Brewing Master

Question:

Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?  I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s the rubber seals too.  Help! Shawn

Response:

I use bleach and have had no real problems with rust.  You only need to soak them for an hour or two, although I usually leave them overnight. The rubber gaskets do dry up over time and occasionaly need to be replaced.  I suppose my bleaching doesn’t help them last, but then again, I only have to replace them after 10 soakings, so that’s not too bad. If you are really worried about rust, take off the caps, it’s not hard. You can soak them in iodophor solution for about 15 minutes separately, or with the bottles. Most of the newer Grolsh bottles actually have plastic caps, not ceramic. Either way, I don’t think you have to worry about bleach. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?  I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s the rubber seals too.  Help! Shawn

Response:

I throw the bottles into a bucket of iodophor solution. I’m sure that a short exposure to chlorine wouldn’t have a bad effect. Just don’t let them soak for hours. I boil the gaskets. Iodophor attacks the rubber when exposure is prolonged. I just checked my bottles and the "ceramic" is plastic. Colin T Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?  I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s the rubber seals too.  Help! Shawn

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Response:

Boil the rubber gaskets.  Not only will it sterilize them but it also brings back their shape.  Sanitize everything else with idophor solution.  Don’t boil them, as Grolsch has started using plastic caps, and you might melt them. Phil – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?  I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s the rubber seals too.  Help! Shawn

Response:

Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?

I originally soaked mine overnight in a TSP solution to get the labels off.  Now I just rinse them thoroughly after decanting, then on bottling day stick them in the dishwasher, upside down, no detergent, no rinsing agent, heat cycle on.  By the time I’ve prepared the corn sugar and sanitized my other stuff, the bottles are cool enough to receive the beer.  I’ve never had any problems with bacterial infection, rust, dry gaskets, etc.

Response:

I use Grolsch bottles exclusively and fill them with dilute bleach the night before I bottle. I put the ceramic stopper back on the top of the bottle loosely, and the bleach never touches the metal. Then rinse them using the sink adaptor on your faucet. The bleach doesn’t seem to bother the rubber washer. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles sanitized?  I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s the rubber seals too.  Help! Shawn

Response:

: Could someone tell me the proper way to get the Grolsch swing top bottles : sanitized?   Soak them in sanitizer, just like any other bottle. : I’ve read that chlorine will eat away the steel on the topper. Might happen when using too much chlorine or soaking too long. Use 2oz regular chlorine bleach to 5 gallons of cool water. Soak the bottles for 30 minutes. : And what about the ceramic part?  Should I soak or boil those?  Then there’s : the rubber seals too.  Help! There’s no need to disassemble the bottle caps to sanitize. Let’s say you DO take everything apart and sanitize. Now how are you going to reassemble it without putting your filthy fingers on the bottle cap?  Rubber gloves? This sounds like more work than crown cap bottles to me. Cheers, Jack Costa Mesa, CA

Response:

This is my approach, quick and easy. Never had a problem ! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Now I just rinse them thoroughly after decanting, then on bottling day stick them in the dishwasher, upside down, no detergent, no rinsing agent, heat cycle on.  By the time I’ve prepared the corn sugar and sanitized my other stuff, the bottles are cool enough to receive the beer.  I’ve never had any problems with bacterial infection, rust, dry gaskets, etc.

Response:

I use them and they work great!  I didn’t want to invest in a capper. Chris – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All,         Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Thankyou very much. Shaun.

Response:

Shaun, I’ve used Grolsch bottles for years with no problems…I just soak them in diluted bleach water and rinse.  Some folks here recommend removing & specially cleaning the rubber gaskets, but I’ve had no problem and I don’t do that. Tadgh – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All, Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Thankyou very much. Shaun.

Response:

Hi All,         Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Thankyou very much. Shaun.

Response:

I only have a couple of Grolsch bottles that I have used a few times. They work fine. I have noticed however (and I am wondering whether anybody else has too) that the beer tastes different (for the three batches that I have used them) when bottled in the Grolsch bottles than the rest of the batch (bottled in 750 ml bottles) The beer tastes more Grolsch-like, i.e. maltier, and nicer. This may be due to some permeability in the seal or the colour of the glass, I’m not sure. Ruben – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Hi All,         Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Thankyou very much. Shaun.

Response:

Grolsch bottles are excellent! Before you use them, replace the gaskets.  They last quite a while. To santitize them, boil them in water for a few minutes.  The boiling will also return them to their original shape. The only downside is that you can’t enter these bottles in many competitions.  Bottle some in regular bottles if you wish to do so. Phil – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text –    Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Thankyou very much. Shaun.

Response:

Hi All,    Just about to start my first brew and I was wondering if the re-capable Grolsch bottles were any good? My only concern is that they won’t be air-tight after being resealed, is this an issue and should I just stick with regular bottles? Is there any other pitfalls I should be aware of?

Grolsch bottles are great.  They’re perfect for imperial pints!   Watch for broken/cracked gaskets (the rubber ring on the swing top). Replacements are easily found at most brew-shops.  Also, when cleaning sanitizing/washing the bottles, I find it helps to flip the gasket backwards.   I usually bottle ~20 grolsch each batch & cap the rest, i’ve never had any issues with the swing-tops. http://destroy.net/brewing/1417

Response:

I use a 1/2 cup sugar for 5 gal of brew.  That gives me an excellent head when I pour.  Haven’t lost a bottle yet and I use Grolsch bottles too.  How does dextrose compare to sugar? — "Life is a difficult teacher–the exam comes first–then the lesson"

Response:

I use a 1/2 cup sugar for 5 gal of brew.  That gives me an excellent head when I pour.  Haven’t lost a bottle yet and I use Grolsch bottles too.  How does dextrose compare to sugar?

Dextrose = corn sugar.  Corn sugar is about 95% fermentable, cane sugar is 100% fermentable.  A carbonation calculator is here http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator/carbonation.html Cheers, Mike

Response:

I hope you don’t bottle while the wort is still hot? That wold crack a few bottles. Other wise, the bottles had to be weak or had a flaw in them somewhere. Michelle

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I bought some Grolsch bottles (with the ceramic/rubber flip-tops) for my last batch of homebrew, and before I could finish filling, capping and putting the bottles away, two bottles popped and cracked.  I’m not sure why this happened.  I’ve used Grolsch bottles before, so I know they hold beer, but I can’t think of any other reason why two would have broken other than the carbonation was just too much after just a few minutes.  Does anyone have any better ideas?  I use two-stage brewing, so I add a bunch of sugar before bottling.  Are Grolsch bottles supposed to be used for single-stage brewing only? Rick

Response:

I hope you don’t bottle while the wort is still hot? That wold crack a few bottles.

He was bottling beer, not wort.

Response:

sguy.com writes I hope you don’t bottle while the wort is still hot? That wold crack a few bottles. He was bottling beer, not wort.

Check the word ‘wort’ in a brewing book sometime !   — Martyn Dawe

Response:

how much sugar did you use.. care to clarify what you mean by one and two stage brewing… I thought there was 3 stages to brewing.. brewing fermenting conditioning ( this stage also includes carbonating )

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I bought some Grolsch bottles (with the ceramic/rubber flip-tops) for my last batch of homebrew, and before I could finish filling, capping and putting the bottles away, two bottles popped and cracked.  I’m not sure why this happened.  I’ve used Grolsch bottles before, so I know they hold beer, but I can’t think of any other reason why two would have broken other than the carbonation was just too much after just a few minutes.  Does anyone have any better ideas?  I use two-stage brewing, so I add a bunch of sugar before bottling.  Are Grolsch bottles supposed to be used for single-stage brewing only? Rick

Response:

I only made 2 batch yet, both with Grolsh botles and had no problem so far. I let it a week in first fermentation and 2 in the carboy and added about 1.5 cup of dextrose in a 5 gallon batch at botling time. I didn’t bought used botles but drank each of them so they are faily new. Maybe you added to much sugar or the botles where too old. Each time a botle is used it add stress to the glass and if the botle is hitted or banged it create microscpic cracks in the glass. I heard that for that reason major brewery add a litle dot on the bottom rim of a botle each time they fill it and after a certain number of uses (i heard 5), they recycle it and use new ones. If a botle is bougth used, you don’t know how many time it have been filled up and what care was taken to avoid shocks by previous homebrewers. Major brewery have to replace botles more often than homebrewers because those botles get a verry hard treatement in the filling chain and in delivery and so on. But even if you take care of your botles the accumulated stress may make them weaker and explode after a while. Some unscrupulous people may decide at that time after seeing a few explode that it’s time to replace the lot they have and sell them back to let others homebrewers with the problems. — Altair (:-o)=