Empty bottles problems .. deposit on the sidewalls

So I'm drinking my new pale ale batch.. I've done that beer 4 times without any changes to my receipe and it's great.

I was looking at one of the empty bottles after I rinsed it well and there is still some things that stays stuck in the bottle. it's like little dots everywhere on the inside walls of the bottles and it doesn't go away when I rinse it. I need to brush it.

So I went downstairs to look at all the empties from that batch and they all have that deposit that is stuck to the inside walls of the bottles.

Anyone knows what I am talking about and if that is "normal" ?

thanks

ERnie

doesnt sound normal, could be yeast, could be mold, could be grain.

beer tastes fine. It's an extract recipe with some steeping.

I checked all the full bottles seems to have it.. it starts at the bottom and goes all the way up to where the bottle curves.. then nothing in the neck or top of the bottle..

What now ?

Do you remember if the bottles were "stuff free" before you filled them? I reuse my bottles and I try to look at them against the sun after I wash them and again after sanitizing.

Just a thought, might also be water or cleaner deposits. What's your cleaning regime? Just rinsing or are you using a cleaner?

If you use a cleaner (like PBW) and mix it hot (130-150) but then rinse with cold water you may cause hard deposits (calcium chloride) to come out of solution and deposit as scale. On the other hand, if you use PBW above the recommended temp (say 180) you may see surfactants start to come out of solution and deposit on the surface.

all bottles were stuff free they well rinsed every time I used them and dried upside down.. I do the same watch against the sun to make sure it's all good.

I rinse with hot water after drinking the beer and dry them upside down then before filling it's sanitiser. Never had any problems before and that's the 7-8th batch I brew.

thanks for trying to help.

Could be yeast, could be mold.

Are the deposits flat like a dried water deposit or more like a clump of something stuck on the glass? Also, what size (diameter?)

Gotta run (meeting my kids for dinner)

But try a bottle brush. If it's mold or yeast it should scrub off with a brush. If it's a scale/calcium deposit you won't be able to brush it off.

it's like little dots.. all over each other... size of the needle point. it does brush off

mold ? do I dump the batch ?

ok, if it brushes off it's likely organic (mold, yeast) not mineral deposits.

I'd recommend a batch of PBW (a lot of guys here use oxyclean) Mix it hot (110-150, tap water hot is good) Let it soak in the bottles for an hour, brush, & rinse well w/hot tap water. Good luck!

ILuvIPA off to BW3 for wings & craft beer

what about the other 45 beers that are full do I dump them or drink them ?

In the case it's mold. How did it get there? is it from the beer?

Try to fashion something out of a flexible wire to scrape a sample and see what it is.

If it is water deposits, change your cleaning regimen.

You need to use a cleaner like PBW (or oxyclean + metasilicate) that can hold minerals in solution. As aforementioned, you should clean hot and rinse HOTTER. The amount of minerals the cleaning solution will hold is higher at a higher temp. So you rinse with cooler water and that stuff drops right out.

If you insist on using oxyclean (without metasilicate), you can rinse the bottles in star-san or some other reasonable strong acid. In the end this will be more time consuming and probably more expensive than just starting with a decent cleaner.

If the spots are mold (or otherwise microbiological), I would trash the bottles. Is a couple hours of your time and the possibility of an infection really worth less than the $25 for a couple of cases of bottles?

can you take a picture and post it?

I decided to sacrifice a beer... and break a bottle to see. it looks like white points in it... like I said.. it`s everywhere until the bottle curves at the top. it`s drying now so I will attempt to take a picture of it.

thanks to everyone.
Broke my heart to poor a beer in the sink

ernie00 said:

I decided to sacrifice a beer... and break a bottle to see. it looks like white points in it... like I said.. it`s everywhere until the bottle curves at the top. it`s drying now so I will attempt to take a picture of it.

thanks to everyone.
Broke my heart to poor a beer in the sink

Click to expand...

you could have poured it down you gullet

Here`s the picture.. little white dots.. don`t smell like anything.. when I pass my fingers on them they go away.

I don't know how important it is, but how long has the beer been in the bottles? That might help pinpoint what it is. Does it feel 'gritty' after you wipe it off the glass, or is it slimy?

I could be off here, but it just looks like yeast to me. If the bottles smell/taste fine, then drink away.

it looks like it might be some sort of a soap resdue that caught yeas the particulates in it. just a guess. What does it taste like? rub some on your finger and taste it.

drank some beer tonight... not sick.. not blind. Very good.

ernie00 said:

what about the other 45 beers that are full do I dump them or drink them ?

In the case it's mold. How did it get there? is it from the beer?

Click to expand...

If it tastes good, drink it. Nothing pathogenic survives in an alcohol environment. (doesn't mean you won't get runs, but it won't kill you).

photo of shard - looks kind of like a soap scum look, or a krausen fall...

in the future - good hot soaks in oxyclean, excellent rinses afterward, and sanitize. bottle into sanitizer-wet bottles.

ernie00 said:

Here`s the picture.. little white dots.. don`t smell like anything.. when I pass my fingers on them they go away.

Click to expand...

I realize this an old post, but I am having the exact same issue with a batch of bottles. The majority of them have a film of small white dots inside the bottles. Some have one spot where it is more "built up", on others it just spread out across the entire inside of the bottle.

I did the same thing and broke a bottle to see what was inside. I was able to wipe the film off with my finger, and it felt gritty, almost like sand. My gut feeling is it's Oxiclean residue since I had to soak all of these to get the labels off.

I've tried a quick vinegar rinse, but that only removed the heavy deposits, there are still the small spots everywhere. Right now the bottles are soaking in StarSan, have been since last night. I was supposed to bottle last night, but now I'm in a holding pattern since I don't know how to get the bottles clean. I'm really worried about wasting 5 gallons of my hard work, in case whatever is in the bottles causes trouble. On the other hand, I know I used some of the bottles I cleaned with Oxiclean for my last batch and that turned out fine (carbed up fine, no off flavors). Plus, you can only see the dots when you hold the bottle directly against a bright light. Normally I just hold them up against the window next to the sink, so it's very possible I never noticed it on the last batch. But something caught my eye on these and that's when I moved in for a closer look.
So should I just RDWHAHB and bottle away or do I need to worry?

In this case, I don't think it's yeast. These were commercial bottles (Sam Adam's etc..) that I had to clean the labels off of.

After reading some more posts here, I really think it's Oxiclean residue. It looks like I did just about everything you're not supposed to do with the stuff. Cold water, extended soak, big scoop of cleaner....

So assuming that's what it is, if I manage to get the majority of it off, will it be ok to use the bottles? I have a carboy that needs to go somewhere, so it's either that or buy all new bottles.
Thanks.

Have you tried soaking them in very hot water and scrubbing them out with a bottle brush?