Unsanitized bottle caps

I bottled my first brew, an IPA, and realized afterwards that for all my bottle sanitizing, I forgot to sanitize the caps! They were fresh from the packet, but obviously this doesn't mean they will be sterile. Will this have any disastrous effects, or will it be ok? Thanks for your help!

More than likely you'll be fine. There has been debates in the past about whether to sanitize caps or not...The debates are moot because it's too late anyway, and recapping would run the risk of doing more harm than good.

So since you can't really do anything about it....you have two choices; fret over it or rdwhahb....I vote the second one.

Thanks heaps for the response! I think I'll opt for the second one.

I'd listen to Revvy.

Revvy is good. Revvy is wise.

You'll be fine. Unless the caps were actually dirty (you spilled beer/coffee on them 2 days prior, cat puked on them, etc..) they are probably as clean as they would ever be coming from the packet. I used to dry cap all the time but now I give them a soak in sanitizer just because it is easy and is a good idea, but I haven't ever had an infection with the dry caps.

+1 RDWHAHB

Thanks heaps for the response guys, you have put my mind at ease. My first brew has only just been poured into bottles, so I will have to kick back with a store bought craft beer instead!

What is said craft beer?

That's what we Australians call micro brews, for some reason. It pretty much translates to 'expensive beer'. If you have ever has Australian mass produced beer you will know its worth every cent!

Actually "Craft Brewing" in Australia is what we call homebrewing here. There used to be a great homebrewing show from over there called "Craft Brewer Radio" Hosted by this arrogant and really funny guy named Graham Sanders. Sadly the show just ended abruptly in 2009 or 2010, and they pulled even the archives down.

We talk about it here.

Remember that people have been making beer for millennia, even before they knew about the germ theory of disease. Heck, they made beer even before they knew about yeast! Beer is surprisingly resistant to infection. You are actually "infecting" the beer with a controlled infection (the yeast) and, once established, they tend to dominate the show. You want to keep things clean and be diligent about sanitizing your equipment out of an abundance of caution, but (for example) the occaisional slip of forgetting to sanitize an otherwise clean spoon when stirring priming sugar into your beer is unlikely to cause problems.

You want to do the best with sanitization as you can just to minimize the potential for problems, but in the end the process is pretty forgiving. Enjoy your craft beer, and then fill those bottles with good homebrew!

theapathyparty said:

That's what we Australians call micro brews, for some reason. It pretty much translates to 'expensive beer'. If you have ever has Australian mass produced beer you will know its worth every cent!

Click to expand...

Is that like Fosters? Australian for beer!!

theapathyparty said:

That's what we Australians call micro brews, for some reason. It pretty much translates to 'expensive beer'. If you have ever has Australian mass produced beer you will know its worth every cent!

Click to expand...

My bad, lol! I meant it as asking what the actual beer is that you are currently drinking.

I had pretty much rationalized to myself the same thing, people have been making alcohol for thousands of years, surely the occasional slip up of hygiene won't ruin a brew!

I think I have only ever seen Fosters for sale once in Australia. It's all over the place in the UK though!

At the moment I have a long black, because its morning here, but I think I'll relax with a Mountain Goat - Rare Breed tonight!

True,but way back when they also had a lot more dumpers. And part of that would've been family income. I count out the maximum number of caps for a batch. Then dunk'em in starsan one by one as needed. After capping,I turn the bottle upside down once to be sure the o2 barrier part is activated.
Then into covered boxes they go.
As an aside,I found Wernesgruner Pils from Germany at Aldi's. Pretty good beer too. But the kicker is the labels come off easy,& the bottles have this crest on the neck with a hop bine on each side. And the Words ORIGINAL GERMAN BEER around the shoulder. I recon,they've been making it since 1436!! I just thought they were cool & different for pop tops...