Bludger
Active Member
Homebrewers.
I am trying to brew Cider in the tropics. (This is not a Cider brewing question I am not posting in the wrong forum).
I am some distance from civilisation and cannot get all of the bits that you take for granted.
My question is how can I sterilise PET bottles? I am reusing 1 litre soft drink bottles for bottling and secondary fermentation.
Will vinegar 6% be adequate? I was thinking of washing out with Vinegar and then rinsing with Bottled water. The vinegar would not kill me or the yeast if I left some traces behind due to inadequate rinsing.
My constraints.
I have tap water but it is unsafe to drink unless boiled.
I have access to bottled water. I want to minimise how much I use for washing bottles as it costs money.
I do not have easy access to the common cleaning chemicals. E.g Sodium Hypochlorite etcetera.
The use of hot/boiling water in the PET bottles does not seem like a good idea?
I can get hold of cleaning chemicals for Laundry and Floors etcetera. But the thought of leaving traces in the PET bottles from inadequate washing scares me. My bathroom cleaner is 15% W/W Hydrochloric Acid for example. The thought of swallowing that even after dilution and washing is a little scary.
Methods that I have considered.
1. Boiling tap water and pouring it into the PET bottles.
That should kill pretty much anything but will the heat damage the PET bottles?
2. Washing and soaking with a household detergent.
As stated above, the chemicals are pretty nasty and will then require extensive rinsing with water to ensure that the bad stuff is gone. It would be both laborious and wasteful to generate enough boiled water and bottled water to do a thorough job.
3. Vinegar.
Seems like a good idea and relatively safe. Easy to rinse and not the end of the world if rinsing is inadequate.
So far I have cobbled together the following.
Primary fermenter. A 6 litre water bottle. If the first batch is drinkable I will look to get a larger container.
Yeast: Bakers yeast - the only available yeast.
Juice: From one litre containers. Preservative free and made from reconstituted juice (yuk).
Empty soft drink bottles for bottling. I could use empty beer bottles but I have no bottle caps, no capper and no bottle brush to clean them with at the moment.
Sugar - readily available, no method of weighing it. I am using the level teaspoon technique. I may bulk prime later brews.
Temperature control: None at all, not even an airconditioned room.
I have no hydrometer and I am judging when fermentation is complete by eye and rule of thumb. No futher bubbles, sediment settled out and then give it a few days.
Help and advice will be appreciated.
I am trying to brew Cider in the tropics. (This is not a Cider brewing question I am not posting in the wrong forum).
I am some distance from civilisation and cannot get all of the bits that you take for granted.
My question is how can I sterilise PET bottles? I am reusing 1 litre soft drink bottles for bottling and secondary fermentation.
Will vinegar 6% be adequate? I was thinking of washing out with Vinegar and then rinsing with Bottled water. The vinegar would not kill me or the yeast if I left some traces behind due to inadequate rinsing.
My constraints.
I have tap water but it is unsafe to drink unless boiled.
I have access to bottled water. I want to minimise how much I use for washing bottles as it costs money.
I do not have easy access to the common cleaning chemicals. E.g Sodium Hypochlorite etcetera.
The use of hot/boiling water in the PET bottles does not seem like a good idea?
I can get hold of cleaning chemicals for Laundry and Floors etcetera. But the thought of leaving traces in the PET bottles from inadequate washing scares me. My bathroom cleaner is 15% W/W Hydrochloric Acid for example. The thought of swallowing that even after dilution and washing is a little scary.
Methods that I have considered.
1. Boiling tap water and pouring it into the PET bottles.
That should kill pretty much anything but will the heat damage the PET bottles?
2. Washing and soaking with a household detergent.
As stated above, the chemicals are pretty nasty and will then require extensive rinsing with water to ensure that the bad stuff is gone. It would be both laborious and wasteful to generate enough boiled water and bottled water to do a thorough job.
3. Vinegar.
Seems like a good idea and relatively safe. Easy to rinse and not the end of the world if rinsing is inadequate.
So far I have cobbled together the following.
Primary fermenter. A 6 litre water bottle. If the first batch is drinkable I will look to get a larger container.
Yeast: Bakers yeast - the only available yeast.
Juice: From one litre containers. Preservative free and made from reconstituted juice (yuk).
Empty soft drink bottles for bottling. I could use empty beer bottles but I have no bottle caps, no capper and no bottle brush to clean them with at the moment.
Sugar - readily available, no method of weighing it. I am using the level teaspoon technique. I may bulk prime later brews.
Temperature control: None at all, not even an airconditioned room.
I have no hydrometer and I am judging when fermentation is complete by eye and rule of thumb. No futher bubbles, sediment settled out and then give it a few days.
Help and advice will be appreciated.
