Grolsch bottles in the oven?

[Fazer]

Just wondering if its ok to stick the bottles with the swing tops attached in the oven to sterillise them? Or do you remove the swing tops? Will remove the rubber seals first.

Any tips on cleaning (just bought 50 odd bottles off ebay), I normally just wash all my gear with washing up liquid (aldi stuff at the mo) then give it a good dunk in starsan. Have some in a sprayer as well.

So thinking give the bottles a good wash and rinse, then maybe starsan and finally in the oven. Or maybe oven then starsan rinse before bottling.

Have read quite a few people using VWP as well, so maybe that might be better instead of hot water and washing up liquid for cleaning?

Answers on a postcard please :thumb:

 

[LarryF]

Buy a bottle rinser and tree, I got them both for Xmas and could kick myself that I didn't buy them when I bought my equipment for the first time. They really do save loads of time.

 

[MyQul]

I have about 20 swing tops in my bottle collection. I always take the swing tops off because the wilko swing top bottles I have, the swing tops are made out of plastic. We have a member who ovened some swing top bottles including the swing tops and the swing tops melted.

As far as removing the rubber seals, I never do because it's a PITA but we recently had a thread from a member who had an infection in at least one bottles and after some investigation the member discovered some dirt under the seal that may well have lead to the infection

 

[stevie123]

Interesting but is there not a argument that more dirt is present so its better to try and remove said dirt than do nothing?

 

[MyQul]

Interesting but is there not a argument that more dirt is present so its better to try and remove said dirt than do nothing?

Absolutely. I'm too lazy to take all the seals off and have got away with it so far. But it's much better to remove the seals and give them and the rest of the swing tops a good clean before each use

 

[stevie123]

Absolutely. I'm too lazy to take all the seals off and have got away with it so far. But it's much better to remove the seals and give them and the rest of the swing tops a good clean before each use

I am also lazy i mini keg :lol 2 lazy gits on one forum:whistle:

 

[Halfacrem]

I took off my seals last bottling due to a potential infection in one of my bottles. It was a mild pain in the bum, but probably only added an extra 2 or 3 minutes to bottling time.

If you have ceramic tops I would imagine an ovening would be fine. I've not tried it as I boil mine.

 

[Bigcol49]

I normally just wash all my gear with washing up liquid

Hi!
Don't use washing up liquid to clean brewing equipment!
Get some Oxi fabric cleaner from the Pound shops or B&M. This is an excellent cleaner and very inexpensive.
The guy who developed Starsan made two excellent points on a blog I heard recently.
1. If you have cleaned effectively, you won't need to sanitise.
2. A very effective no-rinse sanitiser can be made from 5 gallons of water, 1 ounce of cheap bleach and one ounce of white vinegar. Do not add the vinegar to the bleach - dilute the bleach down with the water before adding the vinegar.
Colin

 

[Bigcol49]

As far as removing the rubber seals, I never do because it's a PITA but we recently had a thread from a member who had an infection in at least one bottles and after some investigation the member discovered some dirt under the seal that may well have lead to the infection

Hi!
Forgive me if I'm being dense this morning, but the name "seal" suggests to me that, once applied, it seals the interior of the bottle from the exterior. Any trace of dirt between the seal and the cap will be outside the bottle and will have no effect on the beer inside the bottle.
Of course, give the cap a good clean and apply sanitiser liberally, but there should be no need to remove the seals before cleaning.

 

[Halfacrem]

Hi!
Forgive me if I'm being dense this morning, but the name "seal" suggests to me that, once applied, it seals the interior of the bottle from the exterior. Any trace of dirt between the seal and the cap will be outside the bottle and will have no effect on the beer inside the bottle.
Of course, give the cap a good clean and apply sanitiser liberally, but there should be no need to remove the seals before cleaning.

The underside of the swingtop has a nipple that the circular seal sits over. So potentially, anything between the cap and seal could make it's way into the beer. Unlikely, perhaps, but there is a route.

EDIT: By 'anything', I'm referring to stuff that might live on the dirt, not the dirt itself.

 

[MyQul]

Hi!
Forgive me if I'm being dense this morning, but the name "seal" suggests to me that, once applied, it seals the interior of the bottle from the exterior. Any trace of dirt between the seal and the cap will be outside the bottle and will have no effect on the beer inside the bottle.
Of course, give the cap a good clean and apply sanitiser liberally, but there should be no need to remove the seals before cleaning.

As halfcrem says, between the swing top and bottle mouth itself theres a rubber seal or washer which the dirt can get under or around/between the nipple and washer.

 

[Bigcol49]

The underside of the swingtop has a nipple that the circular seal sits over. So potentially, anything between the cap and seal could make it's way into the beer. Unlikely, perhaps, but there is a route.

EDIT: By 'anything', I'm referring to stuff that might live on the dirt, not the dirt itself.

Hi!
By the same reasoning, CO2 could "make it's way" out of the bottle, leaving the beer flat. However, this doesn't usually happen with a good seal, so no nasties can get in.

 

[Halfacrem]

Hi!
By the same reasoning, CO2 could "make it's way" out of the bottle, leaving the beer flat. However, this doesn't usually happen with a good seal, so no nasties can get in.

The seal is made on the outside edge of the little red gasket, with the downward pressure of the ceramic top created by the cage, meeting the bottle top.

Where the inner hole of the gasket meets the nipple on the underside of the ceramic top, there is no such force, so potentially not a proper seal. In fact, if you take a stopper and apply pressure to the outside edges, the gasket stretches ever so slightly, pulling it away from the centre nipple, leaving a little gap. If CO2 were to escape by this route, it still wouldn't leave the bottle if the outside edge was sufficiently sealed.

 

[Fazer]

Still not sure if I will go the oven route or just clean and sterallise before use. But sounds like removing the washers for a good clean is a good idea.

Has anyone tried to "clean with the power of steam" ? I have a vax steam cleaner that detatches into a handheld with a few different attachments. Might be a good tool to clean and steralise, as long as the heat doesn't crack the bottles.

A bottle tree is on the cards as well, looks like a handy gadget to have.

 

[Steved53]

Still not sure if I will go the oven route or just clean and sterallise before use. But sounds like removing the washers for a good clean is a good idea.

Has anyone tried to "clean with the power of steam" ? I have a vax steam cleaner that detatches into a handheld with a few different attachments. Might be a good tool to clean and steralise, as long as the heat doesn't crack the bottles.

A bottle tree is on the cards as well, looks like a handy gadget to have.

I tend to steam everything. I have a commercial steamer, though, which continues to steam for minutes on end at high pressure. I have used smaller ones and they are a pain. You steam for thirty seconds, then stop for thirty seconds etc etc.

Nothing beats a good prior cleaning though. I use the steamer once the item has been cleaned. I then tend to finish off with Starsan. The steam cleaner is particularly good for corny kegs, as they reach a very high temperature. One thing to watch out for after steam cleaning is the collapse of plastic containers, if you tighten the caps directly after steaming. You soften the plastic, and create a vacuum when they cool down.

 

[Cwrw666]

I've been using the same grolsch bottles for about 30 years and the only time I take the rubber seal off is when the originals eventually perished. Quite often they're a bit mouldy when I come to bottling but all I ever do is wipe it off with a clean t towel and dribble some boiling water over it. I know some may see this as excessive hygeine, but it must be worth it as I've never had an infected bottle of beer afterwards.:lol: