Sterilising bottles, options.

giftgrub

Just wondering what the options are for sterillising wine bottles and 500ml bottles for cider beer etc?

I have VWP, but can I use the dishwasher for a large batch? we have a hot wash option of 65 degrees on ours.

I had read elsewhere that the neck of the wine bottles means it doesnt really work, there can also be issues with food/crud in the machine.

howamidifferent

I use an 80L container I bought in Dunnes. Throw 20 litres of water and some sanitiser into it then let 25 or 30 bottles rest in it for a few minutes. Rinse them in cold water in the sink while another 30 or so rest in the sanitiser...repeat as needed. Not the fastest but it works. I have a bottle tree I put the rinsed bottles on afterwards to drain before I actually put the beer into the bottles.
I only do this just before I bottle so they are sanitised correctly.

joctcl

hot water in a quarter and half a teaspoon of vwp to really get it going, fill to top with cold leave overnight , rinse with cold and dry, preferably on the bottle tree.
Dishwasher will not cut it.

tteknulp

Get starsan at homebrew shop , it makes the whole process really easy and quick ,works great with bottle rinser & tree

Khannie

tteknulp wrote: »

bottle rinser & tree

Big reduction in face pain when I got these.

Sky King

+1 The bottle tree is the bizniss.

Rinser I got is very cheaply made though.

matrim

Another +1 for rinser and tree. Makes things a lot quicker and easier

sharingan

tteknulp wrote: »

Get starsan at homebrew shop , it makes the whole process really easy and quick ,works great with bottle rinser & tree

Bottle tree: http://www.homebrewwest.ie/bottle-drainer---45-bottle-rotating-red-1089-p.asp

And they are fantastic.

Where do you get star san? I have looked around, and I would really prefer a no-rinse sanitiser.

diarmuid05

If you don't have a bottle tree, i find dishwasher rack works quite well to let bottles drain

Piercemeear

Are people here generally against the water + bleach + vinegar method?

20l of water.
Mix in 30ml of thin, unscented bleach.
Mix in 30ml of cheap malt vinegar.

Fill/steep bottles for a few hours. No rinse necessary, just let dry before using.

I've used this a few times. Amazingly cheap. Appears to have worked effectively.

Khannie

Piercemeear wrote: »

Are people here generally against the water + bleach + vinegar method?

Not me. It's what I use. I only make up 3L at a time though with a dessert spoon each of bleach / vinegar added to the water. It's enough to sanitise buckets (with shaking) and bottles (with the bottle rinser). I have never had any issues.

BeerNut

sharingan wrote: »

Where do you get star san?

The Homebrew Company usually have it but I see they're out of stock at the moment.

Piercemeear wrote: »

Are people here generally against the water + bleach + vinegar method?

I've used this exclusively for over sixty brews and never had a problem with it.

3dsteel

For draining bottles I use a sheet of plywood with a load of holes drilled in it.

I use the bleach/water/vinegar sanitizer too. There was an interview with Charlie Tally (the inventor of Starsan) on Basic Home Brewing radio where he talks about (and encourages) using bleach/water/vinegar, it's worth a listen. He says the contact time required is only 30 seconds and it is no rinse. I saw the link on Craigtube recently:

Link to interview

matrim

I used the water, bleach, vinegar for my last brew including using it with a bottle rinser and everything worked out fine

tteknulp

[quote="Sharingan , Where do you get star san? I have looked around, and I would really prefer a no-rinse sanitiser.[/quote]

Starsan can be purchased here:
http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/star-san-sanitiser-8-oz-p-1426.html

€12 it lasts for ages ,as 1.5ml to litre water ,distilled is better