Better Bottle wont get clean....now what?

So I have been trying for over a week now to get dried krauzen from my last batch cleaned out of my better bottle. I have tried the normal Oxyclean soak, shake bottle with wash cloth inside. The gunk is still there. What's next?

FWIW, I primary for 3 weeks and do not secondary. I started soaking my better bottle as soon as I finished racking to the keg.

I am ready to just throw it out (which sucks because it has only had 3 batches in it) and switch to buckets. Too afraid of the class due to kids and me being a klutz.

Anyone have any other ideas?

How long did you soak with oxyclean?

I usually fill my BB half way with with warm-hot water and oxy-free, put a stopper in it and flip it upside down. Sometimes an hour does it, sometimes I let it go overnight, then rinse with same temp water. Works like a charm.

I use one of those large carboy brushes. I've been doing that forever without an issue. Ya ya I know what they say, but I've never had a problem (I've got 6 better bottles; some are many years old). I let it soak in oxyclean for a few days, then while it's full I just stick that brush in in there and gently remove anything still stuck.

It has been a week soaking in oxyclean. I have also tried the brush against warnings and still cant get the crud off.

maybe let it soak for another week and buy a bucket in the meantime.

I've had an occasional problem with this as well, mostly with the GF's hefeweizen brews. For some reason, that krausen really sticks to the surface and doesn't want to come off. I use one of those foam bendy things intended to clean wine decanters, after about an hour soak in PBW with hot tap water (120°F). It seems to work, unless it's been on there a long time.

I use an oxyclean soak, then a washcloth swirled around, and if that doesn't cut it, I use a large bottle brush. I just use it carefully, and try to avoid scraping the plastic with the metal of the brush.

I got some tsp powder at the hardware store and use that at a 1:1 ratio with oxyclean and seems to cut through gunk better on mg better bottles. They say its the poor mans PBW.

Hot PBW soak. If it hasn't eaten all the crap off in an hour you didn't mix it strong enough. Usually microfiber towel swirl works but some yeast are tenacious. Try the PBW if that doesn't work go with the carboy brush. I used to clean mine with a brush until I found out about the PBW and towel swirl and I have also never had an infected batch.

I will try the suggestions above. I am still going to pick up a bucket or 2 just to have.

Thank everyone.

Dude I always fill COMPLETLY my glass carboy with Oxyclean and very hot tap water let it soak for 2 to 3 days and bingo like magic it gets clean, even after 30 days of being cacked on the side during fermenting it realy never stays on, not even a brush is needed...

My guess is that you mix your Oxyclean too low... Look on the side of the Oxy bucket and use the biggest strenth recomondation... Fill the better bucket completly with hot water and let it soak... And when Insay fill I mean overflow fill or up to the rim full

Works fine for me !!

Good luck !!

I do not ferment is bottles fior just this reason but I cleaned a glass one the other day with OxyClean.

ONE (1) tablespoon in 5 Gallons.... Yes! it sounds like very little but it works and it took three days.

Like all chemicals there is Concentration and Duration a lttle longer is the same as a lot fast.

To completely resolve this problem try doing your Primary Fermentation in a bucket... or the whole thing in a bucket if yit will be less that 5 weeks.

I was once given two beers that had been in buckets for MONTHS (maybe as long a six). An Octoberfest and an IPA... I took them home, let them sit overnight and then Kegged them. The IPA was FINE... The Octoberfest was past it's prime but most folks did not even notice.

Recently I did a Kolsch in two Buckets for five (5) weeks and it is one of the best beers I have ever made.

DPB

I had a similar problem where a Better Bottle was not coming clean after soaking for over a week. I was not using enough Oxyclean. I ended up using two full scoops and it cleaned it right up.

Try dumping what's in there and refilling with oxyclean and super hot water, maybe your concentration was off?

Put a stopper on and shake and roll the bb around. If that fails and you have an electric drill, consider DIY ing a paint mixer carboy cleaner. Use the search tool to find a detailed write up on it.

After I rack out of a better bottle, I put in one scoop and fill with hot water (120-140 degrees) I then I use my auto siphon to rack some in to a bucket and clean my other tools, I then funnel it back in to the betterbottle and rinse and wipe down the rest of my tools. I let that sit for a few hours and then empty about 2/3s of the water and insert a wash rag and give it a good swirl. If you need to scrub, use a brush to rub the cloth against the sides.

One or two gallons of hot tap water, usually around 120F.
One tablespoon of PBW (the real stuff).
Cap and invert BB for one hour.
This works well for me. Nothing left stuck. No brush work needed.

I ferment for four weeks in the BB (no secondary).
Never could get the wash rag in the BB trick to work.

A couple handfuls of ice, and a good pour of salt. *Shake* Then rinse. Repeat as needed.

It creates a relatively soft abrasive that shouldn't harm your bottle, but still works very well in getting "junk" off.

So I was finally able to get the better bottle clean but noticed some scratches. I decided to be cautious and bought a bucket anyway. Brown Ale fermenting away and no blow off.

Can't complain.

When I have a krausen that won't clean I change to clorox. You will just have to use a camden tablet or fill with water and soak a day to dilute it. Another way to scrub the chlorine out of the bottle is to make a dilution of plain white vinegar. It is an acid that reacts with the clorox base.. neutralizing it. Always works for me. Also, if it's a round BB.. rather than the square 3G size.. you can put a cotton or microfiber cloth into the bottle with couple quarts of water. Hold it sideways and get a good rolling swirl going in it.. so the cloth is going around where the stuck krausen is.. sometimes that gentle "abrasion" works quite well. You just have to fish out the cloth. Note. Tie a light cord to it and put the end under your hand. Makes it easy. Nuff ramblin.

jtejedor said:

I got some tsp powder at the hardware store and use that at a 1:1 ratio with oxyclean and seems to cut through gunk better on mg better bottles. They say its the poor mans PBW.

Click to expand...

TSP with Oxy works really well. Usually an hour soak its all you need.

I guess I am lucky. I have had heavy layers of well dried krausen and just an overnight soak with 1/2 a scoop of Oxyclean did the trick every time.

After the soak I siphon the gunk out, this cleans my autosiphon also. Then rinse, add some more water and rinse again. I then add more hot water and a washcloth, swirl it and rinse some more.

Total labor time about 15 minutes. It takes longer to fill it with water and Oxyclean than all the rest of the process.

I use B-Brite @ 1 tbs per gallon of hot water. I fill it and let it sit for 20-30 minutes. All I need after that is a gentle scrub w/ my carboy brush around any edges. Then I rinse w/ hit water and Star San, put in a stopper and store for my next use.

jesseroberge said:

Dude I always fill COMPLETLY my glass carboy with Oxyclean and very hot tap water let it soak for 2 to 3 days and bingo like magic it gets clean, even after 30 days of being cacked on the side during fermenting it realy never stays on, not even a brush is needed...

My guess is that you mix your Oxyclean too low... Look on the side of the Oxy bucket and use the biggest strenth recomondation... Fill the better bucket completly with hot water and let it soak... And when Insay fill I mean overflow fill or up to the rim full

Works fine for me !!

Good luck !!

Click to expand...

This, except I have better bottles.

I have noticed that if you hit the top of the outer surface of the better bottle from time to time it will help it to shed layers of the krausen and expose the next layer to work on.

I typically rack my beer from primary to keg(after 4 weeks) as im mashing and finish cleaning the better bottle with a wash cloth during the boil. I am getting perfectly clean in ~60 min of soaking. Hot water is a must.

BurntOrngeLonghorn84 said:

A couple handfuls of ice, and a good pour of salt. *Shake* Then rinse. Repeat as needed.

It creates a relatively soft abrasive that shouldn't harm your bottle, but still works very well in getting "junk" off.

Click to expand...

I find this Very Interesting!

Seems like salt would scratch just as much or more than a bottle brush. I still just use hot water and a washcloth swirl. If it's really stuck I'll use hot oxy and in really stubborn cases I use light pressure with the bottle brush.

I use a soft rag wrapped around a bent coat hanger. I tie it to itself and wipe away.

Hot water and PBW over night and the krausen is gone.

chumpsteak said:

Seems like salt would scratch just as much or more than a bottle brush. I still just use hot water and a washcloth swirl. If it's really stuck I'll use hot oxy and in really stubborn cases I use light pressure with the bottle brush.

Click to expand...

Agreed.. as mentioned in an earlier post.. the chemicals usually work for me.. but when it doesn't, I leave a couple of inches of oxyclean in the fermenter and put a micro fiber cloth inside, cap the carboy and turn it on it's side.. one hand on the neck and one on the base. Begin to swirl it so the liquid causes the cloth to swirl inside the carboy. That minor agitation will remove the stuck krausen.

I attach a piece of twine/string.. the kind used in butcher shops to tie up roasts.. to one corner of the microfiber cloth. I don't actually use a stopper on the carboy.. rather just put my hand over it, keeping the end of the string outside.. and begin to swirl it. The string makes it easy to fish the cloth out.

This works like a charm.....