So I'm trying to clean my carboy...

The last week I stuck raw cubes of pumpkin (sanitized in everclear) into my carboy. Jammed them in is more like it. Racked the beer, it's all bottled and good. Then I came to the sudden realization...



Here's my carboy. Not exactly sure how to get the pumpkin out.



Trying to think up some ways to break down the pectins or something and mush it up. Anyone have any thoughts on how I can "science" the pumpkin out?

You can try the t-shirt trick

AgentHubcap said:

You can try the t-shirt trick

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Google how to get a cork out of a wine bottle.

Use a stick to mash them up. Or get something to hook to an electric screwdriver and blend those suckers up. Or fill it with hot water and hope they dissolve after a few days. The t shirt trick would be fine for one piece, but u got lots there.

any reason for using raw pumpkin? i find raw pumpkin to be anything....but pumpkin tasting

The hottest water that you are comfortable with pouring into the carboy. Get a cheap broom or mop at a dollar store make sure the handle will fit in the neck. Cut the head off of the broom or mop and smash the softened pumpkin then invert and rinse. With any luck the pieces that are too large to drain out will float. Continue until all is washed away.

Put some beer back in there and throw in some dregs from a couple bottles of sours. Wait 6 months. Presto!

I like the drill idea rigged to mash everything up then rinse it all out but if you wanted to go natural add just enough water to cover the pumpkin add some pectinase ( pectic enzyme) and give it a while then fill with hot water to rinse.

Pour in a strong enough acid and it should liquify pretty quick.

hoonigan said:

I like the drill idea rigged to mash everything up then rinse it all out but if you wanted to go natural add just enough water to cover the pumpkin add some pectinase ( pectic enzyme) and give it a while then fill with hot water to rinse.

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Pectinase! Was trying to remember the name. I think I might try this and then mash it up with the back of my stir spoon.

Johnnyhitch1 said:

any reason for using raw pumpkin? i find raw pumpkin to be anything....but pumpkin tasting

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I don't know, I was just trying out an idea to see what'd happen. My original plan was to sprinkle some sugar on the pieces and then broil or torch them to caramelize. Then I was going to throw it in during mashing. Unfortunately I couldn't find any pumpkin when I brewed the batch. Instead when I was able to find pumpkin, I coated them in everclear, sprinkled on some sugar and torched it. I thought they'd catch on fire and flambé but not quite. Still, they were a little crispy on the outside. I just jammed them in my carboy all the same with some nutmeg, vanilla and two cinnamon sticks.

After 5 days I drew it out and bottled it. The sample I took tasted good. The pumpkin was very very subtle but that's kind of what I wanted, an Oktoberfest with a hint of the harvest...not pumpkin pie in a bottle. I'll let you know how it worked out though sometime in October once it finishes conditioning.

Pour in a healthy amount of caustic soda and add just enough water to start to cover it, that should turn it into an easy to pour out goo in a couple days.

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MC

porcupine73 said:

Pour in a healthy amount of caustic soda and add just enough water to start to cover it, that should turn it into an easy to pour out goo in a couple days.

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Snap! he beat me to it.

MC

porcupine73 said:

Pour in a healthy amount of caustic soda and add just enough water to start to cover it, that should turn it into an easy to pour out goo in a couple days.

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Hah! It's a nice idea but lye is mildly corrosive to glass I believe. I think an enzymatic reaction is going to be the best choice here.

I wonder what a few scoops of oxyclean and hot water soak for a couple of days would do.

You could try hitting them with a jet bottle washer if you have one. If it works at all, it will blast those things to smithereens in seconds.

ludomonster said:

You could try hitting them with a jet bottle washer if you have one. If it works at all, it will blast those things to smithereens in seconds.

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I'm actually interested in maybe getting one of those. I have over a case of bottles in my basement that people have donated to me...but they didn't rinse them out in what I can only assume is a cruel joke at my expense. Will it literally blast the mold out of the bottom of these?

Wonder if I could just make something similar myself by picking up a screw on metal nipple from the hw store.

sidepart said:

Will it literally blast the mold out of the bottom of these?

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Yes.

sidepart said:

Wonder if I could just make something similar myself by picking up a screw on metal nipple from the hw store.

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I wouldn't recommend it. The bottle washer can be used in a way that only sprays when you have a bottle on it (which is the normal way to use it). Otherwise, you'll have water all over the opposite wall.

Also, it's not expensive and it works wonders. You don't need to use cleaners when you use it because it gets everything when you clean bottles. It does a lot with carboys, but you still usually need to clean off the krausen bits. It's around $20 + the cost of a threading adapter.