Don't make the same mistake I did

[pearljammin89]

First I will admit after haveing five or soo brews down I was getting a little cocky and decided to bottle on a whim. I got everything ready to go while my girlfriend was in charge of sanitizing bottles and placing them on the rack. I grabbed a bottle filled up then she capped it. After about 8 bottles I looked in the bottom of the next one and realized there were big gobs of nasty old yeasts/mold from when I last brewed. I furiously tried cleaning out the remainder of the bottles the best I could and as fast as I could (my bottle bucket has a slight leak) so time was a factor. So for all the new brewers like myself just make sure to check everything before you get started including bottom of bottles inside and out.

 

[HalfPint]

Step 1 of bottling, use CLEAN TO THE EYE and SANITIZED bottles.

 

[wonderbread23]

Also, don't use a bottling bucket that leaks. If it has a crack big enough to leak beer, then it also has the perfect breeding spot for bacteria and likely infections.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Also don't enlist your careless girlfriend to wash your bottles

 

[Beer_Guy]

The FIRST thing I do when I empty a Homebrew bottle is rinse it out while the yeast layer is still soft. Run a little tap water in it and hold thumb on top and shake like mad. Dump it and repeat, twice.

Let's hope the few you bottled first have enough ABV to kill the mold.

 

[BrookdaleBrew]

The FIRST thing I do when I empty a Homebrew bottle is rinse it out while the yeast layer is still soft. Run a little tap water in it and hold thumb on top and shake like mad. Dump it and repeat, twice.

+1 on this. Wash your bottles as soon as you empty them. It is much, much easier this way.

 

[bniesen]

+2
My name is Ben and I have a careless wife that doesn't rinse her bottles...(waiting for a group "Hi ben")
I leave my bottle tree up on my brew work bench and after an evening of drinking I take the empty, rinsed out bottles and put them on the tree. When they are dry I put them in the cases. The ones that sit on the counter for too long, the ones that have a spot of mold on the bottom; they get a good soak in a strong bleach solution for a couple of days. I hate throwing out good bottles and I haven't had a problem yet (knocks on wood).

 

[KingKegII]

To the OP, you may want to tag the ones you bottled before you caught the mistake, then you can compare those against the 'cleaned' bottles and see if there's a difference.

 

[Blackgaurd_Brewing]

+2
My name is Ben and I have a careless wife that doesn't rinse her bottles...(waiting for a group "Hi ben")
I leave my bottle tree up on my brew work bench and after an evening of drinking I take the empty, rinsed out bottles and put them on the tree. When they are dry I put them in the cases. The ones that sit on the counter for too long, the ones that have a spot of mold on the bottom; they get a good soak in a strong bleach solution for a couple of days. I hate throwing out good bottles and I haven't had a problem yet (knocks on wood).

Strang coincidence, my name is also Ben Niesen

I had some mold in the bottom of a bottle, didnt realize it until I saw it floating around in the glass.... the half empty glass.

 

[HiGravShawn]

#1 Rule with our crowd... you drink a homebrew, you better immediately rinse after pouring or free beer rights are revoked.

 

[NorCalAngler]

I wouldn't worry about the mold as much as I would worry about bottle bombs. I routinely check my cased batches to make sure there aren't any bulging caps. I had a wheat beer go south due to infection and when I checked on it all of the caps were bulging. Knowing how stiff the metal is on caps I imagine it takes a LOT of pressure to bulge it out.

Earlier this week I had a single bottle out of my Saison batch that must have had some extra critters in there because its cap was bulging. I wrapped it in a towel and took it to the sink and sure enough it blew like a geyser when I popped the cap.

 

[bniesen]

#1 Rule with our crowd... you drink a homebrew, you better immediately rinse after pouring or free beer rights are revoked.

I like this rule, I might have to steal it!