Pre-Sanitizing

[FedoraDave]

Besides, what would I do while the beer was racking? Sit and look at it?

It's more exciting than watching paint dry

I could always RDWHAHB while I'm watching it.

[Gymrat]

After cleaning my bottles I put foil on them and bake them in my oven at 250 for an hour then put them away. Then when I need bottles they are sanitized and waiting for me where I have them stored.

How long can they be stored after baking?.
I've read that the glass becomes more brittle after baking. Do you find that your bottles are more prone to breaking? I've only broken one bottle while brewing. It was when I put the cap on.

I think pre- sanitizing is a great idea.

They should stay sanitized indefinitely as long as the foil cap stays on them. And your concern is why I stick with 250F. People used to say 350 but I always thought that was overkill. Water boils at 212 and that sterilizes. I think cooling the bottles too fast would have more to do with them becoming brittle than the heat itself would. It works that way with metal. The harder you want it the faster you cool it. The more pliable you want it the slower you cool it. That's called "tempering". I leave my bottles in the oven with the door shut until they reach room temperature. I have never had a bottle break on me since I got rid of my wing capper. That thing broke the tops off of 3 bottles.