Sterilising Bottles - Do I Really Need To?

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I posted this question in the FAQ thread of the "kts and extracts" section and got few responses. So let me post it again. The FAQ includes advice to new brewers and, under bottling says:

"Wash out all your bottles with brewery detergent and a bottlebrush. Rinse thoroughly and they are ready to use."

I have always washed and then sterilised bottles before bottling, so (and here is the question) do I really need to sterilise or is washing enough?

 

[BoilerBoy]

There is a difference between clean and sanitised.

Washing and cleaning would be the removal of obvious visible signs of dirt, gunk whatever.

To Sanitise is to kill or at least reduce bacteria not visible that may collect on the surface area.

Sterilisation is not really achievable by the home brewer, but good sanitation is a basic necessity to making good beer.

Cheers
BB

 

[nick_lavender]

Hey,

I have always rinsed the bottles with hot water to clean them (and soap if not already fairly clean), and then sanitised with iodophor solution. I am yet to come across a bottle that has ever been contaminated.

That works for me.

Iodophor solution is cheap, effective and seems to go a long way.

As above, cleaning and sanitising are not the same thing. You should always sanitise after cleaning.

Cheers,

 

[microbe]

+1

BB said it all really. Only thing I would add is to research your choice of sanitiser and ensure you are using it correctly/effectively. I was looking for an alternative sanitiser because the Sodium Met. I was using was giving me a skin rash when I found AHB. Through the helpful members here I found that I was probably using it incorrectly as a sanitiser anyway and better results were easier to get with other products (starsan or iodophor was generally favoured IIRC).

Cheers,

microbe

 

[pint of lager]

There is a difference between clean and sanitised.

Washing and cleaning would be the removal of obvious visible signs of dirt, gunk whatever.

To Sanitise is to kill or at least reduce bacteria not visible that may collect on the surface area.

Sterilisation is not really achievable by the home brewer, but good sanitation is a basic necessity to making good beer.

Cheers
BB

What BB said.

Every brewer needs to print it out and tape it to the front of their brew records. If you do not understand what BB is saying, keep reading and researching.

Cleaners are Neopink (or PSR,) Sodium percarbonate (homebrand napisan,) caustic or bleach.

Rinse well. Don't splash any in your eye. Don't mix cleaners.

No rinse are phosphoric acid, iodine, hydrogen peroxide, star san or peracetic acid.

Read the ingredients. Follow manufacturer's directions. Use fresh sanitiser, many will deteriorate with age or use.

Successful brewing cannot happen without a good understanding and useage of cleaning and sanitising.

 

[devo]

Sterilisation can't be achieved unless you are using and autoclave or possibly a pressure cooker. Sanitation on the other hand is easily achievable with the numerous and varied products out in the market place. I personally use idophor or uniphor for just about everything.

 

[Tony]

I make sure they are clean when after pouring form them. Give em a quick scrub and rinse with hot water and drain overnight.

They can then sit on the shelf for 12 months and all that will happen is a little bit of dust may get in.

I line them up, tip a bit of boiling water in each from a jug...... (takes a few jugs so i have 2 that rotate boiling and pouring)...... about 1cm in the botton is all you need. LEt it sit there for 30 seconds to heat up the glass, give it a swirl and upend it and let it drain. One of those plastic bread baskets with all the diamonds in them are perfect to hold 40 odd bottles while they drain.

Then i just fill them. No need for chemicals, soaps ect.

Never had an infected bottle. If they are cleaned when you drink the beer, 90% of the work is done.

I have experimented with letting some mould grow in a unclean bottle. I filled oit with a pale pilsner and after a month the mould died and hte beer tasted fine.

I even posted a bottle of the porter i was going to enter into the Mash Paddle comp a couple of years back to Ash in Perth and he said the beer was great...... only it had a huntsman spider in it.

literally thousands of bottles of beer and the first time i miss a dead bug in one i sent it to another brewer to try. The good thing was it wasnt infected.

Like i said............ clean them when you drink them, and just rinse with some boiling water before you fill them again.

And check for large bugs that wont fall out.

cheers

 

[devo]

I even posted a bottle of the porter i was going to enter into the Mash Paddle comp a couple of years back to Ash in Perth and he said the beer was great...... only it had a huntsman spider in it.

NO WAY!!! :lol:

 

[Tony]

True story!

Rather enbaresing i tell you.

cheers

 

[pint of lager]

Yes, this happens. Even in brew comps, the beer will be poured, judged by the judges as ok and then, the stewards will mention that there was a spider, blowfly or other such crud in the bottle and it was fine. Brewers will report strange items finding their way into the fermenter and no harm done.

Many brewers report great success just by keeping things clean. Other brewers would rather spend the extra money and time cleaning and sanitising every surface your beer comes into contact with. The day you throw a batch out is the day you wish you were a bit more attentive to sanitising and cleanliness.

Some brewers have an ongoing problem with infections that cannot be seen (to the naked eye) and spend weeks or months tracking the source down.

Every beer is infected, it just depends with what and to what degree. Your yeast will protect your beer from some infections. Low pH, hop levels, alcohol and low oxygen discourage some organisms, but the nice long chain malt sugars provide a feast to others.

Keep everything clean, then use a decent no rinse sanitiser.

 

[DKS]

I even posted a bottle of the porter i was going to enter into the Mash Paddle comp a couple of years back to Ash in Perth and he said the beer was great...... only it had a huntsman spider in it.

Hey Tony you could be onto something the aussie version of the Mexican grub.
Thats gold.

Daz

 

[Tony]

I bet people reading this will look twice in their glass of Redback from now on

cheers

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Tony...your are da man....




On more important things

Read This... http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=18


If you have anymore questions, then post a spider to Tony.....he'll know what to do...and the advice to give... B)

 

[Tony]

How much have you had to drink mate?

Your spelling is worse than mine and your link doesnt work. Edit out a full stop of 2 at the start of it.

cheers

Edit: Im starting to feel like people dont like my help around here any more. Maybe i will just shut up and move on.

 

[Darren]

Hey GeoffH,

Of course there is no need to sanitise bottles.

If you convert to kegs you will only need to wash/sanitise one keg instead of 30 or so bottles.

You will get away with not sanitising bottles for a couple of batches. Eventually it will catch up with you. Sanitation is next to godliness when it comes to beer.

cheers

Darren

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

How much have you had to drink mate?

Your spelling is worse than mine and your link doesnt work. Edit out a full stop of 2 at the start of it.

cheers

Edit: Im starting to feel like people dont like my help around here any more. Maybe i will just shut up and move on.

yeah...still adjusting to runnning linux on this machine....has some little quirks that I am still getting used to with the desktop....

 

[Tony]

Fixed.

Its a good read.

http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...;showarticle=18

cheers

 

[Stuster]

Good story, Tony. In fact, something very similar happened to me yesterday at the big brew day.....actually, might be best to stop there considering some of the people who drank that saison could read about it here. B)

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks folks for all the advice - I'm now even more confused than I was. I guess the answer is what works, works. It is interesting that in all the responses no one actually referred to their own disaster, although there was the odd story of disaster having befallen someone else. I am only three or four brews in to using a hydrogen peroxide based "no rinse" steriliser (oops, I meant sanitiser) so I haven't started opening bottles yet so I don't know if I am in trouble. But I will keep you posted - especially if I have a disaster!