Wal Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Hi everyone, I am still pretty new to this home brewing caper, and I must say that it is quite satisfying to consume the fruits of ones labour. So far I have made and bottled about 10 brews - all of which have been quite good. I have so far stuck to pretty standard brews that come in the kits. With 4 little ones in the house time is a very valuable commodity. Unfortunately the worst (and most time consuming) task is the cleaning and sanitising of bottles. I was wondering if anyone has any hot tips on this topic that can speed things up a little. I know that kegging is probably the simplist answer but unfortunately that is logistically a tall order at present. Any little time savers would be greatly appreciated. Cheers Big Wal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 Hi mate, What about: 1L pop top bottles (you know the Grolsh style) A bottle rinser attachment for your tap One of those push type bottle rinsers filled with Starsan to sanitise Always rinse bottles after use to remove yeast debris Just a few ideas for you (But yeh kegs :) ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thanks Graham, Those look like some good ideas - I might have to do some shopping by the look of things. As for kegging, sometime soon I might have to do a mirror job and look into it. Thanks again for the suggestions. Cheers Wal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlierose Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Big Wal. I was just looking at the rinsers and tree bottle storage on ebay and you can pick them up for around $30 - $40. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH1525226084 Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Hi Big Wal I rinse my bottles straight after pouring just under the tap - cold water only, not hot. This cleans any sediment out. The Coopers Sanitiser is Sodium Percarbonate which is also used as a cleaner. So all I do is fill the bottles from the FV once it's been sanitised. Shake them around, leave them for a few days, shake again and then empty them, rinse with water and dry (I have a bottle tree and it's sweet as). Seems to work fine for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrockOhopter Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Hey there Wal! I'm just heading out to the shed to do that very task [annoyed] . To make it easier, I went to a cheap shop & bought 2 x 50 ltr tubs & stand the bottles up, (fits about 30 stubbies), fill them with a bit of cleaner/ sanitiser & hot water, then fill the tub, to soak the stickers. Come back a day or 2 later & the stickes will just fall off, just wipe the glue off, then rinse & dry the bottles ready for sanitising before the big day. Ok, that's a crap way to do it, still too time consuming. When will someone make me a robot to do it all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 I used to go the whole hog by cleaning the bottles with Coopers Sanitiser and also using starsan. But that was a while a go. To me the most important part is cleaning the bottle straight away. I use PETs so after pouring a beer I will rinse it out a couple of times. Then I will add some water, put the cap back on and shake the bejesus out of it. This usually cleans them sufficiently. On bottling day I just give them a quick rinse with water to remove any dust that may have accumulated, spray with starsan and then fill with beautiful beer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Im with Hairy on this one, all my bottles have been cleaned of stickers etc so i just rinse my longnecks clear of sediment after consumption and put them in crates ready for the next brew. Come bottling day, clean with no rinse sanitiser and fill. No problems to date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wal Posted April 16, 2012 Author Share Posted April 16, 2012 Thanks guys for your input, Hairy, I actually do the exact same as you do - Rinse, Shake and rinse again imediately after emptying. Given this rinse, shake, rinse routine maybe I could get away with just a quick rinse and sanitise with no rinse sanitiser prior to bottling. Maybe I am creating myself a job by washing them again with a brush before sanitising and bottling?? While I'd rather be drinking beer than cleaning bottles I don't want to take a short cut which could put my precious beer at risk...!!! I'm sure you guys would be with me on this one.... Cheers Wal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 These days after taking the time, as above, to rinse them after drinking and draining them on the tree... as soon as they come off the tree and into a crate (my bottles are cleaned 2 weeks before ther brew is ready for them).. I put a little glad wrap over the top of them collecting any dust.. come bottling day, as others I hit them with Starsan just prior to filling. Yob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonB18 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Not sure why I didn't post this sooner, I guess I just forgot[roll] Anyways this is something I made to sanitize my bottles after I rinse them with tap water. http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc491/Sidekicksport96/DSCN1318.jpg It is just a little pond pump, and a cut off plastic Coke bottle, Folgers coffee can, a little bit of wood I had lying around, and a timer switch. http://i1214.photobucket.com/albums/cc491/Sidekicksport96/DSCN1319.jpg I run the timer for 2 mins. I use Star-San so no need to rinse or let it dry. I put the cap in a little Tupperware container of Star-San to sanitize it. I put the cap back on after the 2 mins and tada, the bottle is sanitized and ready to use when I need it again. Total cost maybe $15-$20 (like most my projects I had all of the parts needed lying around in my shop already) I really should clean my shop I have to much weird stuff out there[lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamB8 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 Thats pretty effing cool Jason. When I was using plastic I would always buy new caps, they cost nothing and I didnt trust that nasties wouldnt be under the plastic sealing disc. I quickly moved onto glass as I also didn't trust the plastic bottles...I know paranoia right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 It would even be better when you learn to post pics on the sites and not just links.... cough cough. [pinched] Nah in all seriousness, that looks pretty good and cheap to make too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonB18 Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 I try to post pictures but they are huge when I preview before hitting the post button. I don't know how to make them smaller so they won't take up the whole screen. I made this because anyone can use it. After having people over I used to have to rinse out all the empty bottles then sanitize them before going to bed. Now anyone who finishes a bottle in my house rinses it and sanitizes it. Just take the bottle that is on this sanitizer off, put the sanitized cap on, then put your freshly rinsed bottle on and set the timer, forget about it, and go get another beer.[cool] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 18, 2012 Share Posted April 18, 2012 when I preview simple... dont preview and just post away [lol] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkJ3 Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 Big Wal gotta admit i'm a lazy bas***d and I don't sterilise my bottles (pets) ever. Did it the first couple of times, 9 years ago because I thought I should but now all I do is rinse after pouring, as others have said and put on my draining tree and leave there in the shed until i have an empty box to put them back into. Have not had an infected batch ever. Maybe I've just been lucky[roll] [lol] [innocent] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted April 25, 2012 Share Posted April 25, 2012 I don't sterilise mine either. I rinse them when they are emptied straight away with water, then when they over populate the kitchen bench they get double rinsed with hot water and left to drain. Never had any issues with infections ever. I do make sure I thoroughly clean and sanitize my fermenters before any brews touch them though. Cheers, Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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