How to Deep Clean Beer Bottles
Some people enjoy making their beer at home. Homebrewing is all about having fun, mixing and matching the right type of ingredients, and crafting the perfect taste. While cleaning and sanitizing are considered to be the boring, dull part of the whole process of beer making, they are at the same time the most important one.
In this article, we’ll delve deep into the basics of beer bottle cleaning and give you an overview of the best most commonly used chemicals and sanitizing equipment available for home brewers today.
The Basics of Beer Bottle Cleaning
The beer bottle cleaning procedure takes approximately 1-2 hours if you use a dishwasher or at least around 2-3 hours if you wash the bottles by hand. The whole process of beer cleaning usually involves some basic steps that you need to follow.
Step 1: Soak the Bottles Overnight
A thorough cleaning of the beer bottles is an essential process not only for the flavour but also to avoid contamination that can cause mould. How well and deep cleaned are the beer bottles will eventually determine how sustainable and hygienic your brewing is.
The first step of the cleaning process requires soaking the accumulated beer bottles overnight. You simply place them into a large water container filled with enough water and add 2-3 scoops of cleaner or cleaning solution. If you don’t have anything big enough to place the bottles you can simply use your bathtub as a substitute.
Step 2: Clean and Remove Labels
After staying soaked overnight the next step of the process is removing labels. In most cases, they start to fall off by themselves. For the more stubborn ones, you can use a scouring dishcloth or a steel wool pad to scratch the surface. You can peel them with your fingers, remove all the remained glue with the steel wool pad and rinse at the end with clean tap water. Once the inside is thoroughly clean you can proceed on to clean their insides profoundly.
Step 3: Brush the Inside of The Bottle
This step involves brushing the inside of the bottles to remove all the visible dirt and residuals from the bottom. The brush should be long enough to fit narrow neck bottles and long bottles like wine and beer bottles. You should put on gloves to protect your skin from the cleaner, plug the opening, and shake the inside of the bottle vigorously for several seconds which should be enough to get the inside clean.
Step 4: Rinse With Clean Water
The last process of cleaning requires rinsing them with clean water. You can run water inside and out until you can’t feel any soap or slippery residues left on the surface.
Step 5: Sanitize Your Beer Bottles
After you’ve finished thoroughly with the whole process of deep cleaning, sanitizing is the following step. Sanitizing is performed to eliminate most of the bacteria and potential sources of microbes that can affect and spoil the taste of your beer.
The Best Brew Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment
Now that we explained the basics of the deep cleaning beer bottle procedure let’s take a look at some of the best brew cleaning and sanitizing pieces of equipment that will help protect your beer from contamination and preserve its flavour.
Bootle Brush
Dishwashing is not the proper way to clean beer bottles. Using a brush that is extra-long and has an angle that reaches the bottom easily will make the inside cleaning process of the bootle a breeze. Its stainless steel body and resilient nylon bristles which are odourless and non-scratch, will provide excellent performance and make this brush an ideal beer bottle cleaner.
Sanitiser
Another essential piece of equipment for the beer cleaning process is using the appropriate beer bottle cleaner. This will help eliminate the tedious job of sanitizing and rinsing associated with powdered and granulated products. It is perfect for pump spray use to prepare your brewing equipment. This product is perfect for cleaning and sanitizing all your brewing essentials. When used according to the directions, it completely eliminates all microorganisms that come in contact with it.
Beer Glasswasher
Having a good quality beer glasswasher is considered to be an essential piece of equipment for all homebrew enthusiasts. Beer glasswashers have become more and more popular in recent years as customers demand hight quality beer served right. Any spotting or residue left on glass can ruin the first impression and eventually affect its taste. For example, the chlorine contained in chemical sanitisers can physically change the properties of the drink itself, such as the colour as well as reduce the head when poured.
Water Filter
When brewing beer at home is very important to understand the significance of the water quality. There are various types of contaminants that can be found in the water including sediments, viruses, metals, and other chemicals and minerals. That’s why is very important to use a proper water filter kit that helps to remove chlorine and chloramines from your brewing water. The filter must also be regularly cleaned and disinfected to make sure there aren’t any remaining microbes or chemicals that can ruin your next batch of brewed beer.
