Background: I've had a sour fruit beer in a better bottle for 10 months and am bottling it tonight. I want to transfer a Brett beer into the better bottle for a secondary fermentation period. I suppose I could just say bugs are bugs and let them mix it up (I might not have a choice), but I am trying to clean out the better bottle a little bit. Question: Any suggestions on getting fruit and trub off of the dimples of a better bottle carboy without using a brush (which I think would only scratch the surface of the better bottle and be self defeating)?
What do you ordinarily use for a cleanser? I'd start with an overnight soak with that, and take it from there. Also, pay attention to the max temp recommendation on those things....I work at a brewery, and one of the guys did a 180F caustic soak on a Better Bottle...completely warped the thing. EDIT: I realize my saying "those things" and "the thing" make it sound like I'm anti-Better Bottle, which couldn't be further from the truth. I love them, and shed a few tears for that one that didn't make it.
i have had great success with oxy-clean type cleansers. the alka seltzer action seems to do a good job of scrubbing away nuisance crap-o-la. i don't have a better bottle, though i imagine oxygen based cleanser would do the trick. an overnight soak with warm water and bleach will definately do the job but that can be more headache than it is worth. fill your bottle in the tub and it will make the dump and rinse alot easier. hell, i take a shower with my carboy. Cheers.
Hot water and Oxy-clean (free if you can find it) overnight. That usually takes even the most nasty stuff off. If not get a small rag and put it in the carboy. Hit it with more Oxy and shake the rag around in it. (Thx HB42 for that tip). Cheers! DM
I like using oxyclean and you can throw a small washcloth in there. Shake it up and the washcloth will kick around and scrub all the debris out. I'd go a step further and also do an overnight bleach soak. You could probably dilute it down to 1:10 or maybe even further. I'm not sure why Bill is against it. You'll have to rinse like hell, but it's so very little work compared to having to rebrew because you got the wrong 'bug' in your beer.
I agree, I have used PBW and oxy-clean on mine for at least 2 or 3 years with no issues. OP: PBW or oxyclean soak.. if need be add a dishcloth, or towel, and swirl around. It's always worked for me.
Oxyclean by itself did not do the trick, but perhaps if I waited overnight it would have done the job on it's own. But I was a bit impatient and followed the oxy with the wet wash cloth trick. I was a doubter, but it worked fine - no visible crud.
Oxyclean works great. One note with better bottles, is to fill with water then add the concentrated oxyclean/PBW/etc solution to the water in the better bottle. Direct contact of un dissolved caustics will warp the bottle or cause it to crack. I usually soak for a couple hours to overnight to solubilize trub/crud.
Worm water under 130 F plus decent shake will do the job, krausen ring on top of the carboy can be cleaned by putting one gallon of worm water into the carboy with a stopper , let it stay up side down over night. After eliminating any visual evidence of past fermentation, use your cleanser and sanitizer to finalize the job.
If you want to shift the beer into the already used bottle then Oxy cleanser is the best option to clean that bottle, as there are many chemicals present in the used bottles and they get not rid off by using simple solution. A highly reactive substance is required which could remove all the impurities of bottle. And from my opinion i prefer to use the solution at least once.
Soak in a brewery wash of some sort over night and get a Carboy Cleaner! http://www.carboycleaner.com/ it's a car wash for the inside of your better bottle!
Agitation is the key. I use my sump pump feeding a piece of copper tubing bent as close to 90* and still can be inserted into the carboy. I put everything into a sink. The carboy is sitting opening up, the pump fills the carboy and the water cascades down the sides into the sink. When I rinse the carboy is upside down. If you don't go overboard with the oxyclean, all that you have to do is shoot clean water up into the carboy for about ten seconds and let it drain. Pick the number of rinses to match your comfort zone. It might take 30 minutes or so max, but it's walk away time. It's about three minutes to set up. I can start this while I'm cracking grain and have it ready in plenty of time.
Here's a trick I picked up on the web: - Put about 1/2 gallon warm water and 2 scoops of oxyclean in the BB - Shake it up until it's really foamy - Drop a live, angry ferret in the bb - When the ferret is dead, dispose of it and rinse the bb with cold water. It should be clean at this point.
I am extremely careful with my Better Bottles, but have cracked a couple with high concentrations of PBW over several hours. Have to remember to add the PBW to the water too, not vice versa. I would read this, and come to your own conclusions. http://www.better-bottle.com/pdf/WashingSanitizingStudy.pdf FWIW, here's what they recommend: http://www.seventhgeneration.com/Free-and-Clear/Laundry-Detergent cheers-- --Michael
