Cleaning new bottles

[Andrew Clappison]

I'm just about to bottle some cider with a load of new bottles. I've always recycled bottles in the past and so this is new terrain for me. 

I'm using natural fermentation in the bottle (not to be pasteurised). Is it actually neccesary to sanitise new bottles? And if so, does anyone have a quick approach for this. I'm doing 500x750ml bottles and I dont have a dishwasher. 

Many thanks, Andrew

[Ray Blockley]

We use Star San no-rinse sanitiser & a cheap bottle rinser/steriliser. However in my last EHO inspection, the recommendation was to use Milton instead of Star San...? 🤔

Link below is to the bottle rinser we use, works perfectly with the 500+ 500ml bottles per year we rinse & fill. Only other thing you'd need is a bottle tree (if you haven't already got one?). 

https://doitathome.co.uk/en/2211-bottle-rinser-5055652603265.html

Ray 

Nottingham UK

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[Ray Blockley]

Meant to say - we also use this for the 750ml bottles we fill. 

Ray 

[James Fidell]

On 17/10/2025 10:41, Ray Blockley wrote:

> We use Star San no-rinse sanitiser & a cheap bottle rinser/steriliser.
> However in my last EHO inspection, the recommendation was to use Milton
> instead of Star San...? 🤔

Can you use Milton without rinsing. That was the one major benefit of
Star San for me?

James

[James Bayliss-Smith]

Most wineries in the UK do not wash or sterilize bottles.  They go straight from the furnace onto a pallet so they are sterile.  Some do though so it depends on your tolerance,

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[Ray Blockley]

According to the EHO - Yes, doesn't need rinsing? [I did check online to double check her recommendation]

She also recommended using it for our fermenters, etc making it up diluted as directed on the label? I was more inclined to listen to her advice as she has worked with other cider makers & breweries in the area over the years.. Key thing for me to go down the Milton route, would be to leave the bottles on the "tree" for a few hours / overnight to ensure completely drained & dry?

That said - as we have a fairly new pack of Star San, we won't be considering Milton for a good while yet.

As to whether to rinse / sterilise bottles or not, from pallet or box, I'd sooner do so than run the risk of problems / faults / infection. Belts & braces for me? But each to their own. 🙂

Ray

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[gareth chapman]

Be interested to know why an EHO is recommending against an industry standard, in favour of a household cleaner, and whose instructions do actually say to rinse.
Also Hypochlorite isn't a good mix with stainless steel and even at those dilute strengths can over time cause pitting. Also the available chlorine will disassociate from solution over time so has to be made fresh every time. 
Stick with Starsan, it can be stored made up long-term and used repeatedly so long as you monitor the pH. the other sanitiser we use is Divosan Forte, which is peracetic acid and also doesn't need rinsing again though the down side is it needs to be made fresh.
Personally I think she is selling you a dummy.
As for whether to sanitise or not, unfortunately we are having to nowadays. bottles from Encirc use to come double wrapped and provided a pallet hadn't been open too long we always treated them as OK to use straight from the pallet, however recently and to a greater degree we are finding insects inside our bottle on unopened pallets and so as a matter of course we are rinsing/sanitising all of our bottles.

[Ray Blockley]

Just passing on what I was told, just in case it could be of use.

We don't use stainless steel.

As clearly stated, we use Star San.

Every EHO who has inspected us over the past 25+ years has suggested something or other, based on what they have found/learnt from inspecting other cider makers & brewers. 

Ray.

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[gareth chapman]

found exactly the same but they tend not to actually verify a lot of what they say and do not always give correct advice or instructions. 

[Alexandra Beaulieu Boivin]

Technically, new bottles should already be clean and free of microorganisms but as mentioned earlier, it’s not uncommon to find bits of cardboard, dust, or even insects inside, especially if the bottles have been stored for a while. So we always recommend rinsing, then sanitizing before filling.

The use of a no-rinse sanitizer really depends on the concentration; most manufacturers specify the maximum dosage that can be used safely without rinsing, so it’s worth double-checking that on the label.

In small setups, here’s what I’ve been doing: I use a bottle rinser that hooks up to the sink (see an example here), and I keep my sanitizer in a Rubbermaid tub with that rinser tool (see an example here). Bottles go onto a bottle tree to drain before bottling (we alternate between two trees and so bottles have time to drip before bottling). It’s simple, fast, and works great for small- to medium volume capacity. 

On a larger scale, there are other automated options, but the principle is the same.
And just to note, we avoid chlorine-based products (like bleach) in wine or cider production, since chlorine residues can lead to TCA/TBA contamination (“cork taint”).

Happy bottling! 

Alexandra
@alexandravinumartisanconsulting

[David]

The guys at Encirc (massive bottle making factory) say their bottles are "factory clean", this means not sterile and no guarantee they are dust free.

I rinse mine with tap water but do pasteurise ( I make juice more than cider). Main reason for rinsing is to ensure there is no debris in there and earwigs in particular. Don't often find them in there but can't say never.

My rinser is made by Vigo and it is just the rinsing spout, I fitted it into my own sink (into the drainer to be precise). Cost way more than it should have done but it has done over a million bottles with no issue so value for money long term.

When using for cider that won't be pasteurised I rinse but don't use sanitiser. Bottles are drained on a bottle tree.