Saving my beer bottles

**Rusty_Bucket** · 09-08-2005, 09:49 AM

Hey folks,
general bottling question..
can I recap beer bottles that are screw off type with a bench capper? Will it work?
My neighbor has hundreds of these laying around and I thought it would save some money =)
Thanks

**briankettering** · 09-08-2005, 11:57 AM

Yes and No.

Yes, you can cap screw top beer bottles. You have to be very careful because screw top bottles do not have the appropriate lip to hold the cap or the bulge at the top of the next to help hold the capper.

The top of the bottle is also thinner than regular beer bottles. You have a very real risk of shattering the bottle when capping. I speak from personal experience.

My answer would be No, it is not worth the risk.

Brian K

**Oskaar** · 09-08-2005, 11:58 AM

Here's a link to an earlier thread!

http://www.gotmead.com/smf/index.php...2.html#msg4812

Oskaar

**lostnbronx** · 09-08-2005, 01:32 PM

Has anyone ever heard of a screw-cap -- plastic, metal or otherwise -- that will fit screw top beer bottles? Seems to me this would be a hot seller if something like it were marketed to the homebrew crowd.

-David

**JoeM** · 09-08-2005, 05:10 PM

It cannot be done reliably. You will inevitably waste mead due to broken glass and improperly sealed bottles.

**lostnbronx** · 09-08-2005, 10:27 PM

Originally Posted by JoeM

It cannot be done reliably. You will inevitably waste mead due to broken glass and improperly sealed bottles.

Joe,

Have you found screw-caps that even fit these things? Does such a product exist? If someone made something that seated well and could be closed by hand, there wouldn't be any undue stress on the bottle tops at bottling time. The only caveat I can see is being careful with the priming process, since these bottles can't take as much pressure as some of the others.

-David

**Oskaar** · 09-09-2005, 01:33 AM

I'm pretty sure Joe is alluding to the fact that hand capping with twist tops, even if they are designed for twist top bottles cannot be done in a consistant manner with any equipment that is currently available. That is, the major breweries are using a "torque" ratcheting process that caps the twist top bottles with an exact torque setting for each bottle . Unless you are using a torque style capping mechanism, your efforts will be inconsistant at best.

Hope that helps,

Oskaar

**JoeM** · 09-09-2005, 01:41 AM

Exactly, its just just not something that the homebrewer can be set up to deal with properly. The amount of frustration you will go through trying to get this to work will be much greater than the frustration of trying to find some crown top bottles. They may not have the prettiest presentation, but when it comes to ease, reliability, durability, and cost effectiveness, crown top bottles cant be beat.

**briankettering** · 09-09-2005, 10:16 AM

The original question was asked due to the desire to save some money and re-use some existing empty bottles.

Instead of reusing the twist-off bottles for beer, recycle them. Take them down to your local recycler and then ask politely if you can carefully pick through their glass bin. You should be able to find cases full of appropriate beer bottles.

It works for me.

Brian K

**Oskaar** · 09-09-2005, 02:15 PM

There's a good idea!

Cheers,

Oskaar

**lostnbronx** · 09-09-2005, 02:57 PM

Indeed! That must be the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to get the bottles you need. I'm sure it would be a great place to collect all kinds of other bottles and jugs. Gallon fermenters would be available at the recyclers by the hundreds, I'm sure. Wine and champagne bottles too.

-David