Baking Bottles

[roo_dr]

I've got in to the habit of washing, sanitising, and then baking my bottles in the oven at 250oC for an hour immediately prior to bottling.

Does anybody else do this, or am I getting just a little too OCD with my bottle hygiene?! :unsure:

24 Long necks fit perfectly in the oven, but don't touch them when they're hot!!

 

[arogers]

I've been thinking about starting to do this because the last bottling session saw at least 4 bottles crack during cleaning pre-filling.

This is because what I've always done is just before filling I remove them from the napisan bath and rinse the insides out a couple of times with boiling water... Must have started weaking the bottles thru heat stress or something. Or they are just crap bottles.

Whats everyone elses experiences with this, and would oven baking be better due to the fact that the temperature change is more gradual than filling cold bottles up with boiling water?

 

[katzke]

I've been thinking about starting to do this because the last bottling session saw at least 4 bottles crack during cleaning pre-filling.

This is because what I've always done is just before filling I remove them from the napisan bath and rinse the insides out a couple of times with boiling water... Must have started weaking the bottles thru heat stress or something. Or they are just crap bottles.

Whats everyone elses experiences with this, and would oven baking be better due to the fact that the temperature change is more gradual than filling cold bottles up with boiling water?

So 100 degree water is bad and a 250 degree oven is good?

If they are clean then sanitized with a real sanitizer, they are ready to bottle beer in. The key is they need to be spotless clean and sanitized just before use. A no rinse sanitizer is the best choice.

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

I bake all my bottles, and store them with foil over the lids.

Usually bake them at the maximum for my oven for around an hour or more, then let cool for a few hours.

Works really well for me, and so far I've had no infection issues.

 

[Pennywise]

The oven would give them more heat stress IMO, I thought about doing this when I bottled all my brews but never did because of the heat issue.

 

[unrealeous]

I've also a bottle baker - I put aluminium over each bottle before they go in the oven, then bake them for about 1 hour on 160-170 degrees.

 

[JestersDarts]

Just be mindful not to overdo them as they can get quite tough.

 

[tallie]

I don't do the oven method myself, but I remember reading that it's also a good idea to have a bit of water in the bottles as they go in to the oven, as the steam helps with sanitising.

Just don't do it with PET bottles h34r:

Cheers,
tallie.

 

[legham]

Ive never baked my bottles. I pbw, rinse and store then starsan before bottling. never had a problem.

 

[Lecterfan]

Just be mindful not to overdo them as they can get quite tough.

Not true... just remember to baste and turn them regularly .

I'm surprised how many people do this. I did it twice and it was far too much effort for me. Although I'm sure it is certainly effective. I tend to aim for a balance of time and effort vs risk; a combo of thorough hot water rinse and scrub, then a spray with a bleach solution immediately after consumption (or upon receiving the bottle), and then starsan (no rinse, follow the instructions) before bottling has served me well for a long time. As someone stated earlier in the thread, it is the intial cleaning of debris that I have found most important, and then it is just a matter of sanitising prior to bottling. I'm sure people can poke holes in this, but my record is pretty clean in just over 5 years of brewing, with only about two years with the current method and I will never go back to any other method. Plus living with stage 4 water restrictions this is a (relatively) ethical method.

Anyway, each to their own. Whatever makes you happy and feel comfortable with the end result is probably the best option.

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

Just be mindful not to overdo them as they can get quite tough.

Basting avoids this.

 

[Pennywise]

I don't do the oven method myself, but I remember reading that it's also a good idea to have a bit of water in the bottles as they go in to the oven, as the steam helps with sanitising.

Just don't do it with PET bottles h34r:

Cheers,
tallie.

So no water with the PET's then?

 

[Banshee]

Would the microwave work?
Put a few stuubies in with a little container of water as not to burn out the oven. Zap for a couple of minutes and hey presto.

 

[beerbrewer76543]

I rinse after drinking, *Indian voice* air dry that shit, store then soak in bleach and vinegar solution for 10 minutes then hang on the bottle tree before bottling

I like to keep my process simple

 

[felten]

I don't do the oven method myself, but I remember reading that it's also a good idea to have a bit of water in the bottles as they go in to the oven, as the steam helps with sanitising.

Just don't do it with PET bottles h34r:

Cheers,
tallie.

I've put a large glass jar (~4L) into the oven with a bit of water in it before and the thing cracked at where the water was. It was at a low heat too IIRC.

Though moist air is definitely better at sanitising than dry air, it conducts the heat better. But if you bake them for long enough everything is going to die anyway.

 

[Thirsty Boy]

The trick to making sure your bottles live to fight another day, is to heat and cool them slowly. Baking is a pain in the are, and likely to tempt you to do it too quickly if you try to do it on bottling day.

I bake mine, as soon as I have an oven full, then leave foil on the top and they stay sterile till they are ready to be used. That way, on brew day, there is no work to do at all... Just pull off the foil cap and fill.

When you heat em up... I put them in the oven at teh lowest setting ... Half an hour later I wander past and put it up to medium, half an hour later, up to high, half an hour later turn it off.... But don't open the oven as the cold air can crack them and the sudden heat change weaken them even if they don't crack straight away. Next morning put em. In the cupboard ready for bottling day. If you keep on top of it, you always have enough bottles ready and sanitized for a batch.

 

[JonnyAnchovy]

The trick to making sure your bottles live to fight another day, is to heat and cool them slowly. Baking is a pain in the are, and likely to tempt you to do it too quickly if you try to do it on bottling day.

I bake mine, as soon as I have an oven full, then leave foil on the top and they stay sterile till they are ready to be used. That way, on brew day, there is no work to do at all... Just pull off the foil cap and fill.

When you heat em up... I put them in the oven at teh lowest setting ... Half an hour later I wander past and put it up to medium, half an hour later, up to high, half an hour later turn it off.... But don't open the oven as the cold air can crack them and the sudden heat change weaken them even if they don't crack straight away. Next morning put em. In the cupboard ready for bottling day. If you keep on top of it, you always have enough bottles ready and sanitized for a batch.

This is my procedure exactly. Never had a problem yet.


I find myself sometimes re-baking them if they have been out for months, although I'm almost certain this is unnecessary.

 

[Peteoz77]

I have never baked any bottles. I rinse them well when empty (3 fresh water rinses, then store upside down) when dry I put them in a cupboard, and when I go to use them, I spray each bottle with a mixture if water and starsan, leave sit for 3-4 minutes, dump out and fill. I have NEVER had an infected bottle since I started using Star San. No rinsing required, No covering them, no baking, no fussing about, works perfectly, takes a few seconds.