BOTTLES !

[Polarian]

so i have made like 12 batches in my home brew life ... i'm sure most of you guys have done 100's by now hehehe ....

 

i have ALWAYS used the Cooper's plastic bottles , and they have been fantasticly easy to handle, clean and ofcourse so easy to cap omg !

 

but i am a Chef and each day i see dozens of glass beer bottles and others go into the bin.

 

I think i am ready to take on glass bottles like the pros ! and i'm gonna start collecting them.

 

Do you guys reccomend any type of bottle ? personally i love the shape of a crown lager bottle.

 

My big question is with alot of spirit pre-mix bottles such as Jack Daniels bottles they are screw tops ...

 

I wonder if i can simply just find a glass bottle that i can actually just screw a coopers black plastic cap onto , that would be very easy i think !

 

anyways any suggestions please ? , luckily i can even wash the bottles at work in the commercial dish washer and then sanitise them , so they should be super clean !

[PhilboBaggins]

I use the Coopers longnecks and whatever other nice heavy glass bottles I can find.

 

The Vale Ale/IPA ones are nice.

[Hairy]

Tell the restaurant you work for to get some decent craft beer on the menu; they generally come in nice sturdy bottles.

 

If you are using glass bottles then you need to get a capper. You won't be able to screw on the plastic caps.

 

And I hope the nasty stuff they put in the Crown Lager bottles doesn't leach into your home brew [biggrin]

[Nick]

Hi there P, Hairy is right, screw tops are for PETS only. Any stubby with a crown seal is suitable, i have mostly corona's as i can get them easily, but JS or little creatures stubbies are better as they are not clear glass. I will eventually get rid of the coronas as my stocks of other bottles increases.

 

If you work in a restaraunt you may well sell foreign beers. Heinekan, carlsberg, Asahi and becks all have crown seal tops and they are dark glass. i like the Carlsberg stubbies as they look real good too.

 

Crown lager stubbies are screw top, but they work OK. Go get a bench capper from big dub, because that way you can use any stubby, but beware, screwtop stubbies are designed for single use only and are probably made of thinner glass, so the potential for bottle bombs is higher.

 

In saying that, i often use them if i have no choice and besides lifes pretty boring without any risk[bandit]

[Hairy]

lifes pretty boring without any risk[bandit]

I think I might drink that Crown Lager after all [biggrin]

[Polarian]

yep .. have you guys heard of Grand Ridge Brewery .. they are an awesome brewery here in gippsland and all their bottles are darkend and strong...

 

their best beer is called ... Moonshine .. it's a super DARK ale and is 8.3 % lol and comes in at like 2.5 standard drinks a 330ml bottle lol

 

i reccomend everyone tries this beer hehehe

[Nick]

 

their best beer is called ... Moonshine .. it's a super DARK ale and is 8.3 % lol and comes in at like 2.5 standard drinks a 330ml bottle

Send me a 6 pack

[Polarian]

lol they also have a supershine ... which i have never tasted unfortunately which is a whopping 11 % apparently the strongest commercially available aussie made beer !

[guest1525228310]

lol they also have a supershine ... which i have never tasted unfortunately which is a whopping 11 % apparently the strongest commercially available aussie made beer !

 

Yeah we are well short of Brewdog's Sink the Bismarck which comes in at 41% ABV

[Nick]

 

Yeah we are well short of Brewdog's Sink the Bismarck which comes in at 41% ABV

is this achieved by icing?

[LordEoin]

Yes, it's freezejacked a few times.

Check

out for more info.

 

Regarding using Jack Daniels bottles. Don't. They're not designed to hold pressure.

 

I think Hairy's idea is great. Convince the restaurant that certain beers high quality beers (in conveniently sturdy bottles) would go perfectly with some of the stuff on the menu [wink]

[Otto Von Blotto]

I was under the impression that all stubbies embossed with "NO REFILL" were single use only whether they are pry off or twist off. Dad thinks it's on there more in that the bottles can't be sent back to the brewery they came from to be refilled (contamination/health issues etc.) rather than can't be re used at all (such as in homebrewing). He worked in packaging for a number of years. I have a few foreign ones that don't have this on them and they don't weigh any more empty than the Australian ones do, which I find interesting. I don't believe they're single use only, if they were they'd explode on the second use. I think they're just covering their arses when they say that. But that's just my opinion, don't take it as FACT [lol]

 

I've been using them for every batch and have never had a bottle bomb; some of these bottles are over 10 years old.

 

However, the only recommendation I would make is whatever bottles you choose to use, the brown ones are the best color for preventing light strike to your beer. And yeah, don't use bottles like JD bottles that aren't designed for holding gas pressure. (I wonder if I can use them to rinse my yeast though?[lol])

 

[AdamH1525226084]

Hey everyone.

I remember we were discussing this a few months back, but as I'm work I won't waste time looking for the old post [lol]

I weighed a LCPA 330 mL bottle and it weighed 15 grams heavier than another Aussie 330 mL beer bottle that had the "NOT FOR REFILL" embossed on it. Most 330 mL Aussie beers have the NOT FOR REFILL on them actually.

 

I bought a few boxes of empty 330 mL bottles from Grain & Grape and they all had "NOT FOR REFILL" on them - which I was very surprised at. I've re-used some and not had any issues. I've got that many bloody bottles now that I don't worry anyway.

 

Regarding plastic vs glass, has anyone noticed dark beers tasting better in glass compared with plastic? I have been waiting for my English Stout to mature since I bottled on 31st March 2012. Whenever I tried one out of the PETs I ended up tipping it, cos it tasted like I'd just bottled it. So I finally caved and cracked open one of the glass bottles I'd used (I bought a box of 12 750 mL grolsch style ones). And it tasted great.

I did a blind taste test with my mate, and he agreed that there was a significant taste difference between the two. He picked the one from the glass bottle as the better tasting.

 

My Porter also tasted better out of the glass bottles.

[Muddy Waters]

The average not for fill bottle have noticeably thinner glass and are of course lighter but work just fine if clean and you beer is fully fermented. I still prefer Coopers longnecks or Grolsch bottles though.

 

I am also a big fan of PET and don\u2019t believe that they impart anything different to the flavour of you beer unless you are drinking from the bottle. When you drink form a plastic bottle or can the smell of plastic or aluminium is perceived by our brains as part of the flavour and therefore will be perceived to taste different. When poured into a glass they will taste exactly the same whether from glass or PET....if they taste different there is another factor at work.

 

Dark beers and high gravity beers of course are best stored in glass bottles as they are best cellared for years rather than months. PETs are generally fine for beers you will drink within 2 years. Longer storage in PETs may result in a loss of carbonation.

 

[guest1525228310]

I have been waiting for my English Stout to mature since I bottled on 31st March 2012. Whenever I tried one out of the PETs I ended up tipping it, cos it tasted like I'd just bottled it. So I finally caved and cracked open one of the glass bottles I'd used (I bought a box of 12 750 mL grolsch style ones). And it tasted great.

I did a blind taste test with my mate, and he agreed that there was a significant taste difference between the two. He picked the one from the glass bottle as the better tasting.

 

My Porter also tasted better out of the glass bottles.

Life is too short to drink beer that comes out of plastic bottles.

Mind you when I saw the beer seller throwing them around at Yankee Stadium I thought there might be some merit in them.

 

[Otto Von Blotto]

I couldn't tell you whether any of my brews taste different out of plastic bottles because I've never used them. I use stubbies because it's more convenient for me when I get home from work to have one (not so convenient at bottling time) but I'm waiting on this 1 litre stein to arrive so I might have to bottle a few tallies each batch from now on so I can use it - or just pour three 330/345mL stubbies into it[lol]

[ArthurW2]

Hello all just thought id put my 2 cents in even as a newbie i have already used all different sized bottles pop and twist and plastic pets. They all do fine bottoling with my usual stuffing around takes between 1 and half and 2 hours clean up and set up included.

 

I remember seing a post from pb2 somewhere where he either suggested or said he uses this method. I read attach a food grade hose to tap and lay bottles out on ground and simply remove each hose from bottle at correct level and move onto next bottle without having to stop. This sounds good to maby do a dozen at a time and then cap them all instead of having to use a seperate stubbie with a little beer in it to top up the remainding space which is not filled upon removing sedement reducer from bottle?

 

Thoughts anyone Kelsey does this sound fine for you doing stubbies would you maby try it or recomend it?

[Otto Von Blotto]

I haven't used that method myself no. But I don't have the same bottling set up that the new FVs have. I just have a short length of plastic tubing that fits inside the tap and simply turn the tap off when I get to the desired fill level. I haven't really thought about doing it the other way with the hose but I wonder would it spill any while moving from bottle to bottle? It usually takes me an hour to bottle using my method. I prefer to fill and cap them ASAP rather than have them sitting there exposed to the air longer than necessary. I don't know whether this makes any difference regarding risk of wild yeasts infecting it or not - it's just the way I've always done it and works for me. [joyful]

[Nick]

I'm with Kelse. I sterilise 12 stubbies at a time and fill and cap. While i'm doing that i have another 12 stubbies in the sterilising bucket. This way i dont have a heap of sterile stubbies sitting around for ages waiting to be filled and i dont have filled stubbies waiting to be capped for long. This works for me and i'v never had a contaminated stubby

[IzacF]

I couldn't tell you whether any of my brews taste different out of plastic bottles because I've never used them. I use stubbies because it's more convenient for me when I get home from work to have one (not so convenient at bottling time) but I'm waiting on this 1 litre stein to arrive so I might have to bottle a few tallies each batch from now on so I can use it - or just pour three 330/345mL stubbies into it[lol]

well if ya got time for one...ya may as well have two...so do longnecks[biggrin]

[Polarian]

thanks for all the advice peoples !

 

i do wonder tho ....

 

i will be hunting down the best beer bottles " stella artois " seems very strong and there's something about the " corona " bottles that make them look like they are easy to cap but they are super clear bottles <: hehehe

 

I wonder about all the 750ml wine bottles that go in the bin at work ...

 

most of them are metal screw caps.... Think we can buy new metal screw caps from somewhere ? i'm gonna try a plastic cap on one tomorrow but i don't like my chances ...

[Muddy Waters]

Wine bottles aren't made to hold pressure...champagne is a different story but you'll need some sort of corking device for those bottles.

[Nick]

thanks for all the advice peoples !

 

i do wonder tho ....

 

i will be hunting down the best beer bottles " stella artois " seems very strong and there's something about the " corona " bottles that make them look like they are easy to cap but they are super clear bottles <: hehehe

 

I wonder about all the 750ml wine bottles that go in the bin at work ...

 

most of them are metal screw caps.... Think we can buy new metal screw caps from somewhere ? i'm gonna try a plastic cap on one tomorrow but i don't like my chances ...

Just use the corona bottles if they are plentiful. they work well, but remember to store them in boxes to avoid lightstrike. Gradually you can replace them as you collect the bottles you prefer.

 

Forget about about using wine bottles...why would you want to drink beer from a wine bottle? Wine is for sheilas, mincers and alco's anyway[lol]

[Hairy]

Wine bottles aren't made to hold pressure...champagne is a different story but you'll need some sort of corking device for those bottles.

You can cap champagne bottles but you will need to get a tirage bell for your capper. I assume you will need different caps too [unsure]

 

I remember seing a post from pb2 somewhere where he either suggested or said he uses this method. I read attach a food grade hose to tap and lay bottles out on ground and simply remove each hose from bottle at correct level and move onto next bottle without having to stop. This sounds good to maby do a dozen at a time and then cap them all instead of having to use a seperate stubbie with a little beer in it to top up the remainding space which is not filled upon removing sedement reducer from bottle?

Are you talking about doing this without a bottling wand on the end of the hose? If you are just using a hose only and moving it from bottle to bottle without stopping, then I think you will be cleaning up a mess.

 

Adding a bottling wand to the hose will work.

[IzacF]

Wine bottles aren't made to hold pressure...champagne is a different story but you'll need some sort of corking device for those bottles.

You can cap champagne bottles but you will need to get a tirage bell for your capper. I assume you will need different caps too [unsure]

 

I remember seing a post from pb2 somewhere where he either suggested or said he uses this method. I read attach a food grade hose to tap and lay bottles out on ground and simply remove each hose from bottle at correct level and move onto next bottle without having to stop. This sounds good to maby do a dozen at a time and then cap them all instead of having to use a seperate stubbie with a little beer in it to top up the remainding space which is not filled upon removing sedement reducer from bottle?

Are you talking about doing this without a bottling wand on the end of the hose? If you are just using a hose only and moving it from bottle to bottle without stopping, then I think you will be cleaning up a mess.

 

Adding a bottling wand to the hose will work.

i used to use a piece of surgical hose and go from bottle to bottle...it was a dirt floor shed though and to be honest ill stick with the bottle wands..waaaaaay less mess.