bottle cleaning

[Not enough!!]

My young bloke wants to start brewing beer, he was given a heap of old bottles, some had been at the bottom of a "Res" for years, full of mud etc.

I soaked them for a week started rinsing then attacking with a bottle brush (just water) and cordless drill, then mild Detergent - which is good because it gives a white back ground to spot any stains.

But some bottle have a deep stain like a water mark, does anyone have a secret method of removing the said stains.

I thought diluted bleach, which i used to use to sterilse (20ml to a litre of clean water) my bottles when I brewed, I sold all of my gear 11 years ago, wish I had kept the 500 bottles though, all crown seals.

Stevo

[nrb]

Bleach works,let them soak
Finish off with a sterile wash,same as you used on your wine bottles

[Not enough!!]

cheers nrb, we bottled a wheat beer (tin) with SAAZ hops last week so i'm looking forward to trying that, very refreshing - i hope

[thumbsucker]

What you need is caustic soda, this is what is used in industry. Buy the caustic soda at Coles mix into water pour solution into bottles and leave for a week this will break down the bonds of organic matter. Then use a stiff brush to clean the bottles, rinse with water.

Then sterilise with Phosphoric acid buy at brew shops.

You do not want to use household detergents to clean brewing equipment - they contain anti foaming compounds that kill the head of your beer.

Also bleach can give you off flavours in your beer and should not be used either.

[daninjt]

Unscented Napisan or other cleaner which contains sodium percarbonate is a go to cleaner for brewing equipment.

Works better with hot water. Let it soak a day or so and rinse.

Google it on a brewing forum like AHB, for full info.

[swk]

Stevo,
there is a thing where glass pick up "iridescence", like an opal colouring. Its a change in the nature of the glass itself (oxidation or etching, I cant remember) and cant be removed except by removing the surface glass. If that is what you have found, no normal cleaning will get rid of it. I dont know if it will have any effect on the beer itself, but it will look bad. Bottle collectors could tell you more.

Regards
SWK

[Not enough!!]

Hello, thanks everyone for the above info, we don't seem to be able to get into the old bottles, as the new brews are disappearing after 3 to 4 weeks, but we did use bleach on some bottles then brewed a Morgans wheat beer, it made my guts curdle, nice colour, good head (beer talk, not filthy talk, well sometimes:D), will leave that one for a while, its a month old, good summer beer.

Love the Muntons range, especially the bitters at cellar temp about 13c.

Cheers
Stevo

[HUON]

I wish they made a keg with a large diameter screw top, I'm over cleaning bottles. I've still got last years brew in their fermenters, think I'll give it to the snails eating my lettuces.
Cheers & beers.

[Not enough!!]

Huon, a mate has Kegs but he went back to bottles for a while but now does both, I couldn't taste that much difference but he has been doing it for years.

Another mate found some of his dads old beers in the shed, 10+ years old, tired a couple, NOT very smooth - sour would be a better word.