Cleaning, Sterilising and Bottling?

[Eoin]

Cool, I have some 33cl Heineken bottles, will soak them in the W5 mix, whack em through the dishwasher with no detergent. Then in bottling day I'll give them a quick rinse in the bottle rinser.

Thanks for all the advice!!!

  If using Heineken bottles ensure you store them in the dark or you'll get fart smells from your beers.
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[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Whys that?

[Eoin]

Whys that?

UV light gets through green glass and breaks down hop oils, a phenomenon that the yanks call "skunking". Bottles of Heineken taste different to kegs, same reason. Brown bottles are better as they block UV.

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[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Oh! Well I'll chuck the green ones and get my hands on some brown bottles so
Thanks again!!!!

[irish_goat]

A local pub will be happy to give away empty brown bottles if you're short.

I've also heard that 500ml bottles are better than 330ml for homebrew (they certainly save time).

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

I've also heard that 500ml bottles are better than 330ml for homebrew (they certainly save time).

And it's highly unlikely the extra few ml's will go to waste in my house haha

[RichC]

Oh! Well I'll chuck the green ones and get my hands on some brown bottles so
Thanks again!!!!

Ive been using green bottles for years without a problem. I dont doubt that they allow skunking but I dont store my beer in direct sunlight so its never been a problem. My green ones are all budvar and I dont think that suffers form skunking. I also have some Inis and Gunn clear bottles that I use just so I can admire my beer(and check clarity) without cracking the lid
I think the threat of skunking is overhyped in my opinion.
Maybe someone can row in on the science of this but if I cant get a tan through my living room window(clear glass) how can my beer be effected? The clear glass obviously provides some level of filtration.
Theres plenty of green and clear beer bottles on the shelves in the supermarket and I cant say ive ever tasted(noticed?) a skunked beer.
As I said, I dont doubt that skunking occurs, i just think its overhyped.......maybe a bit like HSA on a homebrew scale....

[Eoin]

Oh! Well I'll chuck the green ones and get my hands on some brown bottles so
Thanks again!!!!

Ive been using green bottles for years without a problem. I dont doubt that they allow skunking but I dont store my beer in direct sunlight so its never been a problem. My green ones are all budvar and I dont think that suffers form skunking. I also have some Inis and Gunn clear bottles that I use just so I can admire my beer(and check clarity) without cracking the lid
I think the threat of skunking is overhyped in my opinion.
Maybe someone can row in on the science of this but if I cant get a tan through my living room window(clear glass) how can my beer be effected? The clear glass obviously provides some level of filtration.
Theres plenty of green and clear beer bottles on the shelves in the supermarket and I cant say ive ever tasted(noticed?) a skunked beer.
As I said, I dont doubt that skunking occurs, i just think its overhyped.......maybe a bit like HSA on a homebrew scale....

Skunking is very real. As a test, take a can of Stella and a bottle of Stella side by side. First test open the can and take a whiff. Do the same with the bottle, smell the difference. That mild fart smell from the bottle is skunking.

I suggest your pallet ignores it or you're not bothered.
Now, my experience, having been a country barman in my youth is that a lot of people enjoy mild skunking, as evidenced by the amount of punters who always chose a small green bottle of Heineken over a pint because they reckoned it tasted better.

That's not ignoring the fact that it's technically a flaw and unwanted in most styles with Mexican beers being the notable exception.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Its not UV or direct sunlight that does it, it is light in general.

The fact that this does not massively effect standard supermarket beers may have a lot more to do with:

- tiny amount of hops that they use
- the fact that the beers are stored in boxes in the storeroom until stacked
- that they turnover on shop shelves quickly

I often bottle in to clear swingtops too, as early samplers. But the bottles get stored in a dark cupboard that is opened rarely, and drank young.

Bottle an IPA into clear/green glass as an experiment and see what happens.

Light flash affects home brewers a lot, because we hop more, and our beers are stored for longer, sometimes in non-optimal locations.

[Eoin]

I've had light strike in bottles that came straight out of a sealed cardboard box, Stella in green bottles, suggesting to me that very short periods in factories under strip lights is enough to cause it. From what I've read it's caused by UV which is present in most white light to some extent.

A chemistry explanation..

http://mv.picse.net/fermentation/hops/light-strike-in-beer/


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[Bzfeale80]

Oh! Well I'll chuck the green ones and get my hands on some brown bottles so
Thanks again!!!!

Ive been using green bottles for years without a problem. I dont doubt that they allow skunking but I dont store my beer in direct sunlight so its never been a problem. My green ones are all budvar and I dont think that suffers form skunking. I also have some Inis and Gunn clear bottles that I use just so I can admire my beer(and check clarity) without cracking the lid
I think the threat of skunking is overhyped in my opinion.
Maybe someone can row in on the science of this but if I cant get a tan through my living room window(clear glass) how can my beer be effected? The clear glass obviously provides some level of filtration.
Theres plenty of green and clear beer bottles on the shelves in the supermarket and I cant say ive ever tasted(noticed?) a skunked beer.
As I said, I dont doubt that skunking occurs, i just think its overhyped.......maybe a bit like HSA on a homebrew scale....

Here is a blog with some scientific stuff explained http://theblog-o-beer.blogspot.ie/2009/03/skunked-or-light-struck-beer.html

Corona is skunked and marketed that you consume it with a slice of lime http://www.livescience.com/33718-beer-skunks.html

Miller uses pre isomerised hop extract in their beer which is supposedly unaffected by uv light and does not get skunked even though it is packaged in clear bottles

[fishjam45 (Colin)]

Wow!

Cheers for all the replies, great to see such a knowledge base of guys on here.

I got VWP with my kit when I bought it, is VWP classed a no rinse steriliser? Will i be able to rinse my cleaned bottles on bottling day in the bottle rinser, leave 'em to dry then bottle away?

[Eoin]

VWP is not no-rinse as it is chlorine based. You can rinse with running tap water after VWP, but whatever you do it needs to be removed.

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[Eoin]

VWP is a cleaner rather than a sanitiser, it's deadly for cleaning dried crud off barrels with simple soaking.

[Eoin]

A simple beginners no-rinse solution is as follows.
20l of water
30 ml White vinegar
30 ml thin unscented household bleach

The Lidl thin bleach is good.

Add the bleach to the water then add the vinegar to the mixture. Never mix neat bleach and vinegar this will release chlorine and that can kill. Always add to the water and mix there one at a time.

This is no-rinse as the bleach is below taste threshold due to its dilution but is an excellent killer as you have lowered the pH with the addition of acidic vinegar.
30 seconds contact and it's no-rinse, I would drip it out on a bottle tree.

Use VWP to clean and that solution to sanitise. Or some of the guys on here have similar cheap solutions, such as hydrogen peroxide diluted, or what I use personally Star San.


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