# Cleaning 1 gallon bottles



## mjdtexan (Feb 21, 2009)

I just come up on 23 used one gallon bottles. They are "Carlos Rossi" bottles or something like that. Only one had a label, but all of them are the same. Anyway, they all had lids on them and they were full of water and some of them have funky junk on the bottom. I failed to order a 1 gallon jug bottle brush. Any idea on cleaning them until I order a cleaning brush?


I have no idea what I am going to do with 23 one gallon jugs

Mike D


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## Wade E (Feb 21, 2009)

I just fill them with bleach or a cleaning agent like oxi-clean or C-Brite and use a regular bottle brush but a coat hanger and a cloth would work in a pinch.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

Wade E said:


> a coat hanger and a cloth would work in a pinch.



Good idea, thanks


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## Sacalait (Feb 22, 2009)

Put a little sand in with the cleanser and swish it around.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

Sacalait said:


> Put a little sand in with the cleanser and swish it around.



I may have to try that. I tried the coat hanger thing, worked some, but not that well. I just need to be patient and wait on the bottle brush thing I reckon.

Hot water would help. We have two houses right next to each other. The one we do not live in is completely empty and I had the water heater off. I just lit the pilot, now I gotta wait a while. Can bring ourselves to rent it out. Plus my little wood shop in in the garage.


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## arcticsid (Feb 22, 2009)

Great find Mike, I'm sure you'll put them to good use. You should beable to find rubber stoppers with a hole in them to accomodate an airlock.
Troy


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

arcticsid said:


> Great find Mike, I'm sure you'll put them to good use. You should beable to find rubber stoppers with a hole in them to accomodate an airlock.
> Troy




I ordered some of those when I ordered my kit, and extra air locks too. The guy had about 60 bottles lined up. I just could not see where I could use that many. Heck, I dont know how I am going to use all of these.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

I've noticed that even though they are all the same bottle, some are completely clear and some have a slight blue/green tint to them. They have the same markings and all just different tints to them. Must be the age or something.


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## Wade E (Feb 22, 2009)

I would take 1 and make a 1 galon sanitizing soltion right off the bat. Once you start buying lots of corks to save money you can also make up another 1 gallon batch of sanitizer, put that in a 5 gallon bucket and then pour all your corks around that bottle of open sanitzer and close the lid good and Whala, you have a cork humidor like some of us do! I have about 455 in mine right now. Just be careful and open that bucket up outside as it will take your breath away from the fumes, this sanitizes all your corks.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

Wade E said:


> I would take 1 and make a 1 galon sanitizing soltion right off the bat. Once you start buying lots of corks to save money you can also make up another 1 gallon batch of sanitizer, put that in a 5 gallon bucket and then pour all your corks around that bottle of open sanitzer and close the lid good and Whala, you have a cork humidor like some of us do! I have about 455 in mine right now. Just be careful and open that bucket up outside as it will take your breath away from the fumes, this sanitizes all your corks.



Inside the bucket (not the bottle but around the bottle) is dry?


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## arcticsid (Feb 22, 2009)

Mike, you could always share a couple with some friends and get them making a couple of batches too, that way you have someone to learn with and then they can blame YOU for tricking them into this addicting hobby!!!
Troy

It doesn't take a whole lot of ingredients to make a one gallon batch, and as you have probably learned, you can ferment just about anything. There was someone in here not long ago talking about a parsnip wine, I guess that would work if you have a rabbit that likes wine. Just for an experiment on this subject i was going to try to ferment sugar water. I realize it wouldnt be drinkable but just to show that indeed it could be done. You have 20 some botlles, you're on your way now.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

arcticsid said:


> Mike, you could always share a couple with some friends and get them making a couple of batches too, that way you have someone to learn with and then they can blame YOU for tricking them into this addicting hobby!!!
> Troy



Actually there is a fella down the road that is using Pepsi bottles, water bottles, etc etc. He has even made his own airlocks. His wine is always cloudy. I suspect that it just does not last long enough to get clear. I know he does not look online or anything like that to get knowledge. I think he even uses baking yeast but I cant be sure. He got me interested in it. He dont know that yet. I am going to make some wine and then take him some after it has aged a while. I only discovered it when I went to check on him and make sure he had water and access to a hot shower ( I have a ginormous diesel generator) after we had our Hurricane Ike. I will probably take him some bottles before that and give up the fact that I am making wine too. He's really a great dude. Just does things his own way.


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## Wade E (Feb 22, 2009)

Bottle of sulfite with top off sitting inside the sealed bucket with corks poured all around the bottle. Its not the liquid taht does most of the sanitizing, its the fumes!


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## arcticsid (Feb 22, 2009)

mike, first of all good for you for checking on the old timers, we have alot of them hidden in the woods around here too!!!!!, Secondly, baking yeast, as I hope you have realized by now just doesn't have the alcohol tolerance as those that are made for wine. I don't remeber for specifically but baking yeast will die at around 5%, thats no fun. Some of the yeast you see in here will tolerate alcohol up to 15, even 18%!! Yikes. And the cost of the yeast is about the same. You can't question the knowledge of the old timers. There was a thread on here not long ago where an old timer was telling us about the way they made it in the old days. Obviously we have a little more control and knowledge, but the old timers advice should NEVER be discounted.

I don't use a traditional airlock. I use a tube, sterlized of course, that runs from the top of the secondary into a jug filled with a sulphite solution. I think Steve refered to this as a blow by or something like that. it is allowed to "burp" but no air can come back in. Old school but it works essentially the same as an airlock.
Troy


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## mjdtexan (Feb 22, 2009)

I wont be using bakers yeast. I did not know that about bakers yeast. How then does one explain that famous JAO mead then?


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## arcticsid (Feb 22, 2009)

Mike, it's hard to teach an old dog a new trick, but he might be interested in a new kind of bone.


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## arcticsid (Feb 22, 2009)

mjdtexan said:


> I wont be using bakers yeast. I did not know that about bakers yeast. How then does one explain that famous JAO mead then?



What is a JAO mead?


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## Wade E (Feb 22, 2009)

This is a recipe for a mead that uses Bakers yeast which by all means has a tolerance of more then 5%! It can go as high as 14% but usually dies off around 10-11%.


Joe M's Ancient Orange Mead recipe.
3 1/2 lbs Clover or your choice honey or blend (will finish sweet) 
1 Large orange (later cut in eights or smaller rind and all) 
1 small handful of raisins (25 if you count but more or less ok) 
1 stick of cinnamon 
1 whole clove (or 2 if you like - these are potent critters) 
optional (a pinch of nutmeg and allspice)(very small) 
1 teaspoon of Fleismanns bread yeast (now don't get holy on me--- after all this
is an ancient mead and that's all we had back then)
Balance water to one gallon
Methods/steps
This is one I have shared before but it may have got lost in the rebuild. It is so simple to make and you can make it without much equipment and with a multitude of variations. This could be a first Mead for the novice as it is almost fool proof. It is a bit unorthodox but it has never failed me or the friends I have shared it with. 
Process: 
Use a clean 1 gallon carboy 
Dissolve honey in some warm water and put in carboy 
Wash orange well to remove any pesticides and slice in eights --add orange (you can push em through opening big boy -- rinds included -- its ok for this mead -- take my word for it -- ignore the experts) 
Put in raisins, clove, cinnamon stick, any optional ingredients and fill to 3 inches from the top with cold water (need room for some foam -- you can top off with more water after the first few day frenzy) 
Shake the heck out of the jug with top on, of course. This is your sophisticated aeration process. 
When at room temperature in your kitchen. Put in 1 teaspoon of bread yeast. (No you don't have to rehydrate it first-- the ancients didn't even have that word in their vocabulary-- just put it in and give it a gentle swirl or not)(The yeast can fight for their own territory) 
Install water airlock. Put in dark place. It will start working immediately or in an hour. (Don't use grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away in the 90's)(Wait 3 hours before you panic or call me) After major foaming stops in a few days add some water and then keep your hands off of it. (Don't shake it! Don't mess with them yeastees! Let them alone except its okay to open your cabinet to smell every once in a while. 
Racking --- Don't you dare 
additional feeding --- NO NO 
More stirring or shaking -- Your not listening, don't touch 
After 2 months and maybe a few days it will slow down to a stop and clear all by itself. (How about that) (You are not so important after all) Then you can put a hose in with a small cloth filter on the end into the clear part and siphon off the golden nectar. If you wait long enough even the oranges will sink to the bottom but I never waited that long. If it is clear it is ready. You don't need a cold basement. It does better in a kitchen in the dark. (like in a cabinet) likes a little heat (70-80). 
If it didn't work out... you screwed up and didn't read my instructions (or used grandma's bread yeast she bought years before she passed away). If it didn't work out then take up another hobby. Mead is not for you. It is too complicated. 
If you were successful, which I am 99% certain you will be, then enjoy your mead. When you get ready to make a different mead you will probably have to unlearn some of these practices I have taught you, but hey--- This recipe and procedure works with these ingredients so don't knock it. It was your first mead. It was my tenth. Sometimes, even the experts can forget all they know and make a good ancient mead.


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## moose-1110 (Feb 24, 2009)

Some of those bottles from that winery are 3litre and some are 4litre (they probably are not a gallon). I use the 4L bottles for secondary fermentators for my small batch wines (like my first batch of dandilion I did this summer or for welch's grape juice wines). I will use the 3L bottles after the first or second transfer off of the lees so that I don't have to top off with water or another wine, or have to put marbles in the 4L.


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## mjdtexan (Feb 24, 2009)

moose-1110 said:


> Some of those bottles from that winery are 3litre and some are 4litre (they probably are not a gallon). I use the 4L bottles for secondary fermentators for my small batch wines (like my first batch of dandilion I did this summer or for welch's grape juice wines). I will use the 3L bottles after the first or second transfer off of the lees so that I don't have to top off with water or another wine, or have to put marbles in the 4L.



Dang it, your gonna make me go look now.


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## Hershey (May 9, 2009)

*Around the bucket*

Yes, you put the open one gallon jug in the bottom of the five gallon bucket. This leaves plenty of empty space around it. Then you just pour in your corks around the glass jug. Place the original five gallon tub lid back in place, sealing it or at least keeping it securel down (in case sealing it is too difficult to get it back off). 

The corks remain dry, but the fumes permeate the cork over time. 

When you need some, take the bucket outside, remove your top (unless you are already in a well ventilated area) and then take out the number of corks you will need for your bottling!

Rotate and replace corks as necessary.


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## Hershey (May 9, 2009)

*Mead*

So did you try Joe's mead, or are you waiting on the clover this summer for an all natural go at it?

I tend to do the mostly natural side of things, buying from local growers when I can't go out and just get it for free from nature.


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## mjdtexan (May 9, 2009)

Hershey said:


> So did you try Joe's mead, or are you waiting on the clover this summer for an all natural go at it?
> 
> I tend to do the mostly natural side of things, buying from local growers when I can't go out and just get it for free from nature.



Yes I did. I looked beautiful. Tasted like crud. The clove overpowered the mead. My mom loved it. I am currently making a whole bunch of different fruit wines. I love those. Best to date was the hard apple cider.


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## Wade E (May 9, 2009)

I agree that the cloves over powered the mead but also must admit that I used wine yeast instead and hate it. Its about 1 1/2 years old now and maybe I should try a bottle again but after 3 months of being in the bottle it was nasty.


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## arcticsid (May 9, 2009)

A whole bunch of different ones at the same time, huh? Mike a couple months ago you didn't know what you were gonna do with all those bottles.
I think you may be hooked. LOL
Troy


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## mjdtexan (May 9, 2009)

arcticsid said:


> A whole bunch of different ones at the same time, huh? Mike a couple months ago you didn't know what you were gonna do with all those bottles.
> I think you may be hooked. LOL
> Troy



I done bought several different carboys, have about 200 empty 750ml wine bottles, need more corks, ans am fixin to get a wine filtration pump.


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