Sterilization

[rain]

Does anyone have a simple, inexpensive method of mataining bottles in a strerile condition?
Processing 160 stubbies immediately before use takes all the fun out of brewing, I reckon. Well, it's the only part I dislike.

[crawfy]

Myself and my fellow brewer now only bottle into longnecks, we found it is less of a headache. It is a good idea to wash your bottle's as soon as you have finished( ie run under some water). Then two day's prior to bottling we start to wash our bottle's. We have not had any problem's.
regards
Crawfy

[Franky]

Howdy,

I have only just started brewing and I find sterilising the bottles tedious as well. I use a mixture of stubbies and longnecks (because sometimes you only want a stubby).

What I usually do is mix up a solution of unscented bleach (really cheap) and grab a funnel. I pour some solution into a bottle and swirl it around. I tip the bleach from that bottle into another bottle and repeat the process, rinsing with plenty of water as I go. You need to rinse really thoroughly to make sure all the bleach residue is gone (otherwise it'll kill your yeast for secondary fermentation).

Still a slow process though... takes me about 40 minutes for 60 stubbies. You could try constructing a bottle rinser like Oliver has on his site.

[rain]

Thanks, fella. It's not the actual cleaning/sterilizing, although is is certainly a pain and time consuming - what I'd like is to find a cheap method of sterile storage till next use. An old fridge might do the trick but I don't know if that would maintain them well enough.

[Guest]

I just put the sterilized bottles back into an empty carton until I'm ready to use them. They only sit there for a day or two usually before I fill them. It's probably not totally sterile if you're keeping them for a long time, but I havent had any infection problems storing them this way.

[Franky]

I getcha.

Maybe if you find a large airtight crate and sterilise it with bleach, then store your sterilised bottles inside. I don't know if such a beast exists?

Perhaps if you just got one of those plastic crates that aren't airtight, sterilise that, store your bottles and then put the crate inside one of those jumbo garbage bags and then tie the bag up. I imagine that would be fairly sterile.

[Dogger Dan]

The best way I know (and it works) is to set upa garbage can of sterilizing solution (1/2 cup of bleach to about 30 litres of water) Put your bittles in and let them soak. When you need some release from the day, grab a home brew and swish the bottles around a bit. Then set them upright and cover bottle opening with a piece of aluminium foil. Store as is. When ready to bottle, take off the aluminium foil and rinse with water. This works and I find it very theraputic.

Dogger

[rain]

Amazing what a bit of lateral thinking will come up with - thanks Dan. I'll use the basic idea.

[Guest]

you could just cap them after you sterilize them i guess
-wombat