Mass Sterilisation?

Welease

Just got done bottling another 40 pts.. and i never look forward to sterilising all the bottles i need..

I was wondering would it be fine to sterilize all the bottles I have (100+), add the sugar and put the screw caps back on in bulk.. ready for when i need them in batches (which could be 2-3 weeks away).. or should i always sterelize just before use?

Would be nice just to get them all done once in a while, and then use as I need.. rather than having to start sterilizing each time i need some.

BeerNut

Welease wrote: »

I was wondering would it be fine to sterilize all the bottles I have (100+), add the sugar and put the screw caps back on in bulk.. ready for when i need them in batches (which could be 2-3 weeks away).. or should i always sterelize just before use?

I know people who do advance sanitising. Even a bit of clingfilm on the top will keep the bugs out, I'm told.

oblivious

I sterilize before I use them, but you could always switch corny kegs

kenmc

Welease wrote: »

I was wondering would it be fine to sterilize all the bottles I have (100+), add the sugar and put the screw caps back on in bulk..

Screw caps? Really? What sort of bottles have you got and what sort of capper?

guildofevil

"Mass Sterilisation?" When I saw this I thought someone was suggesting an extreme right wing solution to a perceived social problem.

Sanitising the bottles and capping them should work OK but I don't like the idea of putting the sugar in there too. There could be bacteria in that sugar, so you would be providing a nice sanitary environment and plenty of food for whatever travelled in on the granules.

I usually recommend batch priming anyway. Weigh out the sugar, dissolve in a little hot water then boil on the hob. Put the lid on the pot and cool it in the sink then add it to the fermentor before transferring the beer to the bottling bucket. The transferring process mixes the priming solution nicely.

Welease

kenmc wrote: »

Screw caps? Really? What sort of bottles have you got and what sort of capper?

I use PET plastic bottles with screw caps.

Welease

ok thanks everyone.. sounds like it's probably ok, or at least it isn't common knowledge that it's a dumb thing to do..

I'll steralise up a bunch (and leave the sugar until I am bottling) and see how I get on..

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Welease wrote: »

I use PET plastic bottles with screw caps.

PET can't be a good idea for beer.

The plastic degrades with time, forming acetaldehyde which will affect the taste of the beer.

Welease

Sean_K wrote: »

PET can't be a good idea for beer.

The plastic degrades with time, forming acetaldehyde which will affect the taste of the beer.

These are the ones I use http://thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=59

I bought them from the homebrew company, so assumed they would be up to the job. I have been considering moving across to glass bottles for a while, but didn't assume there was any problem with the bottles I had (at least in the short term)..

I had also been reusing coke bottles etc.. which I do now understand is not the best idea, and have been throwing them out as the beer has been drunk.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Welease wrote: »

These are the ones I use http://thehomebrewcompany.ie/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=59

I bought them from the homebrew company, so assumed they would be up to the job. I have been considering moving across to glass bottles for a while, but didn't assume there was any problem with the bottles I had (at least in the short term)..

I had also been reusing coke bottles etc.. which I do now understand is not the best idea, and have been throwing them out as the beer has been drunk.

Ok fair enough, I had images of you trying to sterilise a load of old volvic bottles:p

Realistically you may not notice anything (unless you're brewing batch of bud:pac:). Since the bottles are being sold for beer, they must do a fairly ok job of it.

Welease

Sean_K wrote: »

Ok fair enough, I had images of you trying to sterilise a load of old volvic bottles:p

Realistically you may not notice anything (unless you're brewing batch of bud:pac:). Since the bottles are being sold for beer, they must do a fairly ok job of it.

Well yeah they should hopefully..

but <cough> I did have some volvic (2 ltr) etc. bottles with the coke ones lol
The do seem a lot thinner than the ones from homebrew so I am phasing them out..
So in essence, in the interests of safety I need to speed up my drinking of the beer thats currently in the old bottles It's a tough job but someones gotta do it........

rubadub

Welease wrote: »

but <cough> I did have some volvic (2 ltr) etc. bottles with the coke ones lol
The do seem a lot thinner than the ones from homebrew so I am phasing them out..

Still water bottles are usually not designed to handle pressure. Often when doing the fermentation in the bottle they can blow out the sides of the bottles, those thin still water bottles will have ridges moulded into them on the sides for strength which can pop out. Also if you ever noticed the inside of a cap it is different on most still water bottles. On carbonated drinks bottles you will see a cut in the threads, this is to slowly relieve the pressure when being opened. On still water bottles there is often no cut, so no relief, so the moment the cap is unscrewed fully it can suddenly blow off like a champagne cork.

I remember a mate found an old kiaora 3L bottle that had dregs in it, it had fermented and was blown out of shape with pressure. He unscrewed the cap and it shot off and ricocheted around the room and hit him in the eye.

Also the thin plastic means gas exchange can happen easier. If you want screw on reusable bottles those bulmers 1L bottles are probably the best bet. If over pressured a lot you will see the cap rise up like a bubble. The glass might still be a bit thin, I had a 1L scheweppes bottle that exploded on me once, it was severly overpressured though.