Through opening air knife for high speed reusable beverage container washing system

An apparatus for washing a beverage container, comprising:

• first and second concentric housing members, each of the first and second concentric housing members including an opening, and one of the first and second concentric housing members being disposed inwardly from the other of the first and second concentric housing members and defining at least a portion of a wash chamber, wherein the first concentric housing member is rotatable about an axis of rotation between first and second positions, wherein when in the first position, the opening of the first concentric housing member is aligned with the opening of the second concentric housing member to provide external access to the wash chamber, and wherein when in the second position, the opening of the first concentric housing member is unaligned with the opening of the second concentric housing member to restrict external access to the wash chamber;
• and
• an air knife positioned to direct air flow through the opening of the one of the first and second concentric housing members that is disposed inwardly from the other of the first and second concentric housing members and into the wash chamber when the first concentric housing member is disposed in the second position.