BB scratched inside neck -- use or toss?

[wingedcoyote]

I really wouldn't say I have an anger problem, but sometimes misbehaving equipment just gets on my nerves, y'know?

So back in January I started a batch of Edwort's Apfelwein in my 6 gallon Better Bottle. This was my first time using a non-bucket FV, and when I pushed the stopper into the BB neck I pushed too hard and got it far enough in that it can't be grasped and pulled back out, but not far enough to drop into the brew. Oh well, says I, I'll deal with it when it's time to bottle the stuff.

This morning I decided it was time to bottle the stuff, or at least start FG readings to make sure. My Plan A was to bend a coat hanger, shove it through the airlock hole, and pull the stopper out that way. No dice -- it wouldn't budge at all, even pulling hard enough to lift the BB. At this point I got a little cranky and decided that the stopper had to die. With a sharp paring knife I was able to cut the rubber stopper in half, which I thought would make it easily pull out... nope. At least I was now able to remove the coat hanger. After cooling down and thinking a bit I finally got the stopper parts out using a wine corkscrew braced on the BB edge.

(BTW, the good news is that my apfelwein reached 0.999 and tastes quite nice even this early.)

Anyway, now that drama's over but I have a nice pair of shallow lacerations on the inside of my BB's neck thanks to the paring knife trick. And I know that what is not clean cannot be sanitary, and what is scratched cannot be really clean. Now, the scratches are high enough that they shouldn't ever touch beer, so part of me wants to keep using the thing (they're not all that cheap, after all). Thoughts?

 

[masskrug]

I'd use it. Like you said, the beer will never touch it.

 

[cluckk]

I'd use it, but not for the most expensive batches. The ingredients of Apfelwein are not expensive. I'd risk using it for that or for a regular beer. I wouldn't risk a big Barley Wine or RIS that I was investing a great deal of money and a year plus of time.

 

[Meadiator]

I'd use it. Like you said, the beer will never touch it.

+1
And also a +1 on not using it for the expensive stuff.

Better safe than sorry, y'know. Maybe there's something out there that you could use to fill the scratches.

 

[Hello]

I'm more for using it since beer won't touch it. To insure beer won't touch it, use a funnel to pour wort in there. That way you're not actually even coming into contact with the neck. Yeast will follow the same suit whether you pitch dry or liquid. Just funnel it.

As for the stuck stopper, next time try to spray a bunch of star san around the bung. While air tight, it may seep in and get just slippery enough to move. Also, I am now a huge fan of these bungs:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0064ODQ9S/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[Homercidal]

There is a trick to getting those things out. Push it in all the way. Wet a washcloth and insert most of it but leave some to hold on to. Tip the carboy so the stopper falls to the neck, hopefully with the washcloth still above it. Pull the washcloth so that the stopper starts to get caught in the neck. Keep pulling and the washcloth will pull the stopper through the neck.

I never would have thought this would work, but I've seen several YouTube videos demonstrating it in action.

And I think you could continue using the better bottle without problems. Make sure to clean well and sanitize as normal and I don't think you will have any issues.

 

[wingedcoyote]

My hope was that I could push it all the way in and then do the washcloth thing, but no dice... I think the extra long primary and the presence of yeast gunk under and around the stopper (it was a pretty ferocious fermentation with very little headspace) got the thing really stuck in place.

Thanks for the advice all! I'll hang onto the carboy and just be extra careful with sanitizing it.