Beer Bottle Drying Rack

One of the most labor intensive parts of home brewing is the bottling process. Since I have to wait two more days to do the actual bottling I decided to make a tool to simplify the process.

This bottle drying rack was made from leftover scraps (making it effectively a free project) and can hold 72 bottles.

Materials:
1/4" Hardboard
Scrap wood for legs

Step 1 Layout

Here is my scrap sheet of hard-board. I don't know the dimension, I just started by setting some bottles on it to get an idea of the needed spacing. I can 6 to a row putting them 4 inches on center. I used a straight-edge and pencil to draw a grid of layout lines.

Comments

[2be994510]

When walking past dust is kicked up. Best to cover bottles with cling wrap.

[drewgrey]

Nice job , I actually have one just like it. It it so sanitary compared to other racks that put something in the bottle. Do you use iodine?

[kimmieallen]

I'm going to try to use bottles for legs by setting them underneath the board and threading the neck upward through the hole at each corner. Since the base of the bottle is longer than the neck, this should work!

[NaTeB1]

I probably sound like a nag but isnt ply wood really like a sponge for bacteria & fungus? The design is an excellent idea but after spending all that time washing bottles why risk it? You should seal it, I dont know how tho maybe laminate or make one with plexi.

[lukethedog]

Hello, I wouldn't really worry about the fungus. The bottles are going to dry fast and the wood will dry just as quickly. Fungus will not have time to grow. As long as the board is not soaking for days at a time I don't see a problem. Remember it is important to be clean and sanitized but, this is not surgery. You will never be sterile. You just want to avoid the wild yeasts and bacteria. Keep things clean and sanitized and you will be okay.

[darkmuskrat]

u can get 4x8 sheets (or less even) of treated plywood that is mildew/bacteria resistance at home depot i believe.... its easier then doing it yourself

[Goodluck]

I'd skip the treated plywood. It is treated with all kinds of nasty stuff (arsenic being one) which you don't want anywhere near consumables (beer).

[Padrulum]

wood is no longer treated with arsenic and hasn't been for a while (except in some commercial and marine settings. I think that if you are using it as a drying rack and the liquid is not running back into the bottles then green wood would be a good idea. If this still bugs you then use plastic tubs with holes cut the same way. The biggest problem i've had is trying to figure out a space to put drying bottles as i have limited room.

[guy90]

thanks for the upload

[guy90]

One of these would be handy! For those worrying about plywood serving as a sponge, which can happen, how about using some food grade plastic, or for me, I'm going to use a storage tub, because these usually have a rim, which would make supporting the legs easier.

[zipperboy]

I am speaking from considerable brewing experience, and I highly recommend the double batch mix and match. What the heck is that you ask? Buy two different cans of malt. The more different the types of beer the better. In my case I used an Irish Stout with a German light lager. Prepare both batches. I used recycled white plastic pails, pick something that held a non-oil based product for ease of cleaning. Note; avoid pickle buckets. Take half of each batch and mix them back and forth. Be careful as the pails are heavy and the fluid sticky. In my case I used iceing sugar, and used a more expensive champane yeast to bring the alcohol content up to between 6 and 7 percent. This gives the finished beer a nice kick and an excellent and clean dry finish on the palate. I also favor the natural carbonation approach, however if you like a more commercial beer flavor by all means use forced carbonation. I called the mixed beer Stager, which was appropriate as it kicked hard. It was as dark as Pepsi, but had a medium light flavor and was not that heavy on the gut. Do not drink too early, as proper aging is important to both flavor and carbonation if you are using yeast to creat it. Oh, and the head on the mixed (STAGER) beer was smooth and creamy. Similar to Guinness, but not quite as whip creamy in texture. Happy brewing, Phil aka Zipperboy aka adventureboy7

[theproles]

For those of us with limited space, it might make more sense to halve the length of the rack. You could then stack the halves one on top of the other. Hmmmm...

[Valche]

Beautiful! I love making use of materials on-hand, and I also enjoy NOT struggling with the bottling process when my friends and I brew. On that note, what would you recommend for a novice brewer such as myself? We last brewed a Belgian wheat ale, which was tasty. I'd love to get your thoughts. Favorited.

[waynemov]

I agree that the bottling is the most time consuming part and so am switching to kegging, however the price of kegging systems is more than i want to spen so i am working on a diy system with minimal cost. ill post an instructable when done.

[Spartan 117]

hehehe my uncle's getting me a free fegging system me so happy Aaron

[Spartan 117]

i meant kegging lmao

[cofosho]

Lake Louie! Must be a Sconnie... Have you tried Mephisto's Imperial Russian Stout? Expensive but worth it.

[barney_1]

Indeed, I brew here in Madison, Wisconsin.

[Patrik]

Hmm... it occurs to me that a piece of chicken wire might work too...

[Spartan 117]

i reckon chiken wire would sag too much and might scratch the pretty bottles :-) Aaron

[dizzydave]

you may want to put some type of finish on this (clear polyurethane would probably do the job) so that the wood doesn't start to fall apart. If you're putting wet bottles on there, eventually it will disintegrate.

[barney_1]

I certainly agree with you that this will not hold up forever. I don't think the hard-board will take a finish very easily so I'm going to take my chances. I do notice that it seems to dry pretty quickly after I've used it.

[browndog]

This is great in its simplicity. I've been eyeing the bottle trees at the homebrew shop for a while, but couldn't justify the space they take up. I could build something like this that would store flat, and do it out of scrap. Now I know what I'll be doing this weekend.

[Mr. Rig It]

Nice job. If you reused wood like you said you did then you should enter this into the green contest. You are also reusing your bottles for another round of brew, also good for the contest.