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Dry heat sterilisation of bottles

  • 23-03-2011 2:41am
    #1
    Lars
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 143 ✭✭


    Hi, nearly ready to bottle my first brew and i've been reading this online book http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter2-2-3.html . One method he suggest is to sterilse bottles in the oven at 170deg for 60mins. Has anyone tried this? I assume they'll withstand the high temps?
    I was thinking that I could get a spare sealable container like a fermentation bucket, sanitise it using traditional methods, then do a load of bottles in the oven and store them in the sealed bucket until bottling day. Wouldn't they store for several days(if not indefinitely) like this and remain sterile?

    Does that sound like a dumb or good idea? dont want to take any risks with my first brew though. I'll be waiting long enough to get a drink of it....


    L


Comments

  • #2
    BeerNut
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 11,975 Mod ✭✭✭✭BeerNut


    The only thing I'd be worried about is the hot bottles coming out of the oven. They'll have to be let cool, which, of course, gives time for the sanitation to wear off.

    Rather than the bucket, you can just put a bit of cling film over the top of the bottle and it'll stay sanitary for months.

    My beer blog | The Twitter | My other beer blog



  • #3
    rubadub
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,386 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    This will induce thermal stresses on the bottles, they will expand with the heat and contract when cooled, after going through this process several times they will be weakened and even after one cycle they would be weaker and could crack under high pressure from the beer.

    In the US "home canning" is popular, this is (proper!) sterilization of foods in jars just like supermarket tinned or jarred foods (not all supermarket jars are sterile, but many are). I have sterilized foodstuffs myself and they have no contamination 5 years on (I do not eat the foods). To save on costs manufacturers make their jars just strong enough to withstand 1 heating cycle, and then should be disregarded -in a similar way with commercial beer bottles are weaker than ones sold for repeated home brewing. Reading on canning forums and from my own experience I know that regular food jars do indeed weaken after a few heat/cool cycles and can crack during the canning process, or upon cooling.

    Also dry air sterilization is nowhere near as effective as moist heat or chemical sterilization.


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