50+ bottles of stinky fart water!

[Noz03]

Over the last month or two I've been collecting plastic beer bottles to use for future batches. I filled them all with tap water after I drank the beer so that nothing could dry and stick to the inside of them as I don't have the equipment to clean very well....

Well I just opened a few to sanitise and use them but OMG did they stink! I stupidly put my nose in and took a big whiff and almost puked it was so bad. Smelt like rotten eggs or something....

What the hell happened? I've done the same with soda bottles before and never had a problem.

Also, are these bottles now ruined? I don't think I want to risk putting any drinks in them after smelling that bad... :/

 

[ncbrewer]

From reading this forum and other sources, it seems that lots of brewers don't soak the used bottles in oxy - just a thorough hot water rinse immediately after pouring. My routine involves a really thorough hot water rinse, including a couple of preliminary rinses with just a few ounces, and swirling hard to rinse out any sediment. Then three complete fill-and-dump cycles. Your description sounds like you might not have cleaned well enough.

Just an opinion, but I wouldn't re-use those bottles - the plastic might have picked up some odors, etc. that won't wash out.

Really not much equipment is needed for cleaning the bottles with oxy. When I do it, I use buckets for the oxy solution and let them soak overnight, then rinse thoroughly.

 

[mongoose33]

Sounds like you didn't clean them--you simply added water to the dregs of beer in the bottles, and then it sounds like you capped them.

What you did is create a nice breeding ground for whatever was in there.

When I empty a bottle I rinse it out a couple times to get any residual yeast out of the bottom of the bottle. Then, I run them through a dishwasher and store them dry. In fact, I don't want the open mouth of the bottle standing up because I don't want any bionasties to just settle in there.

Even so, I will sanitize them prior to bottling.

 

[Stillraining]

Water in and of itself is a good environment for bugs to live. It would have been better to store your bottles empty after rinsing uncapped on their side or upside down rather then keep them full of water. I would not use the stinky bottles either, you may get gushers or off flavors as has been mentioned.

Next time you have 20 extra bucks buy one of these also..they make sanitizing a snap. And another 20 will get you a bottle tree to drain/store your rinsed bottles.

 

[Noz03]

Yeah I definitely won't be using this method again... Also sucks because I now have to empty all this fart water out somehow without stinking my flat out :/

Just wondering though... Doesn't there need to be some kind of contamination to start this growth of stinky bacteria? I usually filled them immediately after opening and pouring out the contents... How did it get contaminated in the first place?

 

[ncbrewer]

A just-emptied bottle has plenty of bug food in it - both liquid still on the sides, and sediment. You have to clean it well to remove the gunk. As mentioned, some clean with hot water, but not by just filling it.