of the 110+ brews ive done ive probably bottled 1/4. That's over 1000 bottles and I can count on one hnd how many Ive lost and these were probably because the caps weren't fitted correctly. As long as each bottle is above 63 oC for two mins they ill be sterile enough for use

I agree with this wholeheartedly - I've never bought any kind of sanitiser, ever. I use boiling water for everything, FVs, PBs, and bottles. Of course, when using boiling water in glass bottles you do have to dribble the water in rather than pour it otherwise the bottle can be too stressed and shatter. But in 45 years of homebrewing (off and on) I've only ever broken a couple of bottles using boiling water and I've never had an infected brew. Ever.
Does it not occur to people that folks have been home-brewing for countless centuries and never had the `benefit' of sanitisers till rather recently?

 

[BruinTuns]

"Does it not occur to people that folks have been home-brewing for countless centuries and never had the `benefit' of sanitisers till rather recently"?

Yes, but we can only wonder what their beer was like.. :sick:

Seriously though, I tend to agrree too. I'm far too new to speak from experience but I recall as a kid in the 70s a few local dads and uncles brewed their own and I don't recall anything like this modern day level of obsessive sanitation that some brewers practice. I wasn't paying that close attention, and I've no way to know if there were more 'bad batches' in those days but after all it's brewing beer, not open heart surgery.
Having said that, when the Real Ale comeback kicked off getting a vinegary pint in your local wasn't all that unusual so it does happen.

"...I've never had an infected brew. Ever".

Encouraging. I'd be very interested to know just how many members have had a bad batch, and how thoroughly they sanitised at the time. Could it be that those unlucky few(?) actually did everything right and still got an infected brew?

 

[Covrich]

I use n FV to bottle (little bottler) I normally cook up my priming solution and while I cool that down I put about 15-20 lt of no rinse sanitiser in submerge the bottles 6 at a a time take the first 2 out as the last two go in and stick on the drainer tree. Just do this until all 40 are done.. then swish the sanitiser around the FV before emptying.. (I also do my paddle if needed and siphon / bottle wand too). Empty it , add the prime, rack, bottle and last but not least have a small swig in a glass of what little remains in the bottling bucket...


Oh then wash up

 

[MyQul]

I use n FV to bottle (little bottler) I normally cook up my priming solution and while I cool that down

Why do people wait for there priming solution to cool down? I just bung mine in the bottle bucket or beer (depending on which way around i'm doing it) as soon as the sugar has dissolved - doesn't seem to affect carbonation, just wastes time:hmm:

 

[PhilByford]

interesting to see how many people are not that fussed about ensuring sanitary conditions for their brews. Personally, considering how much effort goes into making my beer (all grain) the last thing I want is risking contamination. I consider cleanliness and yeast health the two most important things in brewing! without either you won't make good beer, even with the best recipe and process in the world! Also as a side note, I agree heat, i.e boiling water is indeed a great steriliser, but it is also dangerous! Imoh Stick to no rinse santiser and you can't go wrong!

 

[MyQul]

I like the idea of just using boiling water in principle as it's nice and simple and you dont have to shell out 10or 15 quid, but I just wonder how convienient using it is to sterilize (everything, not just bottles) ? I definatley like the the convienience of star san and am always trying to look for was to shave time off of brew day.

Say, for example, I need to take my ice bottles out of my cooled wort (I dont have a cooling coil), a quick dip off my hands in some star san and i can then go ahead and take those bottles out not worrying if my fingers accidently touch the wort. How would I sterilize my hands with boiling water? I'd have to maybe use washing up gloves of some tongues or something which adds extra time

 

[dbg400]

I fill the bottling FV with water plus a teaspoon or so of VWP and submerge 10 bottles in it. When they've had ten minutes they get drained and put into another FV with clean water. When that second FV is full another ten bottles go in the VWP solution, and the second batch of bottles get drained and go into a third FV (I bought some HBO FVs that don't seal well, so they are relegated to rinsing & storage duties) for another rinse, the the second batch get moved for their first rinse, and so on. By the time I have a bucket emptied the next lot are ready to move, and so on. Eventually everything ends up on the bottle tree. It's a chore, but I've got used to it and factor in the time it takes.

As for cleaning/rinsing the bottles in the first place I get them done *before* drinking the contents, and the beer counts as a reward for getting the job done :) The empties get stored in boxes with lids, so just need the process above to be ready for more beer.

I used to just use budget barrels and didn't bother with bottles at all, but I like choice, and being able to swap beer, which isn't easy to do with barrels. At most I would have three beers to choose from, but timing meant it was often restricted to just the one or two. I've now retired two of the barrels, and when the third is empty that will get stored away as well.

 

[BruinTuns]

Chaps, this seems like a good moment to make a small confession..
When I joined the forum I talked about 'getting ready for my first brew..'
That's what it felt like and to all intents and purposes I was. But I have actually brewed a solitary kit once before..
It was about thirty five years ago and I was a teenager, and the kit was a Tom Caxton's, probably best bitter.
I can't now remember many details but I do know that I wouldn't have taken anything like such care during the brew process. No thermometer or proper fvs, probably no lid, and I very likely bottled using a jug and funnel. Possibly a syphon, but I'd never heard of 'oxidising' and I'm sure that the beer foamed up out the bottles as I filled them.
I'm far from certain that I even sanitised anything, but I do remember that I used ordinary household sugar.
And yet, and yet... The beer was delicious! It really was, other people agreed, and although 'very beery' was a frequent verdict I took that as a sign of success as that was the intention.
Quite possibly I was lucky, but in my defence my sloppiness wasn't a teenage rebellion against the established orsder but a lack of any advice or instruction (at the time) to the contrary.
As I say, I'm paying attention to all the advice that more experienced members are kind enough to provide and I will follow it to the best of my ability, but one can't help wondering how a brew would turn out if we just gave everything a quick sluice and got on with it.
The idea of rushing the sterilization reminds me a bit a bit of parking in a Pay and Display bay but omitting the 'Pay&Display' part of the procedure. Feels grood when you get away with it but that one time you don't it costs so much more than you've saved...

 

[pms67]

Chaps, this seems like a good moment to make a small confession..
When I joined the forum I talked about 'getting ready for my first brew..'
That's what it felt like and to all intents and purposes I was. But I have actually brewed a solitary kit once before..
It was about thirty five years ago and I was a teenager, and the kit was a Tom Caxton's, probably best bitter.
I can't now remember many details but I do know that I wouldn't have taken anything like such care during the brew process. No thermometer or proper fvs, probably no lid, and I very likely bottled using a jug and funnel. Possibly a syphon, but I'd never heard of 'oxidising' and I'm sure that the beer foamed up out the bottles as I filled them.
I'm far from certain that I even sanitised anything, but I do remember that I used ordinary household sugar.
And yet, and yet... The beer was delicious! It really was, other people agreed, and although 'very beery' was a frequent verdict I took that as a sign of success as that was the intention.
Quite possibly I was lucky, but in my defence my sloppiness wasn't a teenage rebellion against the established orsder but a lack of any advice or instruction (at the time) to the contrary.
As I say, I'm paying attention to all the advice that more experienced members are kind enough to provide and I will follow it to the best of my ability, but one can't help wondering how a brew would turn out if we just gave everything a quick sluice and got on with it.
The idea of rushing the sterilization reminds me a bit a bit of parking in a Pay and Display bay but omitting the 'Pay&Display' part of the procedure. Feels grood when you get away with it but that one time you don't it costs so much more than you've saved...

Ok,you've confessed,we forgive you :pray::smile:
As I said,I have never bought sanitiser,my FV gets boiling water and all seems good so far,around 60-70 brews? But. Each to their own.
Good discussion though ;-)

 

[Covrich]

Why do people wait for there priming solution to cool down? I just bung mine in the bottle bucket or beer (depending on which way around i'm doing it) as soon as the sugar has dissolved - doesn't seem to affect carbonation, just wastes time:hmm:

I don't do it because I worry, I do it because I simply cook the solution first before the sanitiser process.. It makes no difference to the time whether I cook it before or after.

 

[johnnyboy1965]

To say my cleaning/sanitizing proceedures are sloppy is very much a understatement. Its knowing when to sanitize your equipment is the main concern. Rumour has it that you have to strip your keg and sanitize it before re-filling. What is the point? I know its clean because Ive just drank 40pts out of it. All I do is empty the trub, give it a swill with tap water and re-fill.