Sanitizing Bottles

[Sponge]

Hello,

I have 2 (probably stupid) questions about sanitizing bottles. My question is how long can I leave them before filling. For example if I was going to bottle on Saturday could I sanitize the bottles on Friday night or does it need to be done on the same day as bottling? :wha:

The second question is as I am using VWP to clean my bottles they need to be rinsed out. After rinsing do the bottles need to be totally dry on the inside or can I just rinse, shake out as much of the water as possible and fill with beer? :wha:

Thanks for any replies. :thumb: (and your patience)

 

[bomberns127]

rinse them twice and its fine to use straight way with a small residue of water in them, as to using the following day, i have sterilised them the day before but i have used cling film over the tops of the bottles(sounds a bit mad but it works), it only takes a couple of seconds to cover the ends with a the cling film which is sterile itself and it stops anything ruining your hard work

 

[adomant]

I think if you used disolved metabisulphate you could leave the residue in the bottles and fill the next day without rinsing or worrying about the excess water, you might just want to keep the tops covered with the caps or sterile tea towel

 

[Peapodmaster]

1. Personally i sanitize the bottles the day i use them but if your worried about how long you'll spend bottling then sanitize them and then cover them with clingfilm/aliminium foil.

2. with my bottles i believe that if i fill them up with sanitizer and then wash them out with water.. and shake them off. then bottle them i see no harm in it.. maybe the tiniest ammount of flavour difference and alcohol% but nothing you'd be able to tell. i think it'd be fine if you had a few drops.. but a cm or two would probs be noticable.

hope i helped.

cheers

Andy

 

[Good Ed]

I would always sanitise just before bottling, also using VWP it's always safe to rinse several times, I used to do 5 rinses. However I've since been using Videne, as a no rinse solution. Look up the threads on Videne here and you'll never look back :thumb:

 

[Hollow Legs]

I would always sanitise just before bottling, also using VWP it's always safe to rinse several times, I used to do 5 rinses. However I've since been using Videne, as a no rinse solution. Look up the threads on Videne here and you'll never look back :thumb:

Yep have to agree, turned to videne about 4 brews ago and never looked back, so easy and if you use a plant sprayer it is always at hand to sanitise when you need it

 

[klaus]

If you dose the VWP correctly, from memory a teaspoon per gallon of water, then I find that max two rinses are necessary. So if you have about 10 litres of hot water in your sink just 2 tsp required. I now rarely use Sod.Meta.Bi. except in CT form. VWP (or similar alternatives) does the job.

 

[graysalchemy]

I santatise as I fill them by dunking them in a bucket of videne solution then just tipping them out. I have thought of making a rack of open ended copper pipes and attaching it to a steamer but my steamer broke.

 

[gredawarha]

For what it's worth I started out with VWP. Used it on my first brew but I found that I had to rinse it several times to get rid of the smell. I found it to be a chore so switched to using star san and have not gone back.

 

[MikeB]

All I do is rinse them out with hot water as I use them and then put through the dishwasher. Stick some clingfilm on them once they're out of the dishwasher, and store.

When I'm ready to bottle I simply remove the clingfilm and fill. So I don't actually sanitise my bottles in the traditional sense at all. I've been doing this for about three or four months and have yet to have a single problem.

 

[Sponge]

Thnaks for the info guys. I think I'm going to sanitise on the day I bottle. What i was most concerned about was leaving a few drops of water in the bottle.

 

[eggman]

I give my bottles a rinse out after i've drunk them, then sanitise on bottling day with vwp and give them a thorough rinsing out :

 

[eblis]

on the day of bottling i put mine in the oven @ 170 for an hour and let them cool down and then bottle.