Sanitizing Glass Bottles With Heat

[Steve Gyldenvand]

Hi everybody. Still fairly new here, so please forgive a simple question. I'm getting ready to bottle for the first time with reused glass bottles and growlers, and I have some questions about sanitizing. All the bottles are clean and free of residue. My wife has home-canned vegetables for years without any contamination problems, and thinks I should be able to sanitize glass bottles in the oven; perhaps 220F for 15 minutes or so. I would rewash and rinse them again immediately before the oven. Anybody have any experience with this? Alternatively, I could use the Droid cleanse tab, but what would the recommended method be, and could I immediately reuse that solution to cleanse the droid for my next brew? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Thagomizer]

1 hour ago, Steve Gyldenvand said:

Hi everybody. Still fairly new here, so please forgive a simple question. I'm getting ready to bottle for the first time with reused glass bottles and growlers, and I have some questions about sanitizing. All the bottles are clean and free of residue. My wife has home-canned vegetables for years without any contamination problems, and thinks I should be able to sanitize glass bottles in the oven; perhaps 220F for 15 minutes or so. I would rewash and rinse them again immediately before the oven. Anybody have any experience with this? Alternatively, I could use the Droid cleanse tab, but what would the recommended method be, and could I immediately reuse that solution to cleanse the droid for my next brew? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

Hi Steve, and welcome to the forum.

I think sanitizing at 220F for 15 minutes should be safe.  There is a high-enough temperature level that may weaken the bottles, but I'm sure it is well above 220F.  I have heard of some who sterilize their bottles in the dishwasher, but I don't see how enough soapy water could actually find its way into the bottles - or rinse properly.

My own approach to bottle hygiene is as follows:

• Carefully rinse a bottle as soon as it is emptied.
• Place it on a bottle tree so residual water is drained.

After enough bottles are ready:

• Sterilize with a chemical such as Star-San, Mr. Beer's No-Rinse Cleanser or any other effective cleanser and rinse with a bottle washer.
• Dry the bottles on a bottle rack that keeps them inverted but does not invade the bottle with a support peg.  (Not the bottle tree.)
• After about 30 minutes of draining, the bottle interiors will be dry and can be covered.
• Place a small, clean plastic bag over each bottle mouth secured by a rubber band.

This procedure has served me well for several years without a bottle contamination problem.

Happy brewing. 😀

[Steve Gyldenvand]

Hey Thagomizer, thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm going to go ahead with the oven sanitizing and I'll give a report here once the beer is ready!

[Steve Gyldenvand]

Hey Thagomizer, thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm going to go ahead with the oven sanitizing and I'll give a report here once the beer is ready!

[Thagomizer]

5 hours ago, Steve Gyldenvand said:

Hey Thagomizer, thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm going to go ahead with the oven sanitizing and I'll give a report here once the beer is ready!

Steve,

I see that you found the origin of my BrewArt Forum handle.  I also use it for the name of my first BeerDroid and my bride calls me "Thag" whenever I do anything boorish.

Did you know that the paleontologists semi-officially named the stegosaurus tail weaponry the "Thagomizer?"

This is one of Gary Larson's best Far Side cartoons.

😀 Happy brewing.