Capping twist off top bottles?

I'm a bus boy working for my dad at his bar and the only perk of the job is i get all my bottles free. After only two nights of work have 6 cases of empty bottles. My question is can i cap the twist off bottles? It seems the most popular beers (bud light, coors light, etc..) are twist off tops. i tried capping one earlier today and it seemed fine i just don't know for sure...?

The rims tend to be thinner so using a wing capper you may crush a few. A bench capper may work better but you can still crush them. Some people have success with capping twist offs and others don't.

I personally don't use them.

If you can get twist off bottles get a bench capper and cap away

Screw top don't seal very well...they are just not made for recaping...keep grabing those pry-off bottles...working at a bar you should have plenty in no time.

One man's opinion.

I have a bench capper and still don't use the twist off's, the mouth of the bottle is too think for me to be comfortable with it. I'd hate to bottle a beer, then crush that bottle when I cap it and waste some of my precious beer because there's glass in it. Just my $.02.

why not just be a little more careful on which bottles you take home?
Sam Adams and Bass bottles work great.
Maybe not as many but how many do you need????????

Maybe Canadian twist-offs are different, but I used to use them all the time with a hand capper. Bottled probably 30 or 40 cases worth reusing the same bottles over and over and never had any issues.

I even had one case that I added too much priming sugar to. None exploded or lost seal, but as soon as you tried to open one the cap shot off like a rocket followed a split second later by a volcano of foam. My buddies called them "Guntr's eSploding Beers" and always had me bring a few to parties for fun.

I do believe that Canadian twist off bottes are thicker than the American bottles. Can't remember where I read this...probably here somewhere.

Hemsworth said:

I do believe that Canadian twist off bottes are thicker than the American bottles. Can't remember where I read this...probably here somewhere.

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Hemsworth I love your profile pic. Ex was and still is my Dad's beer and I remember those stubbies well. I have a 50 stubby somewhere in my boxed up collection waiting to be displayed when I get around to building my bar.

Thanks Guntr. Your dad has good taste! Ex is still my goto beer when I've got some serious bulk drinking ahead of me.

I've never been able to get satisfactory seals with twist off bottles. Also, beware of European standard bottles, they do have a slightly different size opening. You can compensate with most cappers but there's a process involved.

Over the years, I've simply stuck with bottles from American craft and micro-brewers. Save those Sam Adams bottles to start with - they are always plentiful.

My recommendation is to put the rest into the recycle container.

Hemsworth said:

I do believe that Canadian twist off bottes are thicker than the American bottles. Can't remember where I read this...probably here somewhere.

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I noticed this not too long ago, the screw caps on rolling rock were different then our canadian beers, now I dont know if rolling rock bottles are the same style twist off as american beers though

chefd60 said:

why not just be a little more careful on which bottles you take home?
Sam Adams and Bass bottles work great.
Maybe not as many but how many do you need????????

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We don't sell Sam Adams anymore. Just wasn't selling and costs were too high. Anyways we do sell Coors, Coors Light, Bud, Bud Light, Corona, Corona Lime, MGD, MGD 64, Miller Lite, Miller High Life, Stone, Dos XX, Sierra Nevada, Heineken, Heineken Light, Stella, O'duls, and Micholob Ultra.

Of these anyone know the better bottles to keep?
And also it's not that i Need so many its just that i don't want to pay for bottles when i throw countless in the trash each night that i could be taking. The two nights i worked i took home 4 cases each night but i sort through them and only take the good ones.

Appreciate all the input!

I have broken a couple bottle tops off "pry-off" bottles while uncapping. I would be really nervous about the "twist-offs"...
I raided the recyling bins at my apartment building. Don't worry about feeling like a bum. Once you scrub them out and sanitize, they are as good as new.

IceFisherChris said:

I have broken a couple bottle tops off "pry-off" bottles while uncapping. I would be really nervous about the "twist-offs"...
I raided the recyling bins at my apartment building. Don't worry about feeling like a bum. Once you scrub them out and sanitize, they are as good as new.

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haha oh i don't feel like a bum at all. My LHBS charges 20 dollars for a case of 24 bottles so I have no problem saving 40 dollars by grabbing used ones. I'm just worried about using them if they have any negative effects on the outcome of my beer..

One of the best homebrewers I know (also a National-level BJCP judge) did some tests with different types of bottles. He swears that twist-off bottles are superior to pry-off (classic crown cap) bottles because they provide a much better seal, and they do a better job at preventing oxygen from seeping into the bottle. He pointed out to me that the crown on twist-offs (Canadian ones, anyways) are much flatter than pry-offs, so there is more surface area in contact with the cap. He only bottles beers that he wants to age for a long time in twist-offs.

Zach - of all those listed, I would let everything but Stone and Sierra Nevada go into the dumpster if I was desperate for bottles. And because I have plenty, I don't use SN bottles, because of their dimensions (they don't fit right into standard case boxes.

Corona, Corona Lime: Untinted - no light protection.

Heineken, Heineken Light, Stella, Dos XX - green bottles (poor light filtering) and/or European size standard (see my first post).

Coors, Coors Light, Bud, Bud Light, MGD, MGD 64, Miller Lite, Miller High Life, O'Douls, Michelob Ultra - probably all twist off.

FlyGuy - I've heard many people say that twist offs are fine with a bench capper - but a new brewer is unlikely to have one. When I've used a butterfly capper, I just don't get a good seal. In fact, I can pull the caps off with my bare hands. While an experienced brewer with top notch equipment can probably use twist offs with no problem, I would not advise a new brewer to start with them. It seems like it is setting him up for disappointment and frustration.

Edit - I never buy empty bottles - here in Philly, I can get a case of Yards, any style, for $29, and they have the easiest labels I've ever seen to remove. So if the bottles are worth $20, its like getting a case of great beer for $9.

Some quick advice from experience: If you go with twist offs, get rid of your non-twist offs if they look similar. I had a few in my collection that would get mixed in and nothing is worse when you're half in the bag than forgetting and wrestling to get one open.

I have a Mississippi Mud one quart bottle that I would like to fill that has screw cap. The cap has to turn one and a half turns to seat and I thought I might use a wire like on some wine bottles to make sure the cap doesn't blow off. Am I being anal about this or do you think the used cap will hold?

SteveM said:

FlyGuy - I've heard many people say that twist offs are fine with a bench capper - but a new brewer is unlikely to have one. When I've used a butterfly capper, I just don't get a good seal. In fact, I can pull the caps off with my bare hands. While an experienced brewer with top notch equipment can probably use twist offs with no problem, I would not advise a new brewer to start with them. It seems like it is setting him up for disappointment and frustration.

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Agreed -- I should have mentioned that a bench capper is required. I assumed people new this.

Hey I've done some experiments with twist off bottles and a bench capper and it seems like they are really easy to un-twist when crimped. I'm in Alberta so I'm using the Canadian brown standard long neck bottles which are supposed to be good.

Is this normal? They seem to seal good but they just seem easy to undo.

I bottled 4 batches in Canadian twist offs with a wing capper and had no problems at all. They do feel a little loose when they are still wet from the Starsan, but once that dries, they are on there just as good as anything. You do have to be careful, make sure everything is seated right, and you can hear which bottles are going to give you trouble, they sound like grinding sand right away when you start putting pressure on them.

They work just fine. I use them because I am a new brewer and don't have enough bottles to have a standard size yet and I am not ready to commit to buying a bunch of empties. Makes it easier to stack and store standard sized bottles. Plus you can't beat the price of 24 bottles filled with beer (cheaper than empty bottles).

I have a case of Miller Lite twist-offs that were all sealed with a red wing capper. Never a broken bottle, never a problem with holding pressure. If you want to test it out pop a brand new Miller Lite and immediately re-cap with a new crown cap. Put in the fridge and wait a week. It will still be carbonated just like the rest of them.

I put the cap on with the wing capper, after all are capped I hold a towel put it over the tops individually and twist clockwise to make sure the seal is seated. I think the towel step is unnecessary because I have yet to have a loose cap; but after spending brew time, fermentation time, and bottling time it is cheap insurance. The only issue I have is that the wing capper sometimes gets locked-up on the twist-offs (I am sure this will not be an issue as the capper gets broken in). If you have a bench capper you would be money.

In an ideal world I would have all Hoegaarden bottles or other standard bottles. But for now the BMC twist off will do.

I wanted to update this and add that the twist off bottles have been working great. I had noticed the caps were almost too easy to twist off before but they seem to grip better when they've been on the bottle for a while. Compared to wine bottles all of their original labels have been super easy to remove and it's nice to have them all the same size.

I also have 24 500ml plastic screw cap bottles from the LHBS and I kept a few clear miller bottles too. I use at least one plastic bottle for squeeze testing carbonation and one clear bottle to see what the beer looks just out of curiosity.

I had some people leave some bud light and bud lime bottles at the house and noticed the raised portion of the neck is low enough to get a wing capper on. I even capped an empty bottle and it appeared to seal well, though I didn't want to sacrfice a home brew to test. Also, those labels look like a ***** to remove since they are plastic and relatively waterproof.

Anyway, does anyone use bud light bottles with a wing capper.

I'm so confident that our Canadian twist off cap bottles are so good that I have entered some in competitions. Through the rigors of travel to the mainland, and the
jostling they must endure in the mail system ( oops, did I say mail system, I meant the courrier system, ooops did I say..... ) anyway, they all arived well even as far as Edmonton.
I have used them for over 25 years using a wing capper and lately a bench capper. All worked fine. Oh by the way I also have used Corrona bottles for 15 or so years... just keep them out of any light and they'll be fine.

boo boo said:

I have used them for over 25 years using a wing capper and lately a bench capper. All worked fine.

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That's good to hear because I've managed to get close to 200 of them now. We went camping to BC and they had drums people could put their empty bottles into. I would've been embarrassed if someone caught me but early one morning I went to the bins and managed to get about 30 dark bottles. "But I'm saving the environment!" I would've exclaimed if someone saw me.

I've been bottling since the bottles in Hemsworth's avatar were still on the go. It's only recently that the long neck standard bottles you guys on the mainland have been using, have been introduced here in Nfld.
Most all were bottled with a wing capper. Never ever had a hich using any of them.

I live in Canada and always use twist off bottles - I have a bench capper and havent broke one in 3 years - should be fine

Ichthy said:

Also, those labels look like a ***** to remove since they are plastic and relatively waterproof.

Anyway, does anyone use bud light bottles with a wing capper.

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They are a little bit more tricky than the Miller bottles to delabel. I have only had a few of them. I soak them in warm water long enough to warm up the glass / glue. Then I peel the label, and toss them in oxyclean with the rest of the bottles to loosen up the rest of the glue.

I think they have the same exact specs of a Miller bottle, the only way I can even see a difference is the logo by the base of the neck.