Sterilising

[CoxyBoy123]

Got lots of bottling to do this weekend.... How long cam I soak them in Vwp?

 

[RobWalker]

20 mins to effectively sterilise. rinse them well after (3+ rinses each)

 

[CoxyBoy123]

20 mins to effectively sterilise. rinse them well after (3+ rinses each)

Sorry I mean can I leave them overnight in the steriliser for eg

 

[winelight]

You can but you don't need to sterilise bottles at all... a few minutes or even a quick rinse will do, if you do want to sterilise them.

 

[CoxyBoy123]

You can but you don't need to sterilise bottles at all... a few minutes or even a quick rinse will do, if you do want to sterilise them.

Even used bottles? :nono:

 

[bottler]

You can but you don't need to sterilise bottles at all... a few minutes or even a quick rinse will do, if you do want to sterilise them.

Not sure about that. I would love it to be true.

 

[winelight]

Your own bottles re-used, yes. We were debating this on here when someone chimed in and said his dad had been making homebrew for donkey's years, and only sterilised his bottles once a year. In between they get used 4-5 times, just washing and rinsing out. He's never had an infection problem in the bottle.

So, I tried it for one batch. I washed the bottles in the dishwasher - that's go to be pretty sterile to start with - and then rinsed them before filling them. No problems.

I do however now always use VWP, but it's not in there for more than a few minutes. I've only got so much patience!

 

[PD]

the best step to take to make sure sterilizing your equipment is effective and easy, is to give each bottle a couple of GOOD rinses after you have used them. Put an aluminum foil cap on each bottle and put them in a box till you need them again. They will only need a quick no rinse swirl in Videne or Star San then before being refilled with beer.

 

[Duxuk]

I got a large tub of Chemipro Oxi from Leyland Homebrew. It cost £8.95, I think, but at a teaspoon per litre of water it will last a very long time. I dunk the bottles in a sink full of solution and stand upside down to drain. There is no need to rinse and no taste whatsoever. It's made bottling so much simpler. I also have used it for all other sterilising but give it more time for my FV etc. You can see oxygen bubbles forming on surfaces which it touches.

No rinse steriliser will change your brewing life for the better!

 

[IPA]

We were debating this on here when someone chimed in and said his dad had been making homebrew for donkey's years, and only sterilised his bottles once a year. In between they get used 4-5 times, just washing and rinsing out. He's never had an infection problem in the bottle.
!

What did his beer taste like though?

 

[Grumpy Jack]

I've had a few issues with bottles that I thought were spotlessly clean and I'd wing it without decent sterilisation... I only did it a couple of times before thinking "Sod it, I'll have to do it properly(ish)."

Usually, it's a good wash / brush out and a vigorous swirl to ensure that they are clean of any detritis.
Then a few minutes full of VWP solution with a good swirl around and empty them.
Followed by a good rinse out with warm water and bottle them with new beer the same day.

Once I've got a system in place, it doesn't actually take as long as you'd think and let's face it, there's always some downtime which can be usefully occupied. I simply set everything out and make sure that SWMBO & mini Grumpy Jack's are at work / school and then make sure it's cleaned up afterwards - which avoids someone deciding they desperately want to wash their football boots in the sink whilst I'm using it, or someone else moaning about all this "mess" that is making the place look untidy...

 

[RobWalker]

We were debating this on here when someone chimed in and said his dad had been making homebrew for donkey's years, and only sterilised his bottles once a year. In between they get used 4-5 times, just washing and rinsing out. He's never had an infection problem in the bottle.
!

What did his beer taste like though?

i believe this too, very little in the way of fermentation takes place. but then, why risk it? if you're getting fed up, just have sodium metabi made up in an fv with a tap and add about an inch of solution. it'll keep for a year easily and your bottling day is ready to go once each bottle is shaken.

 

[rpt]

Starsan + bottle squirter + bottle tree makes it very easy.

 

[Ian...]

I have done about 20 brews now without steralising bottles with no problem. A good hot wash and rinse when I pour my beer and the same again when I'm bottling has worked just fine. Don't forget alcohol is an antisceptic. Also, 'sterilising' is the wrong word. You can't steralise without full medical operating theatre facilities! You can, however, lower the bacteria count by sanitising and believe this is important when you first commence the fermentation process.
:

 

[graysalchemy]

I soak all my bottles in washing soda solution for about an hour a day before bottling, then I give them a quick soak for a few minutes in Videne solution just before filling. I can get 6 or so bottles in a bucket at a time, drain them and replace them and then fill, by the time these are filled and capped the next lot are ready to fill. Even better if you have two of you doing it.

Why would you risk losing all your beer because you couldn't be bothered to give them a quick soakprior to bottling. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.

 

[Ian...]

Why would you risk losing all your beer because you couldn't be bothered to give them a quick soakprior to bottling. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.

Why would you waste your time and money, and risk causing off flavours in your beer. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.
:

 

[graysalchemy]

Why would you risk losing all your beer because you couldn't be bothered to give them a quick soakprior to bottling. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.

Why would you waste your time and money, and risk causing off flavours in your beer. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.
:

Why would you cause off flavours if you use a sterilizer properly. You are more likely to get off flavours from infection than a sterilizer.

 

[rpt]

Why would you waste your time and money, and risk causing off flavours in your beer. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.
:

Use the right steriliser and you'll have no off flavours. Not sanitising seems madness to me.

 

[Ian...]

Why would you waste your time and money, and risk causing off flavours in your beer. Seems madness to me, but hey everyone to their own.
:

Use the right steriliser and you'll have no off flavours. Not sanitising seems madness to me.

The key phrase here is "but hey, everyone to their own" and that's fine, I think you're wrong, and you think I'm wrong. So what? You're beer's fine and my beer's fine. (actually, my beer's more than fine, it's great. And very probably, so is yours.)
There is more than one way to skin a cat.

 

[pittsy]

when i've opened a bottle i rinse 3 times with tap water then just pop bottle in container until bottling day then i just use star san and bottle tree , takes around 5 to 10 sec per bottle , all good and clean , no issues to date.