Bottling Debate - Lay them on their side or not?

[Gallinipper]

Another local producer and I are having a bottling debate and I would appreciate some of you that have been at it for a long while to weigh in on the topic. We both bottle around 190 degrees. I lay mine on their side to sterilize the cap and to prevent mode. He argues that it is not necessary to lay them on their side because the steam created and temperature inside the bottle sterilizes the bottle and cap. He indicates he has never had a mold problem and that I am wasting valuable time. Thoughts on the subject?

[therealtreehugger]

I tip mine on their sides. The steam is very hot, but per unit area, the liquid syrup has more heat energy, and will take longer to cool off, therefore heating up the cap all the way through, better/quicker than steam. Not to say steam doesn't work, just that liquid works better at holding the heat.

[mainebackswoodssyrup]

I think you'll find that the general rule of thumb and good practice is to put them on their side or upside down briefly. Maybe its not always necessary but it certainly doesn't hurt anything and you know its sterilized. I guess I would argue the "valuable time" being wasted. Doesn't really take that long to tip a bottle up??

[Kh7722]

I dont think it will hurt to lay them on their side, with that said i do not do it. I bottle every few weeks so not overly concerned just dont really have the room to lay them all down. Also if you watch the large packers who have bottling lines and such they dont lay them on side they just fill, cap, and off they go.
Kevin

[TapTapTap]

We lay them on side. I think it's good practice and it's hard to argue that it takes too much time as the next bottle under the spigot takes a minute or so to fill. There's also time to tip a few up that have had the side treatment for 10 or so minutes _ so space is hardly any issue. Since I'm a perfect bottler I never spill a drop! Ha ha. Always have a pan under the bottle to catch the spill.

[Brian]

We don't lay our jugs on there sides any more because we bottle 40 to 80 gallons at a time. It takes up to much room, so we put the covers on them and give them a shake. We leave room around each container so the syrup won't darken from over heating. We never had any problems yet. After they cool some we recheck the caps to make sure they are tight. They are easy to strip when hot. We bottle 190 to 180 then the canner is emty. Our canner holds 50 gallons.

[toquin]

It how you find leakers!

[Ed R]

I've had leakers too and that's the main reason I tip them on their side as well. Just think it's best practice and have been doing it that way over 50 yrs.

[ir3333]

just turn them upside down to coat the inside of the cap with syrup to seal them.
.then stand them up, they'll cool faster.

[berkshires]

I've had leakers too and that's the main reason I tip them on their side as well. Just think it's best practice and have been doing it that way over 50 yrs.

I've only been doing this for five years, but I'll lend my voice to the chorus. I've had a few leakers, and I have to think that if I hadn't found that out by laying them on their side, they would have wound up with a poor seal and (eventually) would have grown mold.

Gabe