Geenz Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Hi, this is my first brew. Is it ok to use stubbies I have been saving, for bottling. ? I know bottling will be fiddly with small bottles, but will they be safe and not explode? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 As long as you make sure fermentation is complete and don't over prime the bottles you'll be fine. I used stubbies for years until I moved into kegs. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDT2 Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 10 hours ago, Geenz said: Hi, this is my first brew. Is it ok to use stubbies I have been saving, for bottling. ? I know bottling will be fiddly with small bottles, but will they be safe and not explode? Cheers Just be careful with the screw top bottles they are not as strong as crown seals I use a bench capper for my screw top bottles with no problems there is the other two handled capper which I have been told can break the bottles when they are screwtops. Just wanted to pass that on for safety 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 10 hours ago, Geenz said: Hi, this is my first brew. Is it ok to use stubbies I have been saving, for bottling. ? I know bottling will be fiddly with small bottles, but will they be safe and not explode? Hi Geenz and welcome to the Festival of Brewing Mate I agree with all of the above: 1. Make sure to ferment out the Primary Fermentation i.e. the first go in the vat with the yeast bubbling away. 2. Only add the required secondary ferment - is easy to use Coops Fermentation Drops - in the bag - they are the right amount - if you have done the primary ferment properly... one for 375 and two for 750 ml bottles. 3. Be careful with screwtops - thing glass - even thinner on the thread. Quite a few people do use them though. 4. I strongly encourage the use of Coopers Largies… they are approx. 500g and the biggest toughest best glass bottles available in Australia. Miles ahead of anything else I have found unless you have access to old XXXX Crown Cork Largies from history or any of the old bottles like NSW Bottle Company stuff from ages ago. All the commercial modern stuff with screwtops can be used but I wouldn't start with them meself. Wait till Coops Largies are on spesh and grab a few cartons... enjoy that beer... and wash out three times with hot water drain and dry for future use... I also use old clean washed caps to re-cap once the bottles are dry to keep any beasts/gunk/unwated stuff out of the bottles and box them up safely. And otherwise... the plazzies (Coops Plastic Screwtop Bottles) though not ideal might be not a bad way for starting out till you get the swing of things? And talking of swing-of-things.... if you buy beer from Aldi like Flensburger with a swing top - make sure you clean them out per the above procedure - and they can be used again and again quite well also… Good luck with the brewing Geenz. BB 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 13 hours ago, Geenz said: Hi, this is my first brew. Is it ok to use stubbies I have been saving, for bottling. ? I know bottling will be fiddly with small bottles, but will they be safe and not explode? Cheers Hi Geenz, Welcome to the Forum I second all of the comments above. The most important thing is that primary fermentation is complete. A stable Specific Gravity reading over at least two days is your best indicator that it is finished. I use a mixture of bottles: Stubbies, Grolsch Flip-tops and Tallies. Other than Coopers stubbies, all of the other stubbies I use are non-screw tops. I also weigh them. Most of the stubbies I use are over 200g. Some of the commercial screw tops are 170-180g and I think are good for recycling. Coopers Carbonation Drops are handy too. Just the right size for one drop into each stubbie. Best of luck with the brew. Let us know how it goes. Cheers Shamus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 9, 2019 Share Posted June 9, 2019 I don't like those two handled cappers on any bottles. Bench capper all the way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geenz Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 11 hours ago, Shamus O'Sean said: Hi Geenz, Welcome to the Forum I second all of the comments above. The most important thing is that primary fermentation is complete. A stable Specific Gravity reading over at least two days is your best indicator that it is finished. I use a mixture of bottles: Stubbies, Grolsch Flip-tops and Tallies. Other than Coopers stubbies, all of the other stubbies I use are non-screw tops. I also weigh them. Most of the stubbies I use are over 200g. Some of the commercial screw tops are 170-180g and I think are good for recycling. Coopers Carbonation Drops are handy too. Just the right size for one drop into each stubbie. Best of luck with the brew. Let us know how it goes. Cheers Shamus Thanks Shamus, great idea to recycle the lighter stubbies. I'm doing a mixture too, as I have some big heavy coopers bottles from a bygone era. They look like 1l. (?) I hope two drops in each was enough for those. Living and learning Geenz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geenz Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said: I don't like those two handled cappers on any bottles. Bench capper all the way. I have the benchtop, phwew! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geenz Posted June 9, 2019 Author Share Posted June 9, 2019 14 hours ago, Bearded Burbler said: Hi Geenz and welcome to the Festival of Brewing Mate I agree with all of the above: 4. I strongly encourage the use of Coopers Largies… they are approx. 500g and the biggest toughest best glass bottles available in Australia. Miles ahead of Thanks BB, but a largie is sometimes more than I want to consume believe it or not... hence my foray into stubbies! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hermoor Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 I bottle a few into stubbies and have found Asahi have the heaviest bottles. I waited till they were on special and got a couple of cartons. Or you can go to your lhs and pick up some stubbies. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 39 minutes ago, Geenz said: Thanks BB, but a largie is sometimes more than I want to consume believe it or not... hence my foray into stubbies! Oh there you go - for sure Geenz - good idea - well I would just recommend chasing Crown Cork stubbies… and suggest staying away from the screw-tops and lighter glass bottles... I would go for the heavier glass stubbies with Crown Cork (non-screw top)…. aah just noticed Shamus OS has taken it to another level of excellence in weighing the stubbs… Gold. Agree very much with Shamus. And his other point - the swing tops... Aldi on and off sell Flensburger swingtop stubbies that go well and just need to be washed and re-used. And glad you got the bench-top capper ; ) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 2 minutes ago, Hermoor said: I bottle a few into stubbies and have found Asahi have the heaviest bottles. I waited till they were on special and got a couple of cartons. Or you can go to your lhs and pick up some stubbies. Funny I was thinking of mentioning Asahi stubbs but let it go - and Hermoor has come through with the goods As for your large old largies… just check out the volume by measuring against the stubbs… but I suspect they will be 750s and like two carb drops... Or some of the brewers only use 1 drop in a heavier brew that may prefer less carbonation (another story and well documented elsewhere on this site). If old Coopers bottles - they may be the pick-axe ones... ? And then really the only other suggestion for continuous improvement is temperature control 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Geenz said: I have the benchtop, phwew! Excellent. I used to use a drill press when I lived at the olds. Bloody easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 You could easily measure the volume by simply filling one with water once it's empty and tipping it into a measuring jug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzala Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Hermoor said: I bottle a few into stubbies and have found Asahi have the heaviest bottles. I waited till they were on special and got a couple of cartons. Or you can go to your lhs and pick up some stubbies. I found the same with Asahi - good heavy bottles. And their cartons (top opening) and 6pack holder thingys are good storage too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Another vote for asahi bottles. I have carbonated to 4.0 volume in these and they dont miss a beat. I still use tooheys new longnecks for stouts and the odd normally carbonated batch that i dont keg. Wouldn't think of going to 4.0 volume for those though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlos_1984 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 @Geenz I'd also suggest Cooper's long necks. If you're in SA, u can buy 6 long necks of Cooper's Pale for $25 from certain Sip N Save bottleshops. That's how I built up my stock as the PET arent the best. I've also built up stock of various branded crown seal stubbies and I've never had any bottle bombs using carbonation drops. A lot of my stubbies are originally from local craft breweries like big shed, mismatch, prancing pony etc and they've been reused multiple times. Have also reused James Squire, John Boston, Stone and Wood and a few other random stubbies and no issues. Bench cap all the way. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Jones Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 9 hours ago, Otto Von Blotto said: I don't like those two handled cappers on any bottles. Bench capper all the way. I agree. Big W sell a good Bench Capper for $55. I've been using one for about 12 Months now. Screwed it to the bench to keep it steady. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 23 hours ago, RDT2 said: Just be careful with the screw top bottles they are not as strong as crown seals I use a bench capper for my screw top bottles with no problems there is the other two handled capper which I have been told can break the bottles when they are screwtops. Just wanted to pass that on for safety It's actually quite easy to snap the neck of a bottle with the two handed capper. Just a little bit of an angle and it snaps. The bench capper is the way to go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiekraut Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 8 hours ago, Geenz said: Thanks BB, but a largie is sometimes more than I want to consume believe it or not... hence my foray into stubbies! I hear you. To me, there are two types of beer: Drinking beer and enjoying beer. The former is what you have to quench your thirst when you come home from work or after an afternoon of working in the yard. These go into mainly stubbies. The latter is what you fill into tallies. They're the ones you have when you sit back on the lounge and relax 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Jones Posted June 25, 2019 Share Posted June 25, 2019 Asahi beer is now brewed in Australia instead of China. The bottles although still brown are now single use and are a lot lighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzza Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 22 hours ago, Pickles Jones said: Asahi beer is now brewed in Australia instead of China. The bottles although still brown are now single use and are a lot lighter. Cheers Pickles... Asahi stubbies certainly used to be good thick glass. Sounds like they have joined the joke-glass standard from your report. No biggie... but was pretty sure Asahi is from Nippon... you made me check ; ) and I found out something else very interesting... (if you believe Wikipedia) Asahi was founded in Osaka in 1889 as the Osaka Beer Company (大阪麦酒会社 Ōsaka Bakushu Kaisha). During the First World War German prisoners worked in the brewery... Suspect the German brewers sent them off in the right direction! This also made me remind myself about the big Chinese brand Tsing-tao - a german mate had reckoned it also had german beer making influences a while ago...a quick beer history check and seems like there was some truth to it... as well as British influence... and a bit of local influence with rice from China? Tsingtao is a world famous beer brand. It was founded in Qingdao city by German and British settlers in 1903. Tsingtao beer is made from four ingredients — fine hops, barley, rice and clean Laoshan mineral water. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Instigator Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Asahi Black is still imported from Japan (checked today). You can definitely feel the weight in the bottle compared to others. Shame the beer isn't that good - I had a couple at a Japanese restaurant a couple of weeks ago. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted June 26, 2019 Share Posted June 26, 2019 Single use is only on them to stop them being sent back to the brewery they came from and reused like they were back in the day. Doesn't mean they can't be reused at all, as plenty of home brewers have proven, myself included. I suspect the lightweight thin glass thing came about due to the cessation of breweries reusing bottles, rather than the other way around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porschemad911 Posted June 27, 2019 Share Posted June 27, 2019 On 6/10/2019 at 6:23 PM, Aussiekraut said: I hear you. To me, there are two types of beer: Drinking beer and enjoying beer. The former is what you have to quench your thirst when you come home from work or after an afternoon of working in the yard. These go into mainly stubbies. The latter is what you fill into tallies. They're the ones you have when you sit back on the lounge and relax Oh haha I do things the other way round. Drinking beer goes on tap or into bigger bottles and enjoying beer (usually higher abv and a bigger flavour punch) goes into smaller bottles. Cheers, John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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