GeorgiaTiger

Recipes 

I know im bombarding the forum with quetions, but Im like a sponge and learn byy asking - My SIL works as a bartender and has access to ALL of the used and discarded bottles that she can carry out. Will these work for bottling? How would I go about cleaning them if so?

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Allen
"Im an airlock sniffer...I sniff airlocks"
Primary 1: Empty
Primary 2 (LBK): Empty
On Deck - IPA of some sort
Bottled - Irish Red Ale
Wicked Gnome HomeBrewing

Yooper

Recipes 

You want the "pry off" bottles, and not the screw top bottles. Sam Adams bottles are great, as are a few others. Brown bottles are preferred, unless you can keep them in the dark all of the time.

They are easy to clean- a soak overnight in oxyclean, and then remove the labels if you want. A bottle brush can work inside to get all of the residue off, and then a clean water rinse and that's it!

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Broken Leg Brewery
Giving beer a leg to stand on since 2006

GeorgiaTiger

Recipes 

OK, Ill let her know to get the pry off bottles and no screw tops.

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Allen
"Im an airlock sniffer...I sniff airlocks"
Primary 1: Empty
Primary 2 (LBK): Empty
On Deck - IPA of some sort
Bottled - Irish Red Ale
Wicked Gnome HomeBrewing

unionrdr

Recipes 

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Everything works if ya let it-Roady(meatloaf)

duboman

Recipes 

If you are somewhat anal like I am then you can have them save all the same bottles of what they go through the most and as Yooper pointed out, brown and pry off only. I find that when all bottles are identical it makes bottling super easy, especially if you use a bench capper as you do not need to re-adjust the height of the capper.

+1 to soaking in OXY, using a bottle brush and easy removal of the labels.

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Nothing Left to do but smile and drink beer.....

The Commune Brewing Company-Perfecting the "art" of beer since 2010

menerdari

Recipes 

A jet type bottle washer is real handy, this is the one I use,

rklinck

Recipes 

I found that Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and Fat Tire bottles are really nice. I soaked them in PBW mixture overnight, and the labels had come off on their own. I did did not have to do any scrubbing, just rubbed the minimal remaining residue off with my thumb as I rinsed the bottles.

Revvy

Recipes 

And don't neglect the champagne/sparkling wine bottles either, most of cap with a standard bottle cap/capper, or with the 29mm eurocap and a replacement bell. You'll find those are invaluable if you get into brewing Belgian beers, and carbonated ciders. Or just putting your regular beer in them as gifts.

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Like my snazzy new avatar? Get Sons of Zymurgy swag, here, and brew with the best.

Revvy's one of the cool reverends. He has a Harley and a t-shirt that says on the back "If you can read this, the bitch was Raptured. - Madman

I gotta tell ya, just between us girls, that Revvy is HOT. Very tall, gorgeous grey hair and a terrific smile. He's very good looking in person, with a charismatic personality... he drives like a ****ing maniac! - YooperBrew

DrunkleJon

Recipes 

Be sure to sanitize on bottling day. Soak in Starsan/Idophor or run through the sanatize cycle on your dishwasher (no rinse aid like jetdry for head retention). Then bottle and cap and store for carbonation/conditioning. Then enjoy.

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On Deck: Black Lager (im stalling on this one for some reason), Octoberfest/Marzen
Fermenting:Apfelwein
Kegged: Breakfast Stout, Cream Ale, Apfelwein, Pale Ale
Bottled: American Amber/Red Ale

rklinck

Recipes 

Revvy -- my wife drinks champagne so we have bottles around frequently. Will I be able to cap them with my handheld bottle capper or will I need a bench capper?