Have never used them before..
Capping Twist Top Bottles
Capping Twist Top Bottles
Will this be a problem or will the twist top long necks work OK with a bottle capper?
Have never used them before..
Have never used them before..
DJ
"No Excuses" - Kostya Tszyu
"No Excuses" - Kostya Tszyu
-
melbourne man
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Thursday Jun 01, 2006 11:42 am
- Location: Melbourne
I've stuck with the grolsch type swing top bottles for the moment (sheer novelty value!), but I've heard bad bad BAD things about those hand hammer cappers like you've described MelbourneMan.
You should throw that away and invest in a bench capper. I've heard things about those hammer cappers shattering glass bottles and almost blinding people.
Bench cappers run around $65, though check on eBay and such for slightly cheaper ones. $65 admitedly is a bit of an investment, especially for a starting brewer, but on the plus side, the bench cappers maintain their value pretty well and you can always resell later if you get sick of brewing, move onto swing top bottles, or get into kegging
You should throw that away and invest in a bench capper. I've heard things about those hammer cappers shattering glass bottles and almost blinding people.
Bench cappers run around $65, though check on eBay and such for slightly cheaper ones. $65 admitedly is a bit of an investment, especially for a starting brewer, but on the plus side, the bench cappers maintain their value pretty well and you can always resell later if you get sick of brewing, move onto swing top bottles, or get into kegging
-
melbourne man
- Posts: 195
- Joined: Thursday Jun 01, 2006 11:42 am
- Location: Melbourne
I scored 34 off eBay with my starter kit (person didn't put Grolsch bottles in the item title, got that and a fermenter, spoon, etc for $40ish).
I have a deal with my sister's fiance. He likes to drink speciality beers, so I get him to buy Grolsch swing top slabs of 20 (I chip in $20 for a slab too, one of which goes for $70 at Dan Murphys). But I figure, paying $1 a bottle isn't bad at all for those bottles, especially considering the resell value on them too.
So yeah, just keep your eye out for bargains, or see if you can convince your friends to start drinking it. There's a nice pilsner that comes in a 4 pack of 500ml swing top bottles ($13 a Dan Murphys if I do recall correctly) that you can also look into as well.
I have a deal with my sister's fiance. He likes to drink speciality beers, so I get him to buy Grolsch swing top slabs of 20 (I chip in $20 for a slab too, one of which goes for $70 at Dan Murphys). But I figure, paying $1 a bottle isn't bad at all for those bottles, especially considering the resell value on them too.
So yeah, just keep your eye out for bargains, or see if you can convince your friends to start drinking it. There's a nice pilsner that comes in a 4 pack of 500ml swing top bottles ($13 a Dan Murphys if I do recall correctly) that you can also look into as well.
Cat, the 500ml swingtops are probably Schwelmer Pils or Braunstein. Average german beers at best, but the empties are terrific for home brewing, as are the Grolsch (475ml approx).
Swingtops are the easiest capping bottles, IMHO.
Had probs with carbonating with my first two bottlings, due to my being new & also doughy. 4 grams of sugar per bottle is the secret. Either rejig the tallie part of a sugar measure, which typically seems to measure out about 6 grams, or use 4 gram single serve sachets of sugar. This latter way works out at about 4 cents a bottle, as opposed to a fraction of a cent per bottle if you adapt a tallie sugar measure. Otherwise, use the stubbie side of the measure for a slightly undercarbonated beer.
You can turn the lid seals inside out for a brand new seal, and I suspect you can repeat this procedure several times. New seals can be purchased over the net for a few cents each - reusable how many times? Won't know that answer for a few months at least.
Swingtops are the easiest capping bottles, IMHO.
Had probs with carbonating with my first two bottlings, due to my being new & also doughy. 4 grams of sugar per bottle is the secret. Either rejig the tallie part of a sugar measure, which typically seems to measure out about 6 grams, or use 4 gram single serve sachets of sugar. This latter way works out at about 4 cents a bottle, as opposed to a fraction of a cent per bottle if you adapt a tallie sugar measure. Otherwise, use the stubbie side of the measure for a slightly undercarbonated beer.
You can turn the lid seals inside out for a brand new seal, and I suspect you can repeat this procedure several times. New seals can be purchased over the net for a few cents each - reusable how many times? Won't know that answer for a few months at least.
Cheers,
Pacman
Pacman
Melbourne man,
I wouldn't even consider using a hammer type capper with screw tops, the glass used with these bottles is far too fragile. The hammer type is really only for the old crown seal bottles.
A bench capper would have to be THE first non-essential bit of gear everyone should get. They are so much better than any of the alternatives IMO.
- Krusty
I wouldn't even consider using a hammer type capper with screw tops, the glass used with these bottles is far too fragile. The hammer type is really only for the old crown seal bottles.
A bench capper would have to be THE first non-essential bit of gear everyone should get. They are so much better than any of the alternatives IMO.
- Krusty
This is Homebrew country, Piss On or Piss Off!
melbourne man, getting back to your question re capping twist top bottles.
You can reuse the oriniginal twist top caps. Have done it many times by using a stubbie twist opener (used to come with a keyring) and a bit of judicious torque to ensure a correct seal. This was 15 years or so ago during my first HB experience, and have only done a carton or two this (2nd) time around. Same principle should apply to tallie twist tops, although these bottles do appear to be made of thin glass.
Warning! Beware of twisting caps tight with your bare hands. Area between thumb and forefinger could finish up a bit on the raw side!
You can reuse the oriniginal twist top caps. Have done it many times by using a stubbie twist opener (used to come with a keyring) and a bit of judicious torque to ensure a correct seal. This was 15 years or so ago during my first HB experience, and have only done a carton or two this (2nd) time around. Same principle should apply to tallie twist tops, although these bottles do appear to be made of thin glass.
Warning! Beware of twisting caps tight with your bare hands. Area between thumb and forefinger could finish up a bit on the raw side!
Cheers,
Pacman
Pacman
Yep, as you say Pacman, a friend of mine has capped over 6 batches using the same caps! He just twists them on using the tool you describe. All I got are twist-tops but I do use a bench capper on them (new caps). Anyway, my .0002 cents worth.... 
"If you brew it they will come...."
"In search of the perfect wave - i mean beer..."
"In search of the perfect wave - i mean beer..."
DJ it will not be a problem. Twist tops cap just fine using a bench caper.DJ wrote:Will this be a problem or will the twist top long necks work OK with a bottle capper?
Have never used them before..
No you will break a lot of bottles, the bench caper is well worth the money.melbourne man wrote:What about with a hand capper the type you hit with a hammer, will they still work okay with one of these?
How much do bench cappers cost and are they really worth it?
-
nanna Gail
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Friday Feb 04, 2005 10:58 pm
- Location: Dandenong-ish
Hi there long time no post Yes, like Pacman I also re use the twist tops with special tool no.XXX During the time left sitting they develop quite a tight seal requiring the use of special tool no.XXX again to open. Never yet had a flat beer from seal leakage. Yes, I may be considered a tight arse but I am with good company PACMAN. Hey a little saved here and a little saved there makes for a little more to be spent elsewhere.
enjoy life
Hello nanna Gail,
Yes, reusing screwcap tops does save a few cents, but what appealed to me was the convenience, and with my space restrictions, the last thing I wanted was another tool using some of that valuable resource.
But what could be easier? Put cap in tool and screw on. And for me too, no flat beers. Only one thing could be easier IMO.
Am moving away from screwtops. Gradually converted to swingtops - even easier. Couple of possible issues, but I will deal with those if and when they occur.
Also, I am a bit of an eco nut and prefer to recycle if practical. Hence my using screwtops before venturing to swingtops.
In this vein, I live in an area that is experiencing a severe water shortage, so am looking at ways to reduce my HB water usage. Am experimenting with no rinse sanitiser by doing the bottles and pouring sanitiser from them into a clean bin. After bottling, I clean fermenter and then transfer sanitiser from bin. Then empty, drain & put down next brew.
On the other hand, my 19 year old son has not yet developed any plans, and uses water as though Niagara Falls was just up the road! I was probably the same when I was 19.
Yes, reusing screwcap tops does save a few cents, but what appealed to me was the convenience, and with my space restrictions, the last thing I wanted was another tool using some of that valuable resource.
But what could be easier? Put cap in tool and screw on. And for me too, no flat beers. Only one thing could be easier IMO.
Am moving away from screwtops. Gradually converted to swingtops - even easier. Couple of possible issues, but I will deal with those if and when they occur.
Also, I am a bit of an eco nut and prefer to recycle if practical. Hence my using screwtops before venturing to swingtops.
In this vein, I live in an area that is experiencing a severe water shortage, so am looking at ways to reduce my HB water usage. Am experimenting with no rinse sanitiser by doing the bottles and pouring sanitiser from them into a clean bin. After bottling, I clean fermenter and then transfer sanitiser from bin. Then empty, drain & put down next brew.
On the other hand, my 19 year old son has not yet developed any plans, and uses water as though Niagara Falls was just up the road! I was probably the same when I was 19.
Cheers,
Pacman
Pacman
Oliver it's about time you moved on up to kegs and forget that reoccurring bottling nightmareOliver wrote:I've bottled more than 1700 bottles of homebrew with a bench capper and have never had a breakage. I hate to think what the toll would have been if I'd been using another type of capper.
Cheers,
Oliver
-
Oliver
- Administrator
- Posts: 3424
- Joined: Thursday Jul 22, 2004 1:22 am
- Location: West Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
I know, I knowShaun wrote:Oliver it's about time you moved on up to kegs and forget that reoccurring bottling nightmareOliver wrote:I've bottled more than 1700 bottles of homebrew with a bench capper and have never had a breakage. I hate to think what the toll would have been if I'd been using another type of capper.
Cheers,
Oliver
It's a question of space and time though. 'Er indoors thinks there are many more important things in life than beer. I've been trying to convince her otherwise for eight long years, but she still hasn't come around to my way of thinking.Cheers,
Oliver