Sanitizing Questions

[Zipster]

Hi there,

Last winter is has been really easy to get my brews to term and the sanitizing aspect was not really an issue, now the summer is on its way and I keep getting infections in my batches. Just a quick dip in boiling water is not good enough anymore and I am now soaking all my bottles and equipment in bleached water over night before bottling. I have read in "howtobrew" that I wont need to rinse them and they don't mention anything about drying them or not. So my question is:

Do I need to dry my bottles before I fill'em up?

Thanks in advance.

.z

 

[stux]

Hi there,

Last winter is has been really easy to get my brews to term and the sanitizing aspect was not really an issue, now the summer is on its way and I keep getting infections in my batches. Just a quick dip in boiling water is not good enough anymore and I am now soaking all my bottles and equipment in bleached water over night before bottling. I have read in "howtobrew" that I wont need to rinse them and they don't mention anything about drying them or not. So my question is:

Do I need to dry my bottles before I fill'em up?

Thanks in advance.

.z

If you use a no-rinse sanitizer (Starsan or Iodophor) then you can just give them a dip or a squirt, drain and fill.

 

[Mick74]

You'll need to rinse the bleach off your bottles if you use that method - Personally I'd use and iodohpor or starsan solution over bleach. They are both contact sanitisers and when diluted correctly are both no rinse and you don't need to let them dry. You only need to use a bit so a small bottle lasts a long, long time.

 

[mkstalen]

Starsan FTW! :beerbang:

 

[Zipster]

You'll need to rinse the bleach off your bottles if you use that method - Personally I'd use and iodohpor or starsan solution over bleach. They are both contact sanitisers and when diluted correctly are both no rinse and you don't need to let them dry. You only need to use a bit so a small bottle lasts a long, long time.

howtobrew.com says that you don't need to rinse... And you say I have to, this is confusing me...

Anyway my question was about drying or not.

My uncle who is a biologist (and a brewer at his time) said that bleach will not killing yeast particles, now its about how much chlorine you can drink I guess..

 

[QldKev]

the thread 2 days ago on the same topic had dilution rates if you want to use bleach/vinegar mix as a no-rinse

Starsan FTW! :beerbang:

QldKev

 

[Cloth Ears]

I've never had problems with bottle infections.

I clean the bottles when I buy them or empty them and just store them. Then, the day before bottling, I clean them again in hot soapy water (gloves required hot, that is) by filling them, shaking them and emptying. Then I rinse them in (equally) hot, clean water and put them in the oven for about 10-30 minutes at 120-130C. Then back in the box to await priming, filling and capping.

Takes a little time, but anything worth doing is worth a little work.

 

[stux]

howtobrew.com says that you don't need to rinse... And you say I have to, this is confusing me...

Anyway my question was about drying or not.

My uncle who is a biologist (and a brewer at his time) said that bleach will not killing yeast particles, now its about how much chlorine you can drink I guess..

How To Brew, 1st Edition (the online free version) is over 10 years old.

If you want the up-to-date information, then you'll need to fork out for the 3rd Edition print version, which is a good book btw

Or you can get iodophor or starsan and do some research on this site

 

[drtomc]

The reason you should rinse them is that residual chlorine can be turned into chlorophenols which leads to an awful band-aid taste in your beer.

I guess if you leave your bottles to dry (pointing down, so nothing wafts in), there will be less residual chlorine, but truly, go for the Starsan or Iodophor. If you get a bottle washer thing that is often sold with a bottle tree, and a no-rinse sanitizer like the above, you really won't regret it!

cheers,
T.

 

[loikar]

I am now soaking all my bottles and equipment in bleached water over night before bottling.

So my question is:

Do I need to dry my bottles before I fill'em up?

Rinse them YES to get any excess chlorine out

Dry them after that, NO

BF

 

[Fodder]

Rinse them YES to get any excess chlorine out

Dry them after that, NO

BF

+1

 

[loikar]

howtobrew.com says that you don't need to rinse... And you say I have to, this is confusing me...

So why are you asking us if howtobrew.com says it's ok?

Anyway my question was about drying or not.

That's a really tough one, in my opinion, you don't need to dry your bottles, but i like living on the edge a bit and am considered a little opinonated and out there.

My uncle who is a biologist (and a brewer at his time) said that bleach will not killing yeast particles, now its about how much chlorine you can drink I guess..

Your Uncle is correct, you can through as much bleach as you like at yeast and nothing will happen to it, it'll also survive a nuclear Holocaust.
Brewers yeast is completely resistant to all bleach based products.

I'm exceptionally bleach intolerant, but i'm really interested in how much of it you can drink.
Please keep me up to date on your progress.

Cheers,

BF

 

[Zipster]

So why are you asking us if howtobrew.com says it's ok?



That's a really tough one, in my opinion, you don't need to dry your bottles, but i like living on the edge a bit and am considered a little opinonated and out there.



Your Uncle is correct, you can through as much bleach as you like at yeast and nothing will happen to it, it'll also survive a nuclear Holocaust.
Brewers yeast is completely resistant to all bleach based products.

I'm exceptionally bleach intolerant, but i'm really interested in how much of it you can drink.
Please keep me up to date on your progress.

Cheers,

BF

I will. I'm as we speak experimenting my own technique that will serve me for years hopefully without bothering anybody!

Just about the drying, I have read that there are large quantities of bacteries in the air, so I guess the longer the bottle is exposed to air, supposing the foreign particles would hold onto the glass itself.

And rinsing means with boiled water, this uses petroleum gas and a lot of it, or UV filtered water for rinsing I guess is okay?

 

[felten]

And rinsing means with boiled water, this uses petroleum gas and a lot of it, or UV filtered water for rinsing I guess is okay?

You're taking the piss right?

 

[Zipster]

No. Here only tank water, this means bacteries from bird shit.

 

[loikar]

I will. I'm as we speak experimenting my own technique that will serve me for years hopefully without bothering anybody!

Good on you! visionary's! That's what this world needs!

Just about the drying, I have read that there are large quantities of bacteries in the air, so I guess the longer the bottle is exposed to air, supposing the foreign particles would hold onto the glass itself.

Sure, there are!, seriously, they're everywhere. That's why I don't dry my bottles and keep a wet layer of bleach over them.

And rinsing means with boiled water, this uses petroleum gas and a lot of it, or UV filtered water for rinsing I guess is okay?

Sure, you're going to need a Sky-Hook to hang and filter the water via UV light or it will be over exposed and thus kill the good bacteria you want in it.
you will also need a long-weight to put in the bottom of the UV filtered water holding tank as this will balance the PH levels making your solution last longer.

Both of these should be available at any country hardware store as they are both mainly used on farms. But it'll be worth the drive.
Just tell them you're after a sky-hook and a reasonably sized long-weight.
as soon as you see them, it'll all make complete sense.

So far, i'm loving your work

BF

 

[felten]

I use bleach as a chaser

 

[QldKev]

I use bleach as a chaser

no no no, bleach is always before the vinegar

so shot of bleach followed by a vinegar chaser

 

[Zipster]

Haha sure, I'll think about it!

I meant household UV filtered water. As howtobrew.com says that the rinsing water has to be boiled or I read that somewhere, which make sense if like me you have only tank water.

I'm completely paranoid with contamination these days and I surely sound funny but understand I just had 3 batches down the sink recently. Contaminated, 2 from the drum and 1 from the bottling.

 

[loikar]

Haha sure, I'll think about it!

I meant household UV filtered water. As howtobrew.com says that the rinsing water has to be boiled or I read that somewhere, which make sense if like me you have only tank water.

I'm completely paranoid with contamination these days and I surely sound funny but understand I just had 3 batches down the sink recently. Contaminated, 2 from the drum and 1 from the bottling.

To be honest Zipster, that John Palmer is only famous because of a book he released 10 years ago, and is now out of date and no longer relevant.
Kinda over rated now in my book.

There is a bloke that I think is an amazing plethora of brilliant information and can help you with good advice on UV filtering and proper sanitation, not jsut for your brewing.
Go here and maybe send him an email for advice, he's VERY cutting edge in his brewing techniques: http://www.jovialmonk.com.au/

As for your infections, the only thing I can think of is that you're not using enough bleach.

Cheers,

BF