Introduction: 72 Beer Bottle Homebrew Drying and Storage Rack
We'll be constructing a drying/storage rack for your empty homebrew beer bottles using a wire, behind-the-door shoe rack, able to be purchased for cheap from Target, Home Depot or elsewhere. This is a simple job requiring only the rack and a wire cutter.
Step 1: Find Shoe Rack
Find a metal shoe rack, the type that hangs on the back of a closet door. The version I found had six rows each able to hold 3 pairs of shoes. You can find them at Target, or Home Depot, or search online.
Step 2: Get Your Supplies Together
As mentioned earlier, you only need the shoe rack and a trusty pair of bolt cutters. And bottles.
Step 3: Start Cutting
Each "horn" is constructed of an oblong metal loop. Use your bolt cutters to remove the top of the loop (about an inch down from the apex). You'll be left with two sturdy wires per cut loop. Each one of these will hold a bottle. Work your way down the rack and cut each loop.
Step 4: Bend the Wires
You'll have to bend one of each set of wires outward to accommodate the bottles sitting side-by-side. Alternate your bends to maximize the available space for your bottles. A bend of about 1 inch outward should work. Try not to bend them back and forth to many times; this could cause the wire to snap off at the base, depending on the quality of the weld. You'll be left with a completed rack.
Step 5: Hang the Rack and Place Bottles
Hang the rack on your door. You may have to bend the hangers a small amount to make sure they fit smoothly under your door jamb. After you've washed your bottles, you can stick 'em on the wires one at a time. If they're wet, you might want to put a towel down on the floor. Rack your bottles from top to bottom to reduce the amount of water dripping onto the lower-racked bottles. Depending on what shoe rack you purchased, you may not have enough clearance on the top rack for a taller 12-oz bottles, but shorter bottles will work fine. If you get the 18-pair shoe rack, you can hold 72 bottles (two bottles per individual shoe horn).
For home brewers, sanitation is always a concern. I suggest investing in some sanitizing wipes and wiping down each wire, and then wiping again with a clean wet towel to rinse prior to placing your bottles. Be careful not to slam the door to avoid breakage.
Enjoy!
