Bottling My First Brew

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robbiep

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Hi guys,

I'm probably a couple of days away from bottling my first brew :)

I am going to use the 750mil PET bottles which come with the home brew kit.

Do you think its necessary to sanitize the PET bottles which have never been used before?

Cheers,
Robbie
 
not necessary but not a bad idea just to be safe, dont wanna wreck your first batch for the sake of ten minutes.
 
is there an easy way to sanitize your bottles without a bottle tree?

Yes.

I mix up a litre or so of StarSan, and pour a little into each bottle.
I give it a shake to coat the inner surface of each bottle, and pour the sanitiser out.
I wait a few minutes, and drain the last dregs of sanitiser.
Any residue of a genuine No Rinse sanitiser is fine to leave as is.

Prime, and bottle.
Easy peasy.
 
An empty dishwasher (give the racks a spray with sanitiser first) is a good bottle tree substitute for draining bottles.
 
Thanks guys!

With regard to no rinse sanitizers, do you let the bottles dry completely before bottling?
 
Thanks guys!

With regard to no rinse sanitizers, do you let the bottles dry completely before bottling?
Nah, I just give them a good shake to empty the sanitiser.

When I first started brewing I wanted a bottle tree, never got one. Now I think it is a bit of a waste of money as I wash my bottles as I use them then sanitise before I use them - easy
 
Like the others I just get a bit of a production line going....line all the bottles up in my laundry sink, put a funnel in one, and pour in no rinse sanitiser to 3/4 full. Take the funnel out and move it to the next bottle. Pick up the first bottle, hand over the top and shake a couple of times. Then pour the sanitiser via the funnel into the next bottle and repeat.

Line all the sanitised bottles up on the bench as I go. Then when they're all done, I set up the FV with the little bottler, and as I pick up a bottle to fill it, just tip the remaining couple of ml of no rinse into the sink, then add a carb drop (if i'm using them) and fill. I hold it with one hand as it fills, then pick up the next bottle with my other hand and drain into the sink.

The only time I use a bottle tree now is when there's been a big session and I have multiple bottles to clean...I clean them then put 'em on the tree to dry for a day before boxing them for the next bottling day. If I only have one or two bottles to clean then I invert them into a 1 litre round bottomed measuring jug that sits next to my laundry sink rather than use the tree.
 
Like the others I just get a bit of a production line going....line all the bottles up in my laundry sink, put a funnel in one, and pour in no rinse sanitiser to 3/4 full. Take the funnel out and move it to the next bottle. Pick up the first bottle, hand over the top and shake a couple of times. Then pour the sanitiser via the funnel into the next bottle and repeat.

Line all the sanitised bottles up on the bench as I go. Then when they're all done, I set up the FV with the little bottler, and as I pick up a bottle to fill it, just tip the remaining couple of ml of no rinse into the sink, then add a carb drop (if i'm using them) and fill. I hold it with one hand as it fills, then pick up the next bottle with my other hand and drain into the sink.

The only time I use a bottle tree now is when there's been a big session and I have multiple bottles to clean...I clean them then put 'em on the tree to dry for a day before boxing them for the next bottling day. If I only have one or two bottles to clean then I invert them into a 1 litre round bottomed measuring jug that sits next to my laundry sink rather than use the tree.

Hey Carnie! How do you store the bottles in a box? with lid on upside down? no lid? what boxes are you using?

cheers!
 
Hey Carnie! How do you store the bottles in a box? with lid on upside down? no lid? what boxes are you using?

cheers!
Right way up, sometimes with an old crown seal sitting loosely on top, unless i know the box will be kept closed...not too fussy here. Just using old beer slab boxes for my stubbies, larger polystyrene boxes for my tallies, but anything that keeps the dust and shite out of 'em will do. Remembering they're already well cleaned and dry, and will be sanitised before filling.
 
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