Cleaning OLD Grolsch bottles

[Grantman1]

I recently bought two 6 gallon carboys and around 100 swing-top grolsch bottles for $75 - seemed like a pretty good deal to me.

Anyway, the grolsch bottles were sitting in this lady's barn for a long time and are basically covered in dust, cob webs, etc., and I'm going to be bottling in a few weeks.

I plan on replacing the gaskets on all of them, and scrubbing them with sanitizing solution and a bottling brush before drying them out. I'm a noob, and i'm not sure if there is anything else I should be doing that might ensure good sanitation beyond my current plan.

Any ideas?

Also, how do i know if i need to replace the entire top and clip for the bottles?? (I sure hope i dont need to do this, as it'll really drive up the costs)

 

[maida7]

You need to clean them BEFORE using sanitizer. I recommend soaking overnight in oxiclean and hot water. Use a brush for the really tough stuff. Make sure you rinse them well.

Then sanitize with starsan just prior to filling.

I'd replace the rubber bits but the swings and tops should be fine.

 

[Grantman1]

thanks - will do.

Something I've been wondering about - when using the starsan last-minute in the bottles, do they need to be 100% dry? I was worried that if they still have a few drops of sanitizing solution in there that it may screw up the yeast from doing their thing.

 

[maida7]

thanks - will do.

Something I've been wondering about - when using the starsan last-minute in the bottles, do they need to be 100% dry? I was worried that if they still have a few drops of sanitizing solution in there that it may screw up the yeast from doing their thing.

No worries. Do not rinse the starsan and no need to dry. They can be soaking wet with and covered in starsan foam and you will have no problems.

 

[mrkstel]

If they were stored in an old barn, I will pretty much guarantee that there is more than just dust and cobwebs in/on those bottles. . . I'd be willing to bet that peeing, pooping mice were frequent visitors of those bottles. I would soak them in PBW or Oxyclean and then scrub the piss out of them (pun intended). Then give them a long soak in your sanitizer of choice.

 

[HumanGarbage]

I have lots of people donate old bottles to me in exchange for beer. Mold, cigarette butts, cobwebs and dirt are all par for the course unfortunately.

I uses a bottle washer (restricted to 'dirty use' only) to pre-wash the worst of the crap out. I have a spare garbage can (plastic) that I fill with a water/bleach solution. Fill bottles with solution and soak submerged for a week or so. Rinse and sanitize then store awaiting use. I re-sanitize just before use to be sure they are good to go.

This works for even the worst bottles. Bleach is the only thing I've found that gets rid of black mold and algae. Hopefully your bottles are cleaner than the ones that find their way to me...

 

[sigmund]

I have lots of people donate old bottles to me in exchange for beer. Mold, cigarette butts, cobwebs and dirt are all par for the course unfortunately.

I uses a bottle washer (restricted to 'dirty use' only) to pre-wash the worst of the crap out. I have a spare garbage can (plastic) that I fill with a water/bleach solution. Fill bottles with solution and soak submerged for a week or so. Rinse and sanitize then store awaiting use. I re-sanitize just before use to be sure they are good to go.

This works for even the worst bottles. Bleach is the only thing I've found that gets rid of black mold and algae. Hopefully your bottles are cleaner than the ones that find their way to me...

I agree 100% except that I usually only soak mine for a day or two.

 

[Skyforger]

Follow the path of HumanGarbage, and you will certainly have no problems. Those methods would please the heart of even the most vigorously OCD. But, with sigmund, I find that a day's soaking is usually sufficient. If it isn't, I just pitch the offending bottle. Rarely happens.