So i’ve been been telling myself that i’ll buy a brew kit about 2 years ago and I started collecting brown beer bottles to be ready for the day when I decide to act on it. Well the day has come and I did a bit of research and soaked all my 80 so beer bottles in oxyclean overnight which allowed me to take the labels off easier (ugh… those samuel adams bottles are the worst). I rinsed them all and packed them away in cases for when my beer is done fermenting. I was thinking to throw them all in the dishwasher and put it on the sanitation cycle before I rack my beer in them but is that overkill? Should I just give them a good rinse before pouring beer in them? Seems like this hobby uses up tons of water 
Definitely do not give them a quick rinse and bottle - you will end up with infection problems almost for sure.
What you did so far is great - good cleaning. However, cleaning is not sanitizing. Personally, I give mine a soak in Starsan (dump and DON’T rinse after) right before bottling. However, I know others have used the dishwasher - there is a thread in the past few days discussing it.
Ok I’ll check it out. There was definitely something telling me to not just rinse them and bottle, that’s why i posted up here haha.
Really? Those labels have always been the easiest! They pretty much dissolve themselves.
Dishwasher is a great way to go if you can. I can only fit shorties (e.g., Sierra Nevada, Boulevard) in my top rack. For standard size bottles I’ve had good luck using this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/vina … inser.html
I used to be a dishwasher guy until I moved & got a place with a crappy dishwasher. It’s harvest gold, if that tells you anything. I used a remote waterproof thermometer to determine if the sanitize cycle (on the last one, this one’s too old for that) would suffice for bottling. It did, but just barely. If my landlord ever gets around to replacing the one in here, I will definitely test it since not all of them are hot enough or hold temp for long enough. It seems the dishwasher manufacturers have a different opinion on what constitutes ‘sanitized’ than brewers do.
Really? Those labels have always been the easiest! They pretty much dissolve themselves.[/quote]
Agreed! Next to New Glarus and Bell’s, I find Sam Adams among the best for removing labels. A little oxyclean and a rag are all ive ever needed.
Really? Those labels have always been the easiest! They pretty much dissolve themselves.[/quote]
Agreed! Next to New Glarus and Bell’s, I find Sam Adams among the best for removing labels. A little oxyclean and a rag are all ive ever needed.[/quote]
Deschutes is in that same boat too.
I find the foil labels to be the toughest to remove. Also I hate trying to clean bottles that had a very large BW in them as it tends to leave a haze on the inside of the bottle. The best thing I have found for cleaning bottles so that they sparkle is B-Brite and 160F water. I just wish there was an easy way to heat it back up to 160 after a batch of bottles for the next batch. I’m talking about a 19 gallon tub.
Greg, don’t you have a heat stick set up on a temp controller? :shock:
I haven’t reused bottles in years but I remember those foil ones being a real pain. There was another brand that seemed to be using concrete to apply their labels that I eventually gave up on. +1 to kegging & new bottles.
Well mine have been sitting in the attic during 2 summers. They would peel off but all this glue was left behind which i had to wipe down one by one. All my Victory bottles were great, they just fell off no gunk left.
I think ill do the dishwasher method and put the bottles on the bottom rack since its closer to the heating element
