Sterilising Beer Bottles

[broadfordbrewer]

Hello,

I'm brewing my first lager and have yet to decide on the best way to sterilise all 40 bottles. Does this have to be with a particular product or method? or can I use the dishwasher?

cheers

 

[Moley]

Well I think you're going to be spoilt for choice, there is no standard method and I'm sure this thread will attract many conflicting opinions.

Sterilising 40+ bottles in one go can be a right PITA. I rinse as soon as I've emptied them or remove labels and wash if I've found more bottles, then I use either a Tesco's own brand Milton equivalent or a ‘value’ bleach. I keep and old FV full of solution which is dumped and changed every week or so.

10-12 wine or beer bottles go in for total immersion for at least 30 minutes (but more often left overnight), then they get two full-fill hot rinses (left for at least 20 minutes each rinse), are drained and dried inverted then capped with tin foil. I will then leave them for anything up to a month before filling.

 

[bossdrums]

I always rinse the bottles after use, same as previous poster, then when it comes to bottling time I just fill the bath, adding some VWP and submerge all the bottles in the bath water solution...leave for about 15 minutes and then rinse each bottle a couple of times to remove the VWP solution....job done.

 

[tubby_shaw]

Rinsed well after use, stored upside down, sprayed inside with no rinse Videne solution, drained and used :thumb:

 

[Muddydisco]

Drik beer thats in the bottle, wash out leave in dusty, dirty garage for months, in boxes. remove from boxes soak in bleach solution, rinse well twice, spray with Videne fill with beer

 

[chiefstoker]

I've not done bottles yet, whats Videne? does that have to be bought from a Homebrew Supplier?


I was thinking about just taking the heater plate off my wallpaper stripper and firing the pipe straight into each bottle for about 30secs too - yes/no?

:wha:

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Videne appears to be an iodene based antispetic solution? more commonly used by hospitals as hand scrub etc? am I right?

 

[Muddydisco]

Yep it's a great! But some places are now only selling it on prescription

 

[llannige]

Well I think you're going to be spoilt for choice, there is no standard method and I'm sure this thread will attract many conflicting opinions.

Sterilising 40+ bottles in one go can be a right PITA. I rinse as soon as I've emptied them or remove labels and wash if I've found more bottles, then I use either a Tesco's own brand Milton equivalent or a ‘value’ bleach. I keep and old FV full of solution which is dumped and changed every week or so.

10-12 wine or beer bottles go in for total immersion for at least 30 minutes (but more often left overnight), then they get two full-fill hot rinses (left for at least 20 minutes each rinse), are drained and dried inverted then capped with tin foil. I will then leave them for anything up to a month before filling.

Keep your bottles away from milton,as it has a clingy effect and takes some shifting.Doesn't taste too good either. :nono:

Yep it's a great! But some places are now only selling it on prescription

Boots or most chemists stock them(or will get them in for you next day) no problem. :thumb:

 

[Moley]

Keep your bottles away from milton, as it has a clingy effect and takes some shifting. Doesn't taste too good either. :nono:

I've seen that advice posted several times but after two long, hot rinses I haven't had any residual smell or taste.

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Keep your bottles away from milton, as it has a clingy effect and takes some shifting. Doesn't taste too good either. :nono:

I've seen that advice posted several times but after two long, hot rinses I haven't had any residual smell or taste.

Thanks for the advice on this.... but on this occasion I'm going to go with Moley on this... I've used Milton so far on this brew and all seems well so far (granted I haven't tasted it yet!)... however Milton's intended use is for baby bottles etc and having sampled a few bottles of the white stuff, I can say that I've never tasted anything nasty.

 

[Moley]

I'm going to go with Moley on this... I've used Milton so far on this brew and all seems well so far (granted I haven't tasted it yet!)

I wouldn't be too quick to go against the general consensus, it's Tesco's own brand sterilising fluid I use, not the branded Milton. I'm happy to use it on my bottles and glassware but I will not use it on syphon tubes, funnels, FVs etc. as it certainly does seem to cling to plastic.

 

[broadfordbrewer]

I'm going to go with Moley on this... I've used Milton so far on this brew and all seems well so far (granted I haven't tasted it yet!)

I wouldn't be too quick to go against the general consensus, it's Tesco's own brand sterilising fluid I use, not the branded Milton. I'm happy to use it on my bottles and glassware but I will not use it on syphon tubes, funnels, FVs etc. as it certainly does seem to cling to plastic.

:hmm: ok, thanks for the warning, i'll think again before I use it for the bottles.

 

[craigite]

Am I the only one using the dishwasher?
I've used boots baby steriliser, brew shop steriliser and all work.
Now i brush the insides well as soon as I can after drinking, then into the diswasher on baby care cycle with no cleaning liquid or tablet just before I need them. I still sterilise the crown caps with steriliser.
So far no spoilt brew, fingures crossed.

 

[broadfordbrewer]

hi Craigite... noone else has mentioned the dishwasher method and I was interested in using this for ease... but if it works for you then why change!?!

I've just come back from my local brewing shop and the guy advised me to use VWP which is a cleaner steriliser in powder form that you add to water and immerse your bottles etc for 5-10 mins then rinsed with cold water. I'm going to give it a go as I trust the guy :pray: It does say 'for home brew use' on the tub so I'm not too worried

 

[brobin]

Yep VPW is great for bottles, FV's and plastic barrels, just don't use it on any stainless steel as over exposer can cause problems.

I tend to fill my FV with a VPW solution and then put the bottles to be sterelised in in batches.

That said I have given up on bottles and moved to a corny keg instead as it is much less hassel!

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Hi Brobin,

Thanks for the warning on stainless steel.. noted.
Yeah, the more I read on here the more I'm getting the feeling that I will naturally move from bottles to a corny... I guess.

Can I ask, once you have sterilised the bottles do you use them straight away? also, do you bother to sterilise the crown caps?

Thanks.

 

[llannige]

I soak my bottles overnight in a very large bucket of tosco's cheap bleach.Give them a good rinse out in the morning,then spray with videne.
I also soak the caps in a jug of videne before use. :thumb:

 

[GWrinkle]

I put mine through the dishwasher, never had an infected bottle yet. The heat created in the drying cycle gets rid of nasties without the use of chemicals :thumb:

 

[Paulie Walnuts]

Personally I would never use a dishwasher. It will clean the outside of bottles ok but barely any water will get inside the bottles, and certainly none will reach the bottom.

I rinse each bottle after use and then store in a beer crate, covered with a tough Ikea carrier bag, until required for the next bottling session.

When bottling, I just wash the bottles with a bottle brush in warm water & washing up liquid. I then rinse them with clear water and quarter fill with VWP solution, shaking it around. I use a battery operated pump for this, it takes seconds. After emptying the VWP, I rinse again with warm water and drain.

As far as crown caps go, I just use them straight from the pack and then reseal afterwards. I can't be bothered with the hassle of sterilising caps, and have never had a single infection.