5
votes
Accepted
PET Bottle shelf life
IMHO PET bottles will keep beer very well for up to 6 months. Beer can be kept longer than that but I have noticed that "fizzy drinks" PET bottles can lose pressure after a year or so. Apparently the ...
- 5,631
4
votes
Bottling hard ginger beer
I'm a bit late to the conversation, but I also recently started brewing my own Ginger Beer using a Ginger Bug and bottling in the Grolsch-Style swing top bottles. I've had very good success with this ...
- 163
4
votes
Making my first batch, but don't have bottles
If you don't have bottling gear (bottles, capper, caps, bottle tree etc)
Your alternatives need to hold about 15 psi, and be easy to sanitize.
2 liter soda bottles work nice, just need to keep the ...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Transporting over carbonated glass bottles
If the beer is overcarbonated, I'd just degas it. Lift the cap of each bottle, let the CO2 escape until the foam reaches the cap, let go; repeat as many times as necessary, waiting for the foam to ...
- 273
4
votes
Accepted
Is it OK to bottle condition using previously contaminated bottles?
If the bottles are very contaminated say with sediment sticking and or even if they have been open for a while and have fungal growth inside. You still don’t need to throw away, do the following:
...
- 536
3
votes
Using a bottle rinser with 500ml PET bottles
I have the same bottle rinser as well as those bottles. The neck is indeed too large and you will not be able to directly position the bottle over the rinser as you would a 12 oz glass bottle.
...
- 678
3
votes
Are there any tricks for removing labels from bottles?
Stainless Steel Scrubbers
These make quick work of a labels and adhesives.
Soaking the bottles does make it a lot easier, but these scrubbers work even without soaking.
Warm water with a little ...
- 18.5k
3
votes
Stubborn residue in my bottles
I fill each empty with a 20/80 bleach/water solution and allow to soak for a few hours (usually overnight). Come bottling day, I rinse each bottle with cold water before sanitising. Works like a charm....
- 531
3
votes
Accepted
Stubborn residue in my bottles
I get to do more bottle cleaning than I'd prefer these days, here are my favorite cleaners:
Percarbonate (oxyclean) + trisodium phosphate (mix at 2:1 ratio, 100g per 20L water). Dissolves label glue ...
- 3,020
3
votes
Sterilising tips?
As Pepi noted in the comments it would take a serious infection to be noticeable in 24 hours (Just think how long it takes yeast to get going and that is supplied into fermentable at a huge number of ...
- 31
3
votes
How do I stop my damson cordial from starting to ferment?
Stopping cordials fermenting naturally is always a bit difficult without some chemical inhibitors, vigorous pasteurisation or freezing. Wild yeast and bacteria can be difficult to eliminate but some ...
- 5,631
2
votes
Is it possible to cork screw-top wine bottles?
We just corked a screw top wine bottle with no problem whatsoever. We also uncorked the bottle with no issues at all. We will definitely be corking larger amounts of screw tops in the future!
Thanks ...
- 21
2
votes
Are there any tricks for removing labels from bottles?
My process involves soaking the bottles in a bucket of Napisan or similar for a day or so, then using a butter knife, whittle off the soggy labels.
For any remaining glue, grab a Magic Eraser and ...
2
votes
Recommendations for a bottle supplier
Go to a brewery that uses the bottles you want and ask them where they buy from. If their seller is not willing to sell to you, ask the brewery if you can buy from/through them.
- 2,466
2
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Stubborn residue in my bottles
one should note that hcl on metal is bad it will eat right through it. so make sure you do it some place that is well ventilated. use gloves( latex), goggles you don't want it in your eyes. and a ...
2
votes
Accepted
How to clean bottles used for homebrewing few times?
An overnight soak in PBW or oxyclean always works well for freeing up beerstone and other deposits for me. The soak should start with the warmest tap water you can get. PBW is more expensive but I ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
PET Bottle shelf life
Its your first brew; I wouldn't worry about it. It will get consumed fairly quickly. Certainly before an big bad PET issues arise...if you believe in that sort of thing.
Don't worry about putting ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
Accepted
Cleaning Many PET Bottles
Warm water from the tap will not deform the bottles. If you are worried about it you can temper the water with cooler tap water. Use hot water to dissolve some oxyclean or PBW. Temper it with the ...
- 36.2k
2
votes
Bubbles within glass
When I cleaned demi-johns and glass bottles by soaking in a solution of PBW and hypochlorite bleach I noticed a build up of some insoluble compound on the surface of the glass that looked similar to ...
- 5,631
2
votes
Fat residues on bottles or glasses, causing bad head retension: how to dissolve and remove it?
What not use a commercial brewing steriliser/cleaner like VWP? Soak in a solution made with very hot water overnight. One might find that all that is needed thereafter is a rinse with fresh water and ...
- 5,631
2
votes
Fat residues on bottles or glasses, causing bad head retension: how to dissolve and remove it?
I would start with a mild dish washing soap with warm water, it usually gets rid of grease and oils. If you have a bottle brush, use it, if not shake the bottles well. Then rince the bottles well. ...
- 4,806
2
votes
Accepted
Pet bottles force-carbonation
Yes you can get a ball lock attachment for plastic bottles, then force carbonate as you would a keg. 12-15psi for a few days.
- 18.5k
2
votes
Accepted
Transporting over carbonated glass bottles
I ended up transporting the bottles in a following set up: put bottles to a plastic bucket and filled the space beetween them with insides of an old pillow. I packed the buckets to car in a way they ...
- 303
2
votes
Is it OK to bottle condition using previously contaminated bottles?
Do not only use Starsan. Use water with a bit of bleach added, soak them and clean them, then rinse with a metabisulfite solution.
I did not have any contaminated batches, but in the second half of ...
- 3,655
2
votes
Is it OK to bottle condition using previously contaminated bottles?
I would actually recommend different chemicals than the others. If you want to be really sure, and have gloves and goggles, I would recommend hot caustic to clean the crud out of the bottles. This is ...
- 998
2
votes
Is it OK to bottle condition using previously contaminated bottles?
When cleaning suspect bottles is concerned, I personally prefer caustic soda. This is generally considered the nuclear weapon of cleaning and is not usually required for normal cleaning jobs, but when ...
- 2,480
2
votes
Accepted
Is there a Grolsch flip-top bottle shortage?
I had a quick search for wholesale suppliers, some of these come in case of 12 - https://www.kinnek.com/industry/brewery/beer-bottles/?npc=3&page=1&sortby=relevance&tag=2197&bnode=22&...
- 7,018
2
votes
Sterilizing flip-top bottles in the oven, sealing for later use
I think it's worth mentioning that as homebrewers, we really need to be think about living in the "sanitization" realm rather than the "sterilization" realm. We have households, ...
- 771
1
vote
PET Bottle shelf life
For anyone else looking for advice on this here it is from my experience. PET bottles are fine for storing beer from 6 months to a year (perhaps even longer) in the right conditions. In my experience ...
- 11
1
vote
How to clean bottles used for homebrewing few times?
Cleaning involves removing the stuff you can see. As others have mentioned, a good bottle brush is the most common tool. I've also had success using a water pick (dental hygiene tool) to remove ...
- 115
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