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Texron · 11-10-2009, 06:03 PM

Hey HalfPint-I sent you a PM with my phone number.

And Delfalco's is also my store of choice. Scott Birdwell's got a great bunch guys working for him.

jcobbs · 11-10-2009, 06:32 PM

I have one of the little red plastic hand corkers and it's not too bad if you're only doing a few. A dozen or so at a time won't kill you if you're reasonably healthy. I'm an out-of-shape keyboard jockey and I can push 'em in without a lot of trouble. Stick with #7 or #8 corks, though; if you want to use anything larger better go with a benchtop or floor corker.

ajwillys · 11-10-2009, 06:37 PM

How about an alternative to corking? I bottled some of my special beers in 750ml green champagne bottles that could use regular bottle caps. I then capped that with shrink wrap foil. It ended up looking really nice without the hassle of corks. Just a thought.

Texron · 11-10-2009, 08:19 PM

Hello AJ-do you have a source for those bottles?

ajwillys · 11-10-2009, 08:32 PM

I got them at my LHBS. I double checked while I was there to make sure they could handle a bottle cap. They look very similar to these:

http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?cPath=178_356_290&products_id=132 7

I would call Austin Homebrew and make sure those bottles can handle a cap before buying though. Forrest (the owner) is all over these boards so you may be able to ask him on here.

**jezter6** · 11-10-2009, 08:39 PM

Some of the corkers are also cappers, which - if you're using a wing capper - would be of great benefit.

Well worth the money in my opinion.

Texron · 11-10-2009, 09:18 PM

A bottle that would handle the pressure involved for carbonating, a cork, and a bottle cap would be great for aging something like a big barley wine, Samiclaus clone, etc. And being a 750 ML bottle would be a great size for Christmas presents, etc.

**MrMeans** · 07-01-2010, 10:58 PM

from what I have learned so far from my trials trying to cork wine bottles by hand is DO NOT use a tapered cork. You will not get a good enough seal to bottle condition. Also if you are going to do this by hand or with your own home made gadget like I later did you dont really want to do a lot.

I ended up using a 5" long peice of 1/2" dowell rod fitted to an 18" peice of 2x4 with a 1/2" hole drilled halfway into to to accomodate the dowell. It worked, kinda. Next time I do this though I think I will just wait until I can buy a wine corker. There will be a lot less work involved and fewer four letter words coming from my kitchen while I cork.

TipsyGirl · 07-20-2010, 07:49 PM

I tap regular corks in using a rubber mallet. Seems to work. Sometimes they break, but no big loss.

bja · 07-21-2010, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TipsyGirl

I tap regular corks in using a rubber mallet. Seems to work. Sometimes they break, but no big loss.

Seems to me that if I broke a full bottle of wine, it would be a big loss.