Sterilising bottles

[Mastersmithson]

So as per a previous thread, to save some money ive been collecting bottles from a pubs (Rekordlig, brothers etc 500ml dark bottles).

Ive let them soak in warm soapy water, taken the label off and rinsed them. When the time comes to bottle, what would be the best way to sterilise them? Soak in bleach water? Dishwaser? Milton? VWP?

 

[kelper]

Fred & Flo baby bottle sterilising tablets! From Tesco or similar. Cheap and convenient. You can do individually or in your bucket.

 

[user 18729]

Hard to get now but if you can find any, use Starsan or similar. No rinse is so much easier

 

[DavidDetroit]

Best way? There are multiple answers to that. It is going to depend on your preference.
My preference is Starsan (or similar product) that I put in the:

and then on the lower dishwasher rack to dry:
Then I put beer into

 

[Mastersmithson]

Best way? There are multiple answers to that. It is going to depend on your preference.
My preference is Starsan (or similar product) that I put in the:
View attachment 20689
and then on the lower dishwasher rack to dry:
Then I put beer into
View attachment 20690

To be fair I did see that, and it did look interesting. In regards to star san, I can't seem to find any in the UK for decent price.


As a side question...

The kit says to pour the contents into the FV, then use some hot water to make sure everything comes out. Do I just use a small bit of hot water out of the tap? Going on from that it says to use 6 pints of hot water to mix with the 1kg sugar, is that just tap water as well?

When I make up the 5G of cold water im going to use the campden tabs which I would have thought would mix with the hot tap water anyway?

 

[kelper]

Water from the kettle, but use gloves when rinsing out the tins. Which kit is it?

 

[Keats]

I’m just bottling at the moment. Definitely the least enjoyable part of home brewing for me. I’m giving the bottles a soak in oxi then into a bucket of water with a couple of Milton tablets. Then a final rinse with just boiled water.

I’ve not used Starsan but I know it would be much quicker.

 

[DavidDetroit]

There is relatively recent activity on this site about combing bleach, vinegar and water to make a proper sanitizing solution. It looks promising for a Starsan replacement.

 

[DavidDetroit]

@parpot said: "I now use the Bleach & White Vinegar method, Mix is 1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 gallon of water first and then 1 teaspoon of White Vinegar mix well. Amazing results and very quick because you don't need to leave stuff in soak just rinse and drain for a minute of off you go! DO NOT MIX BLEACH & VINEGAR TOGETHER, dilute the bleach in the water first!"

I think this covers it nicely and cheaply.

 

[Mastersmithson]

I did search but couldnt find anything, but I'll look again

 

[DavidDetroit]

soak in oxi

Is that for removing labels, gunk or just your cleaning process?

 

[DavidDetroit]

I did search but couldnt find anything, but I'll look again

I got you covered in a post just above yours.

 

[Keats]

Is that for removing labels, gunk or just your cleaning process?

Just for cleaning. I don’t usually do this but I’m using bottles that I’ve not used for a while and they were looking a bit grubby.

 

[MyQul]

I oven my bottles to sanitise. Put the bottles in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 150C. Leave em in the oven for 40 mins. Turn the oven off and leave them in their till cool enough to take them out. I then put a little cling film cap on them until I need them

 

[Keats]

Finally finished bottling!

@MyQul do you not do anything else then, just take off the cling film and start filling the bottles? I might give that a go, would save me a lot of time.

 

[MyQul]

Finally finished bottling!

@MyQul do you not do anything else then, just take off the cling film and start filling the bottles? I might give that a go, would save me a lot of time.

tbh, I'm a belt and braces man so I star san them just before I fill them, but you dont have to

 

[Cwrw666]

I oven my bottles to sanitise. Put the bottles in a cold oven. Turn oven on to 150C. Leave em in the oven for 40 mins. Turn the oven off and leave them in their till cool enough to take them out.

Blimey, I just put the oven on at 110c and put the bottles in for about 10 minutes. Take 'em out and stand them on the wooden draining board to cool while I cook some more. Then fill them.

 

[Mastersmithson]

Blimey, I just put the oven on at 110c and put the bottles in for about 10 minutes. Take 'em out and stand them on the wooden draining board to cool while I cook some more. Then fill them.

Is there a proven time where the heat will kill the bacteria?

 

[MyQul]

Is there a proven time where the heat will kill the bacteria?

If you think about how pasteurisation is done, its done in a matter of seconds, so my 40 mins is probably overkill. But it works for me

 

[MyQul]

Blimey, I just put the oven on at 110c and put the bottles in for about 10 minutes. Take 'em out and stand them on the wooden draining board to cool while I cook some more. Then fill them.

Overkill I know, but as I say, Im a belt and braces man. I think I'll try cutting the time down to 10 mins if you think that's enough