are my bottles ruined?

[cowboy3829]

i just opened my first bottle of the 3rd brew I've done, and when i went to rinse the bottle i found a hard layer at the bottle of the bottle. the first 2 brews only had the yeast sediment that rinsed out easily. The only thing i did different was that i used carbonation tablets this time. Any help or suggestions on cleaning my bottles would be appreciated. or do i just need to throw them away and get more

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Oxiclean is your friend! I haven't scrubbed a bottle, bucket, fermenter, or keg in years

 

[Silver_Is_Money]

Oxiclean is your friend! I haven't scrubbed a bottle, bucket, fermenter, or keg in years

Do you rinse? Do you sanitize?

 

[jrgtr42]

Rinse it out with hot water, sometimes it takes a couple times, and even a soak. If that doesn't work, a scrub or as TANSTAAFB pointed out, Oxiclean / PBW / that sort of thing.
If you really don't want to work at it, you can toss that bottle. Most likely the rest of the bottles in the batch won't have the same issue.
I average a bottle or 2 per batch that I toss for various reasons - I still do buy commercial beer so I replace it from my back store.

 

[ReaperOnefour]

A bottle brush does wonders. You could even try one of those faucet bottle jets. ( Not quite sure what their called.) Either way just make sure that you sanitize the bottles before you bottle your next batch.

 

[z-bob]

Soak overnight in a solution of washing soda (not the same as baking soda) will loosen just about anything. You still might need to use a bottle brush, but usually they will rinse clean.

 

[cowboy3829]

I use the bottle brush, clean them and sanitize before I bottle, I just hadn't seen anything that wouldn't rinse out before, but like I said this only my 3rd batch. Thanks for the help

 

[Brownalemikie]

I think the trick is to rinse immediately after pouring your beer into a glass. I simply fill the empty bottle half full of water and put my thumb on top and shake up and down about 5-6 times and pour water out THEN repeat. Bottle is good to go until I sanitize right before my next bottling session. Most of my bottles have been used dozens of times.

Never had to use Oxiclean or PBW or brush.

 

[cowboy3829]

I do rinse immediately after, but this one had a cake in the bottom that wouldn't come out.

 

[cowboy3829]

I actually tried the oxi trick, I only let it sit for about 4 hours and it worked like a dream. thanks for the tip

 

[Calder]

In the past couple of hundred batches I have never had to work at cleaning a bottle. Just rinse a few times after pouring, and it is good. Yes, I sanitize just before use too,

 

[MaryB]

I give them a 30 minute PBW soak then a rinse. I see a slight ring on some necks(no it is not infection) and I do not trust that to rinse clean.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Do you rinse? Do you sanitize?

Of course! Hot water rinse and Starsan

 

[TANSTAAFB]

i actually tried the oxi trick, i only let it sit for about 4 hours and it worked like a dream. Thanks for the tip

🤘

 

[Jtk78]

I think the trick is to rinse immediately after pouring your beer into a glass. I simply fill the empty bottle half full of water and put my thumb on top and shake up and down about 5-6 times and pour water out THEN repeat. Bottle is good to go until I sanitize right before my next bottling session. Most of my bottles have been used dozens of times.

Never had to use Oxiclean or PBW or brush.

Sorry to hijack, but I think it's relevant to the conversation. I rinse my bottles right after pour, in fact in the same manner you do. However, when it'says its time to bottle, I also wash them with Oxiclean/TSP90 mix, then sanitize. I fill up a wash tub half way with hot water, add my cleaner and mix the water, then lay a bunch of bottles in the water. They fill up, I give them a good shake out, and rinse in a 5 gallon bucket of plain water. I sanitize with the Vineator right before packaging.

You believe I am adding a wasted step in cleaning the bottles? Do others agree with Brownalemikie?

 

[Brownalemikie]

Sorry to hijack, but I think it's relevant to the conversation. I rinse my bottles right after pour, in fact in the same manner you do. However, when it'says its time to bottle, I also wash them with Oxiclean/TSP90 mix, then sanitize. I fill up a wash tub half way with hot water, add my cleaner and mix the water, then lay a bunch of bottles in the water. They fill up, I give them a good shake out, and rinse in a 5 gallon bucket of plain water. I sanitize with the Vineator right before packaging.

You believe I am adding a wasted step in cleaning the bottles? Do others agree with Brownalemikie?

I may have neglected to mention that on bottling day my bottles are totally submersed in a very warm Starsan solution. Some day in the future I may have to take extra steps to clean the bottles, but to date this method of "rinse then sanitize" works great even after dozens of bottling sessions.

 

[mongoose33]

I think there are two issues here. One is what we do once we've poured out a bottle of beer. I triple-rinse that bottle, a little water, swish and pour, swish and pour, swish and pour. Three times works for me.

The second is how to clean dirty bottles. Mostly that's been covered, soak in a good cleaner, usually does the trick. If you rinse them well prior, as above or better, there shouldn't be much if anything to have to clean out.

In OP's case, sounds like the carb drop is at fault, as if it didn't completely dissolve. He figured that one out.

***********

I put the rinsed bottles in the (gasp!) dishwasher, neck down in the top rack, angled so the sprayer can hit them. They come out sparkling. Whatever sheeting agent is used doesn't seem to affect the head of beer in those bottles, but then I also rinse them with Star-San using a vinator just prior to bottling. This way they are cleaned as I use them.

***********

Related subject: had my first infection in beer I bottled back in October. A porter w/ a fair amount of nonfermentables. Chilled and opened one in late march, gusher! Opened a couple more, gushers!

Don't know why, though I had trouble w/ foaming in that beer before I kegged it. The OG of that batch was 1.020, but the gravity of the foaming beer was 1.010. Something ate through some of the nonfermentables in that beer. Grrrrrr.......

My son, in graduate school in microbiology (not studying yeast, sadly), said to throw those bottles out. He said there likely was a biofilm in them and that biofilms are notoriously difficult to clean.

Something about if they had such a thing on his lab's glassware, they'd probably just toss it rather than risk using it.

I tossed those 12 bottles into recycling.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Sorry to hijack, but I think it's relevant to the conversation. I rinse my bottles right after pour, in fact in the same manner you do. However, when it'says its time to bottle, I also wash them with Oxiclean/TSP90 mix, then sanitize. I fill up a wash tub half way with hot water, add my cleaner and mix the water, then lay a bunch of bottles in the water. They fill up, I give them a good shake out, and rinse in a 5 gallon bucket of plain water. I sanitize with the Vineator right before packaging.

You believe I am adding a wasted step in cleaning the bottles? Do others agree with Brownalemikie?

I believe that if the bottles have rinsed visibly clean, then no further cleaning is necessary. My reasoning is that the only purpose cleaning serves is to remove actual detritus that could be shielding undesirable microbes from the sanitizer. If there is no such detritus in the form of gunk visibly clinging to the bottles, then there is no use in further cleaning.

 

[Auger]

I may have neglected to mention that on bottling day my bottles are totally submersed in a very warm Starsan solution. Some day in the future I may have to take extra steps to clean the bottles, but to date this method of "rinse then sanitize" works great even after dozens of bottling sessions.

I do the double rinse immediately after emptying, then the bottles get stored right side up until I have a case or so worth. Then, the whole case gets an oxi-clean or PBW soak in hot water, hot water rinse, then stored upside down in a case. When it's time to bottle (I only bottle off of kegs), the bottles get a cold water rinse, a few squirts of star-san, shaken out, filled and capped. It's probably overkill, but I like to keep them clean.