Carboy Test. Update: Solved.

[John Sand]

I recently purchased a glass carboy that is about 50 years old. I was in the basement of a defunct winery, and quite dirty. I used oxiclean, then vinegar, then PBW. It's lovely now, but still has some light haze on the inside bottom and one side. I don't know what else to clean it with. I think they are some kind of mineral deposit. I thought of baking it to sanitize, but I fear it will break. I plan to test it by brewing a half batch of extract in it. If that isn't contaminated, I'll put it in regular use. Any thoughts on this? I'm thinking an ESB, though I don't have any English extract. Maybe add a little biscuit?

[Brewbirds]

Testing as in to see if the "haze" will cause infection?

What about a soak in CLR/LimeAway and maybe a good scrub with a carboy brush.

FWIW I have stumbled upon a forum for people who hunt antique glass bottles and jugs and once they have cleaned the glass there is a haze/etching that they consider acceptable so it might be something that won't come off.

[John Sand]

Yes, test to see if it hurts the beer in any way.
Thanks BB. I've been reluctant to use anything harsh, like CLR or ammonia, even bleach. I know they all should rinse out, but I don't want even a trace in my beer.

[mashani]

Bleach as long as you rinse it 3 times and then let the thing DRY COMPLETELY before you re-sanatize and brew should be perfectly fine. I use bleach on occasion to "bomb" equipment like that and have not had issues.

Just make sure the carboy has no cracks. You do not want exploding carboys. They are no fun.

[John Sand]

Thanks Mash. With all of the washing and drying and handling, I'm sure it's very sound. I will put it in a milk crate for easier handling, or at least put a barrel hitch on it.

[Kealia]

Personally, I'd stay away from things like CLR and stick with PBW or bleach.
After cleaning and drying, I'd fill it partway with water and let it sit for a few days and then take a sip of the water to see if it tastes like it picked anything up. If not, I'd use it.

Good luck.

[John Sand]

Thank you all. I'll let you know.

[John Sand]

Okay, here's what I did: Not wanting to risk beer or wait a month for results, I just used sugar. I boiled a gallon of water, cooled and put it in the carboy. I let it sit overnight and tasted it. Just water. Then I added a cup of sugar and swirled it around. I figured that anything that eats wort would eat sugar too. Eight days later the water had no color, no foam, no odor. It tasted like sugar water. Thus, sugar was the solution. (Get it?)
This carboy is clean, and ready for it's true calling.

[jimjohson]

was it a 7% solution?

[John Sand]

LOL, wow, Sherlock Holmes reference? Cool!

[jimjohson]

[FedoraDave]

This was a fun thread, because of all the tangents. I especially like the Sherlock Holmes reference.

And I'm glad you feel secure with the carboy, John. I hope it gives you many batches of great beer.

Glass is non-reactive, so any cleaning solution, even bleach, should rinse clean. I agree that using a bleach solution (7% or otherwise) should be followed by triple-rinsing. As I mentioned in another thread, it's SOP (actually, it's the law) prior to disposing of used pesticide concentrate containers. If it's good enough for the EPA, it's good enough for me!

Brew strong, brother!

[John Sand]

Thanks Dave. Really, no matter what method I chose to sanitize, I wanted a test after. I think there were many good suggestions here too. Now I'm just glad to be able to use it with confidence. So, what's next? Hmm, split Belgian Dubbel/Pale? ESB? An IPA that I can dry hop in secondary?
So many beers, so little time!

[jimjohson]

Why not a Baker St IPA? Or 221B IPA