TrueBrew Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I'm currently using bleach to sanitize my bottles, fermenter and gear. It's diluted roughly 125mL bleach per 30L water. I just rinse out my empties thoroughly and then put about a 1/4 of the bottle of this mixture in it and let it sit til I'm ready to rinse the bottles to refill with my homebrew. I was told this is ok by my mate who uses this method. I've just started using it and haven't seen the results yet. Does anyone have any experience with this being a problem? I was originally using hydrogen peroxide to sanitize but found that I got a bad brew and had to tip it out [crying] I know there are a few different products on the market but this seems to be the cheapest alternative and it's easy to store the bottles and cuts out the really annoying cleaning phase which is the painful part of the entire process for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewie Rivers Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 Gday Truebrew, This seems to be exactly what I do except the bottle part. I just rinse the bottles in water and when dry store till the next brew, when I sanitize with a capful of bleach rinse well with hot water and fill. Have done thirteen brews like this and so far all is good.[joyful] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I just rinse out my bottles straight away when drinking and leave them upside down in a milk crate to dry. When bottling day comes around I give them a splash of no rinse iodophor solution using my bottle rinser and they're are good to go. For my fermentor I use a capful of coles nappy wash for sensitive skin (no perfumes [rightful] ). I then fill up the fermentor with water and leave it overnight then rinse out and dry (no scrubbling required). When I'm ready to use the fermentor again I give it a splash with iodophor and like the bottles it is good to go. Bleach is fine and I haven't had a problem with it but I prefer to stick to my method as described above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damo Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 I've just been giving my bottles a quick but good rinse with water after a beer & then storing them with an old used cap on top to keep insects/dust out. When it comes time to bottle another brew I fill the laundry trough with about 10ltr of warm water , a couple of capfulls of sanitiser then wash 15 @ a time with a bottle brush. Give them another quick little rince with water then bottle & cap 1 @ a time.Whole processs takes about 2hrs (including clean up) Done several brews since picking it up again last november & all good.[happy] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 9, 2011 Share Posted April 9, 2011 [pinched] 2hrs!!! How may bottles are you doing Damo? [biggrin] I reckon I'm done in about 15 mins...but I've never used a bottles brush. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damo Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 only 30 king browns (long necks) @ a time from my 23 ltr fermenter muddy.. a quick swivel around inside with the brush makes em crystal clear & clean inside."15 min" ?? be a while before I'm bottling & cleaned up that fast.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 10, 2011 Share Posted April 10, 2011 I do get my bottles in order pretty fast. Women have always called me "The Flash" but I think they may have been talking about something else [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damo Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Muddy , Muddy , Muddy... Funny us blokes always end up on that topic??[lol] Bit much detail & digression..[lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFrankel Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I hit mine with hot water immediately after I finish the bottle and then put them through the dish washer. Then I hit them with a sanitiser before bottling. So far no infection Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Damo - Digression is my middle name [biggrin] Mark - Does the dishwasher help? I can't imagine it doing much to the insides of bottles. I'm not saying it doesn't - I'm just curious (I've never had a dishwasher myself). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrueBrew Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 It's great to hear how everyone has their own methods. I am just too lazy now to bottle brush out 30 bottles with soap and then sanitize them. It takes me around 2 hrs as well Damo and that gets on my nerves [pinched] I always rinse the bottles out after I finish a beer maybe 3 times. Thanks for the feedback. Seems like I might be on the right track here for time saving. Muddy - I like the idea of the coles sensitive nappy stuff. Might get my hands on some of that for the fermenter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 2 hrs!![sick] if you guys are giving the bottles a good rinse after use and you give it the "ol' spyglass test" to see all the bits are gone. then you sanitise... at the risk of promoting bad habits, i think you're going over board![roll] i recommend a bottle rinser and cutting the bottle washing time down to a lot closer to 15min. you will like your new found hobby of homebrewing a lot more.[rightful] i can't remember the last dirty bottle i've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Eh!L Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 here's a demo of the Ol' Spyglass! just don't get any of the guck on ya![biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 2 hrs!![sick] if you guys are giving the bottles a good rinse after use and you give it the "ol' spyglass test" to see all the bits are gone. then you sanitise... at the risk of promoting bad habits, i think you're going over board![roll] i recommend a bottle rinser and cutting the bottle washing time down to a lot closer to 15min. you will like your new found hobby of homebrewing a lot more.[rightful] i can't remember the last dirty bottle i've had. Couldn't agree more [biggrin] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McFrankel Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Muddy I honestly don't know what effect it has. I put them in with the neck open and facing down so I am assuming that some gets sprayed into the bottle. THey are pretty clean when I put them in but I assume that the heat from the water and steam will help sanitise them. They have never moulded up after being put through [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Brew Master Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I have put bottles in the dishwasher, I just make sure that the hole in the spray arm lines up with the neck of the bottle. Leave till dry, then store in enclosed container until required. [happy] Cheers, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damo Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Its interesting to hear peoples different methods of cleaning/preparing their bottles ready for refill. I'd been thinking if I didn't give my glass bottles a bit of a reeem inside with the brush after a while they would develope a bit of a cloudy film deposit. I enjoy the 2 hrs it takes me at the moment anyway from prep/bottle/clean up . I usually wait till I'm home alone so I can 1/2 crank the stereo with my favourite music while enjoying myself making/bottling my "own Beer" !!! [cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LazyDave Posted April 15, 2011 Share Posted April 15, 2011 If I spent 2 hours washing bottles, I would go insane, probably only own half the beer I do, and therefore go more insane. My philosophy is do it as simple as you can, and if that doesn't work, move up a step until it does, then you are always doing the minimum work necassary. Seems some of you are doing this the other way around! However, I decided to read the instructions on my steriliser before writing this, and it turns out I am using enough cleaner to sterilise half the hospitals in Queensland - oops. Something about toxic gas and 'in case of contact with eyes' ... but I couldn't read the rest [crying] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy Waters Posted April 16, 2011 Share Posted April 16, 2011 omething about toxic gas and 'in case of contact with eyes' ... but I couldn't read the rest [crying] [lol] Love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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