Bottle cleanliness

Redsnapper · Mar 25, 2014

I have been cleaning out 500 ml brown bottles after some rather nice Coopers IPA.After hot water and a good seeing to with a bottle brush,some still have deposits on the bottom of the bottle.To be fair you have to look through the bottle upside down looking into a kitchen spotlight to notice this.
Question is,is this film on the bottom of the bottle inert,or does it have to go?
Also I have been using washing up liquid to initially clean bottles.They get a good rinse in very hot water,but can this still cause head retention problems?

Any views appreciated.

Ta!!

Aethelstan · Mar 25, 2014

Every bottle of mine gets soaked in hot bleach in the sink for a couple of hours and they come out crystal clean before being stored. They are then washed again at bottling time before sterilising.

Redsnapper · Mar 25, 2014

Sounds like a plan.I wash and store mine with BACO Press n Seal over the neck,great stuff for the job, then hot wash and sanitise.But maybe a few hours in the bath with bleach may work a treat.
I'll clean the bath first!! :lol:

sqrson · Mar 25, 2014

I rinse mines straight after use few times, then soak in sanitiser for few min before bottling. Didnt have any problems yet, though I'm only on my 4th brew now : cheers:

graysalchemy · Mar 25, 2014

I rinse mine after use as well this helps.

However they need to be clean in order to be effectively sanitised. I always use an oxy cleaner or good old fashioned washing soda. I use a large Fv and stack the bottles in it them fill with water and a good dose of oxy then leave over night, empty rinse and they are ready for sanitising and filling. :thumb:

rpt · Mar 25, 2014

I am beginning to wonder if washing bottles with washing up liquid is a good idea. I do rinse them well. My bottled beers never seem to have much of a head that lasts down the glass. Now that I have polypins with a hand pump and sparkler I get a great head that lasts. Since the glasses are the same I can only assume it is something about the bottled beer - unless the proper northern sparkler is the reason.

graysalchemy · Mar 25, 2014

You can't compare hand pulled northern style with a bottle, the mechanics of dispensing are just not the same, however if you were to take off your sparkler (god forbid) and pull it half heartedly with a limp wrist aka 'french' style :whistle: then it would be akin to a bottle.

But please don't try this it is sacrilege. :nono: :nono: :nono:

Redsnapper · Mar 25, 2014

What are thoughts re washing up liquid,even with lots of rinsing is it a definite head killer?

graysalchemy · Mar 25, 2014

I use washing soda which has far more 'soap' in it than washing up liquid. give them a good rinse. :thumb: :thumb:

whiter shade of ale · Mar 25, 2014

Always hot rinse (several times) my bottles straight after pouring. They're then stored in a cupboard in the cellar until ready for sanitising. Never had any troubles thus far!! Although i also don't use washing up liquid. I use soda crystals for cleaning my FV's but they always get a good rinse afterward.

Jimmy321 · Mar 25, 2014

I make sure I rinse the bottle after pouring, my used bottles go through the same process as first use.

Night before bottling, plenty of washing up liquid in hot water for 5 mins then rinse 3 times with cold.

Next day dipped in starsan for a few mins rinsed and filled.

NickW · Mar 26, 2014

Personally I just rinse out with water after use and give a good shake. I do this 3 times. Then I star san and leave until bottling day. On bottling day I discard the majority of the star san out the bottle. Re-star San and drain on the bottling tree. No problems yet.

For bottles I have ccollected or been given, I will oxy clean them and then rinse thoroughly. Then star san

Aleman · Mar 26, 2014

Redsnapper said:
What are thoughts re washing up liquid,even with lots of rinsing is it a definite head killer?

Avoid it like the plague, apart from the issues with head retention . . . which require copious rinsing (which takes time). the cleansing agents in washing up liquid are not capable of dealing with the residues and bio films that form in bottles / fermenting equipment .. . . . It's designed for greases . . . which we don't have in brewing. Of course the bottle will come clean if you wipe the surface . . .but then it would come clean with a wipe using hot water alone.

Mine get a hot water rinse immediately after pouring (or within 12 hours, before any sediment has had a chance to dry ), inverted to drain, sprayed with star san, covered with foil or a plastic/silicone bottle seal, and stored ready for use next time. . If I don't fill with star san, and have a few bottles on the side then they get a 10-15 minute soak in oxiclean . . . rinsed dried and star sanned.

I would also try and avoid leaving anything soaking in an oxiclean solution for longer than 30 minutes, it's no longer 'active' and there is the probability that it will deposit a white (calcium) film over the surface . . .this is a bstard to remove . . .and probably applies to brewers in a hard water area rather than the northern softies :whistle: :whistle:

Alexv · Mar 26, 2014

I use washing soda, it always helps. Just soak them in boiling water and wait for a few hours.

proost · Mar 26, 2014

NickW said:
Personally I just rinse out with water after use and give a good shake. I do this 3 times. Then I star san and leave until bottling day. On bottling day I discard the majority of the star san out the bottle. Re-star San and drain on the bottling tree. No problems yet.

For bottles I have ccollected or been given, I will oxy clean them and then rinse thoroughly. Then star san

Yea, I do exactly the same. No problems so far :)

Bernie · Mar 26, 2014

After I thoroughly rinse the bottles till there's no residue dry on the bottle tree then store with a dust cap. Starsan or bisulphite and drip dry on bottling day.
A little bit of housekeeping is worth a lot of elbow grease.

Redsnapper · Mar 26, 2014

Good tips all.Looks like I will persevere with a bottle brush tho.No 1 wife reckons I have O.C.D. so this is one of the things that I like about this whole thing....she may be right!!
So hot rinse,dry,cover,store,re rinse and sanitise prior to bottling.

Better empty some

LeeH · Mar 26, 2014

Like I said in another thread.

Hot rinse after pouring.
Star San rinse then spray a bit more in.
Top on and store.
On bottling day empty then a quick squirt again.

Why folks complicate things I'll never know!

graysalchemy · Mar 26, 2014

LeeH said:
Top on and store.

My bottles don't have tops :whistle:

hyperlink · Mar 26, 2014

Aleman said:
I would also try and avoid leaving anything soaking in an oxiclean solution for longer than 30 minutes, it's no longer 'active' and there is the probability that it will deposit a white (calcium) film over the surface . . .this is a bstard to remove . . .and probably applies to brewers in a hard water area rather than the northern softies :whistle: :whistle:

I had this with some Demijohns. A fairly strong mix of Starsan removed it without issue.

Bottle cleanliness

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