Reusing old bottles

[ILMSTMF]

I've got a bunch of labeled bottles sitting on the shelf for decoration that I'd like to use for bottling my brews. Problems:

• they've been sitting on the shelf for ~3 years? Some newer, some older.
• I would GUESS that I, at least, gave each bottle a hot rinse before putting on shelf.

Is that enough? Can I do an Oxi soak and dishwasher sanitize to consider these usable?

Thanks!

 

[jddevinn]

I've got a bunch of labeled bottles sitting on the shelf for decoration that I'd like to use for bottling my brews. Problems:

• they've been sitting on the shelf for ~3 years? Some newer, some older.
• I would GUESS that I, at least, gave each bottle a hot rinse before putting on shelf.

Is that enough? Can I do an Oxi soak and dishwasher sanitize to consider these usable?

Thanks!

Soak em in Oxy or PBW and they will be fine! I've had growlers that people have "borrowed" for months show back up and a PBW bath cleans em right up.

 

[EcuPirate07]

First fill them with water and shake them up and pour out the water to get all the dust out. Then Just Soak in OxyClean overnight, not only will it make the labels easy to pull off it will clean them as well, just make sure you fill them up with the OxyClean/water solution and let them sit. Then I usually will fill up a bucket of star San pull them out of the OxyClean bucket, put my thumb in it give the bottle a good shake and pour out the water, then transfer to the star San bucket. I've never had an issue with this method.

 

[flars]

Oxyclean or PBW soak with a bottle brush scrub in case they were really dirty. Hot rinse and they will be ready for sanitizing on bottling day.

 

[sputnam]

a word of caution...if you keep reusing bottles the neck will eventually break. I even have a bench capper and had one break while opening. I have no idea how many times that particular bottle had been used but I personally won't use a bottle more than about 3 times now.

 

[Firewalker11]

I got a few cases of 40-50 year old Miller bottles in the hard cases a while back and they are on their 5th use so far with no breakage. They were full of spider webs, dried dead bugs and a nice film of old beer. Like the others have said, a good soak in Oxyclean and they were good to go!

(Typos fixed)

 

[z-bob]

I got a few cases of 40-50 year old Miller bottles in the hard cases a while back and they are on their 5th use so fat with no breakage. they were full of spider webs, dried dead bugs and a nice film of old beer. Like the others have said, a good soak in Oxyclean and they were good to go!

Those will last virtually forever. They were returnable bottles back in the day, and they were meant to be refilled over and over and over. Hang onto them, and try to not mix them up with modern reusable (but lighter and thinner) bottles.

 

[Firewalker11]

Those will last virtually forever. They were returnable bottles back in the day, and they were meant to be refilled over and over and over. Hang onto them, and try to not mix them up with modern reusable (but lighter and thinner) bottles.

Interestingly, I am getting bottles from German beer that are identical! The second ring on the bottle neck are a little further down but the neck measures 26mm just like the old Miller bottles...

 

[ILMSTMF]

This broken neck **** has me paranoid now. I have a mix of purchased empties and commercial reused bottles. Only ones that are obviously identifiable are Sam Adams. Now what??

 

[spdalton]

I re-use most bottles from commercial beer I buy. After drinking I briefly rinse and then put them neck down in the dishwasher. Some brands' labels fall right off while others are a bit tougher. Those ones I wait until brew day, and hold them over the steaming kettle as it boils to help them peel off easier (think: steaming open envelopes!).

Word of caution though: some bottles, such as Anchor Steam, don't seem to cap properly with the butterfly bottle capper due to the slightly large lip on the top. Haven't had a problem with Sierra Nevada, Ballast Point, and most others, however.

 

[Calder]

a word of caution...if you keep reusing bottles the neck will eventually break. I even have a bench capper and had one break while opening. I have no idea how many times that particular bottle had been used but I personally won't use a bottle more than about 3 times now.

Then I guess I am on borrowed time. I have some bottles I've been using for 15 to 20 years any not had any issues. Most are only about 6 or 7 years old, and are doing fine after 50-100 uses. Never had a bottle break while capping. I use a red wing capper.

 

[tellyho]

Also reuse bottles like crazy and have maybe had a neck break once, more due to my ineptness with the capper than anything lose. Reusing for a good 10 years now, 12 batches a year.

 

[hockeyrounds]

I've been using comet to soak, peel, and scrub labels (sam adams). Haven't bottled yet, only stocking up. After that, a good rinse plus drying rack. Will let you know if things get bad.

 

[RM-MN]

I've got a bunch of labeled bottles sitting on the shelf for decoration that I'd like to use for bottling my brews. Problems:

• they've been sitting on the shelf for ~3 years? Some newer, some older.
• I would GUESS that I, at least, gave each bottle a hot rinse before putting on shelf.

Is that enough? Can I do an Oxi soak and dishwasher sanitize to consider these usable?

Thanks!

If you want to keep the labels as is, pour the water with oxiclean into them, let them soak for a few minutes and pour it out. Then rinse well. That means at least a double rinse and triple rinsing would be better. Any oxiclean residue in the bottles means no head on your beer. :rockin:

 

[ncbrewer]

Be sure to give the bottles a good visual check after cleaning by holding them up to a light. Sometimes there's some contamination that takes extra effort to remove.

 

[RedlegEd]

Be sure to give the bottles a good visual check after cleaning by holding them up to a light. Sometimes there's some contamination that takes extra effort to remove.

+1 this ^^^. Look especially close where the bottom joins the side. That's where any mold or other nasties will stick. It's also a good idea to double check right before bottling when you are sanitizing.

 

[tellyho]

For sure. Best to be careful when cleaning after emptying the bottle in the first place. And don't use any bottles someone else has returned to you, as they will not be clean enough.