Sterilising bottles

[pk]

Hi all,
I've made a few extracts with good success before but my last one is contaminated I think. It's a blonde ale and just tastes bitter. I use swing top bottled with a carbon drop in each. I used to put them in the dishwasher to sterilise them which worked fine but my dishwasher is broken! The last batch I just gave the bottles a rinse and took the chance but it obviously didn't work. How do you guys sterilise the bottles?

Thanks
Paul

[Greg2013]

Are you a beginner or experienced brewer ? If you are familiar with Starsan you could use that once the bottles are clean.


http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/star-san-sanitiser-8-oz-p-1426.html

[pk]

Thanks Greg, I'll have to get some of that. I was put off because I just didn't want to be drinking it along with the beer!  You just make up a bucket of it and dunk your empty bottles in it?

[LordEoin]

20l water + 30ml thin bleach + 30ml spirit vinegar.
30 soconds contact time to clean glass, sterile enough to perform brain surgery.
(please dont perform brain surgery with broken glass, it's not safe)

[pk]

Thank Eoin,
Is thin bleach something like Milton?

[RichC]

Get one of these pk and a bottling tree. http://www.thehomebrewcompany.ie/bottle-rinser-steriliser-red-p-580.html
You can the use Starsan or Eoins diy stuff but you only need about 300ml of it as opposed to a bucket and it takes a fraction if the time. I sanitise 40 bottles in about 5 mins with this setup

[pk]

That's perfect Lars. I'll do some shopping later. Probably get that and the red ale and the stout extract kits.

Paul

[Greg2013]

PK tbh i am currently using Eoins mix above with Milton as the bleach and make up 20 litres each time and just chuck it afterwards as its so cheap. I am not a fan of retaining any disinfectant solution once used although i did start out with starsan and it is good, just not the ONLY steriliser out there

[RichC]

You should use 'thin' bleach for that mx. It got no added scent or any other crap and is really cheap. I assume Milton's a thin bleach or it'd leave residue on baby's bottles.
The beauty of Starsan is that you can reuse and if made with RO/DI water it lasts indefinitely.  I have a spray bottle of it lying around all the time that's really handy for sanitising work area etc. you shouldn't do that with the other stuff, needs to be made fresh. A bottle of Starsan will last for years(the way I use it)

[Greg2013]

Milton is not that expensive tbh imho, if its good enough for babies bottles its good enough for brewing. I believe the vinegar(acetic acid) is added to lower the ph which makes the whole solution a better sterilizer.

[Eoin]

I found that Milton left an after-taste

Sent from my HTC One

[RichC]

I used to use tesco own brand thin bleach. Think it was about €1 for a big bottle. Never any flavour issues 'that I could detect'. The correct quantities are 5 US gallons to 1fluid Oz of each. I used to make smaller quantities my using a syringe

[Metattron]

Just a reminder to not mix bleach and vinegar directly.  Add them to the water.  If you mix them on their own they will create chlorine gas which can be fatal, and is also invisible and may not have much smell.  That's not to say that any other chemical sterilizers are any safer, read the instructions very carefully and then follow them.  If you are using water/vinegar/bleach then pay close attention to getting them in the right proportions, as Lars has mentioned above.

As for Starsan, you don't need to worry about drinking it with your beer, it will break down into something tasty for your yeast.  It looks expensive, but since you can reuse it it works out really cheap.  I bought a large bottle of it.  A year and a half later there is still about half left. 

[Will_D]

Just to be clear about terminology:

Sanitize: means to Inhibit yeast and bacteria by mild chemical (Starsan/Chlorine) or thermal processes like dish washer (less than 90C)

Sterilize: means kill the F**kers at 130C plus/Microwave Radiation/Gamma Rays

[Greg2013]

Why would you have to go up to 130 celsius to kill bacteria ?