Swing top bottle sanitising...

[MonkeyMick]

Hey all

Probably a stupid question, but I constantly second guess myself.

I've a mix of used and new swing top bottles. What's the best way to clean and sanitise? Do I remove the wire and stopper before sanitising and boil them separately to sanitise to prevent any Ill effects on the wire and washer?

Will running the lot through a dishwasher suffice, or do I need to be more thorough?

Hope I've made sense..

 

[An Ankoù]

Running the lot through the dishwasher will suffice.
Not my chosen method of sanitising, but in any case, it's the interior of the bottle that needs to be sanitary, so if using any other method, just take of the rubber stoppers if they're removable, and sanitise them separately. If they're not removable then don't worry.

 

[MonkeyMick]

Running the lot through the dishwasher will suffice.
Not my chosen method of sanitising, but in any case, it's the interior of the bottle that needs to be sanitary, so if using any other method, just take of the rubber stoppers if they're removable, and sanitise them separately. If they're not removable then don't worry.

Out of interest, what's your favoured method of sanitising?

 

[Gerryjo]

I usually remove the flip tops with clasp and boil them for about 15 minutes and wash the bottles as normal then only sanitise the bottles with starsan or similar.
DONT put the swingtop clasps in with sanitiser as they will oxidise as the acid reacts with the metal. Trust me as I have done it before as I have around 80 swingtop bottles.

 

[aamcle]

Sod boiling.

Rinse and wash them after you pour them the drain and dry. A bit of starsan is all you need proof to refilling.

If you're desperate remove the swing and pop them in the oven, take it up slowly to 200°C the turn the over off and leave it to cool over night .


Aamcle.

 

[Brew Dad]

Just finished bottling an IPA into my swingtops and logged in to see this question. I run them through the dishwasher, bales, stoppers, and all. My dishwasher does have a sanitize setting, which gets very hot, and seems to do the job just fine. Have recently been adding a small amount of PBW to the dishwasher as well, which really seems to get the bottles extra clean.

Then, a rinse with Star San - I use one of those vinator (sp?) things, and proceed to bottling. I also find setting the bottles on the open dishwasher door while bottling makes clean up much easier.

 

[kelper]

I doubt if any dishwasher can effectively sanitise the inside of a bottle. Unless it is already SPOTLESSLY clean. Immersion in water 77C or hotter, for 30 seconds will do it.
John Palmer suggests quite long times and high temps to sanitise in an oven.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/brewing-preperations/sanitation/sanitizing-your-equipment

 

[An Ankoù]

I've only every used Sodium metabisuphite to sanitise my bottles (after they're perfectly clean and crud-free of course) and I've never had a dodgy bottle. Ever, since 1970!

 

[HarryFlatters]

I rinse mine as soon as I've poured my pint to get rid of sediment. Before bottling day they get a rinse in a weak bleach solution, then rinsed with campden and they sealed up. On bottling day I squirt StarSan into them with one of those Vintner bottle washers and hang them on the bottle tree and let them drain while I siphon my beer onto the priming sugar solution in the bottling bucket.

 

[kelper]

Once I've sanitised and capped my bottles, I don't sanitise them again before use.

 

[DavidDetroit]

I use the Grolsch 500ml swingers. As mentioned above, I rinse right after pouring with a finger in the hole and some shaking. At this point, they're fine to just sanitize. In my case I use the Vinator. I dip the top and then sanitize the inside and then I put on a gasket that's been sitting in Starsan. Then upside down to dry.
With the cap itself, there's just that tin bit that comes into contact with the beer so that's why dipping it sanitizer suffices.

All of this applies only to bottles that are free of all debris. If there's any debris on the inside, filling a third of the way with an Oxyclean solution and capping works well. Just shake them periodically for however long is necessary. A 1/2 teaspoon's worth and a funnel make the job easy.
Since I have cats, I won't say, "There's more than one way to skin a cat."

 

[MonkeyMick]

Thanks all.

Ive washed thoroughly and sanitised my bottles with starsan, and boiled the stoppers and seals to sterilise them.

Mangrove Jack's Pink Grapefruit IPA is now sat in 40 500ml bottles to condition, but tastes great as it is!