Bottle Cleaning

[deo85]

I am wondering what people do to clean their bottles when it comes time to package. Thank you.

[BWFiggins]

I am wondering what people do to clean their bottles when it comes time to package. Thank you.

Are you using dirty bottles?

Spirits-grade glass, while still quite warm, gets packed with each bottle placed upside-down in the carton, or the whole carton is inverted when it is stacked onto a pallet. Quite generally, this is to avoid any dust particles or cardboard specks from entering the glass, though some still make it inside. A one-second sparge of compressed gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or beverage gas (a mixture of both) is what you need to rid the bottle of any particulate, while the bottle is inverted of course.

How does one sterilize each bottle (I always get this one)? Why, just place your spirits inside it, of course!

Have a great bottling session, and don't forget to supply everyone with powder-free latex gloves!

All the best,

[Spirit of Texas Brad]

Have a great bottling session, and don't forget to supply everyone with powder-free latex gloves!

Great advice, but look out for latex allergies. I've had to get nitrile backups.

I'm curious about good cleaning methods for 'recycled' bottles.

I had a run that got fully bottled and labeled but had pour the batch back to filtering when I found bottling tank was wiped with a paper towel and left little fibers in the liquor, Grr. What is the best way to remove moisture after rinsing?

[daveflintstone]

A one-second sparge of compressed gas such as nitrogen, carbon dioxide or beverage gas (a mixture of both) is what you need to rid the bottle of any particulate, while the bottle is inverted of course.

Wouldn't compressed air work just fine for spirits? I blow mine out when they are standing upright; occasionally a larger piece of cardboard stuff stays in a bottle, which I see when I am filling it. So I suck it out with a straw, then spit the liquor back in.*

*not really

[Jonathan Forester]

Many folks use compressed air, or CO2. Some of the big companies rinse with the same spirit that is being bottled, then filter it clean later for bottling.

[bluestar]

Is there any reason why you couldn't rinse with heads, and subsequently blow dry? This is how we often do final rinse for labware in chemistry labs using methanol, since the high vapor pressure alcohols will dry quickly.