Storing empty bottles

[Pigster]

Hi,
How do you store your empty bottles between brews?
I clean the bottle after pouring my beer then usually pop the old crown cap back on. They then go back to the shed and are brought back when I’m ready to bottle.
Another quick clean and chemsan and fill, new crown cap etc.
Is there an easier way? Or more effective? Seems a lot of cleaning - which we know is brewing a best friend!
Cheers!

[nickjdavis]

Pour beer from bottle, rinse bottle immediately.

Enjoy beer

Rinse bottle, quick squirt of Starsan, cap with a plastic resealing cap. Store in one of many beer crates I've got stacked up by the side of my garage,

When it comes to bottling day generally the bottles just need a quick dunk and rinse in hot water just to ensure nothing lingers in the bottle (though the initial rinse at time of drinking should have taken care of that) and to wash away any stale odours, followed by a good squirt of starsan via the bottle cleaner device then store upside down on the bottle tree to drain before bottling with fresh beeer.

Pretty much the same as you really.

No point scrimping on the final cleaning stage when you've gone to all the effort during the brewing process.

[Jocky]

Previously I used to just rinse with hot water after drinking, put on a plastic cap and then sanitise with starsan before use.

However, I found that with bottle conditioning I'd gradually get yeast building up on the sides of the glass, not just at the bottom. That showed me that there is some biofilm that is not being dislodged by the hot rinse.

Since then I have added it to my tea making routine the morning after a beer or two:
1. Fill kettle up to make tea.
2. Quick rinse of bottles to remove any final dregs while kettle boils.
3. Add a quarter teaspoon of percarbonate cleaner (PBW/Chemclean) to each bottle
4. Make tea, leave to brew
5. Pour rest of kettle into awaiting bottles.
6. Leave to soak until I make another cup of tea later.
7. When I come back later I empty each bottle out a bit, give it a shake and then a rinse with hot water from the tap.
8. Plastic cap and store. Squirt in a bit of starsan before filling again.

This seems to keep on top of any build up, and as long as you don't leave 20 to do at a time it's pretty quick and easy to do.

[Cobnut]

I too have noticed the “film” on the sides of the bottles, albeit not all bottles. Maybe there’s some which have a surface which is more susceptible to yeast adhering to the inside?

And then there are the bottles returned by friends which not only have they not rinsed -despite being asked to! - but they’ve been kept for weeks bedsore returning, leaving them with a dried and frequently mouldy mess in the bottom which requires semi-nuclear treatment to remove!

[chastuck]

I too have noticed the “film” on the sides of the bottles, albeit not all bottles. Maybe there’s some which have a surface which is more susceptible to yeast adhering to the inside?

And then there are the bottles returned by friends which not only have they not rinsed -despite being asked to! - but they’ve been kept for weeks bedsore returning, leaving them with a dried and frequently mouldy mess in the bottom which requires semi-nuclear treatment to remove!

One really effective way of removing mouldy and set grime on the bottom of a bottle is to use a short length of the old brass type lavatory chain. Half fill bottle with cleanser, drop most of the chain in but hold a few links at the bottle neck. Swirl the bottle while holding the chain. Shifts anything.

[f00b4r]

If money isn’t an issue then there is the “bottle fairy”:

https://www.hobbybrauerversand.de/navi. ... 1&lang=eng

It’s basically a specialised tray for your dishwasher and comes in a few versions (you can get one that will do 0.7/1L bottles too). You get the appropriate adaptor for your dishwasher to connect up the inlet water and then you just load it up and stick it on a hot cycle, cleaned and sanitised bottles in one go.

Edit: with video:

https://www.flaschenfee.de/en/

[guypettigrew]

Or you could always keg the beer!

Guy

[aamcle]

Pour it, rinse it, 3 drops washing up liquid a little water and shake, rinse a few times, invert and leave to dry.

STORE DRY!!!!

It sounds a lot but it isn't when you do it.


Aamcle

[Fingar]

Pour... then drink. Think about rinsing... drink some more. Repeat. Eventually, rinse with clean water, shake and repeat 2 more times, then store in the shed. On racking day, soak in VWP, ideally overnight then rinse. I have a homemade 8 pronged bottle rinser. This seems to work well for me.

Cheers... Fingar

[MarkA]

-A few rinses after drinking and pop a plastic cap on
-The next morning, I rinse again and give it a few plunges with a bottle brush to remove any yeast deposits
-Plastic cap back on and into the garage (stored in an old filing cabinet)
-On bottling day, I give them a quick rinse and a squirt of Starsan and they are ready to fill

[MarkA]

And then there are the bottles returned by friends which not only have they not rinsed -despite being asked to! - but they’ve been kept for weeks bedsore returning, leaving them with a dried and frequently mouldy mess in the bottom which requires semi-nuclear treatment to remove!

I have found the most effective way to deal with this is to stop giving those friends beer (after a warning of course)!

[Jocky]

And then there are the bottles returned by friends which not only have they not rinsed -despite being asked to! - but they’ve been kept for weeks bedsore returning, leaving them with a dried and frequently mouldy mess in the bottom which requires semi-nuclear treatment to remove!

I have found the most effective way to deal with this is to stop giving those friends beer (after a warning of course)!

Agreed.

[orlando]

Try one of these.

[Binkie Huckaback]

Previously I used to just rinse with hot water after drinking, put on a plastic cap and then sanitise with starsan before use.

However, I found that with bottle conditioning I'd gradually get yeast building up on the sides of the glass, not just at the bottom. That showed me that there is some biofilm that is not being dislodged by the hot rinse.

Same here. Only in the last year though. That said, some of my bottles are years old.

[mikenotts]

Glass bottle or plastic, I rinse out after pouring (position under tap, run until comes out clear, then half fill, swill around and pour, repeat) then fill to top and add a fragment of Milton tablet (size depends on size of bottle - 400 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre etc), cap and its good to go. You can leave indefinitely, then empty and rinse and fill with beer. I spent 6 years in Saudi Arabia in the '80's and Milton was the universal beer / wine making cleanser, for bottle cleaning as described, it cannot be beat (whatever method you use, if you bottle your beer, washing each bottle after pouring is good practice - you can sterilize next day - but if you stack and leave, not good).