Can you have too many bottles? I estimate to have 500 plus.

I'm wondering if it's time to stop saving bottles from commercial brewers? Here is the problem. I thinkit has become an addicition. My wife bought me a Sam Adams sampler today at the store. I hate to throw all those awesome bottles away.

Tough problem to have I suppose.

Throw them away? I don't think I'm old enough to remember throwing away glass bottles.

No bottle deposits in Virginia? No recycling?

I didn't mean throw them away in the literal sense. But not keep them myself.

I'm with you man. I want to start kegging and still don't want to dispose of my bottles. I do joke it is an addiction. I have cases and 12's packs of bottles. Well over 400 myself. I also save the six pack carrying cases....

You could sell some on Craigslist to a fellow homebrewer on the cheap.

"Can you have too many bottles? I estimate to have 500 plus."

Yes. 241 is too many. 240, on the other hand, is not. If you'd bothered to search, you'd have found this answer on many previous threads.

I say keep em that way you have plenty if any break, after TSHTF.

But, if you need room, I vote to offer them up on craigslist to fellow homebrewers. Why? Well, I went to the recycle center with the wife last week. As I started to toss an old pickle jar into the glass collection thing, it dawned on me...OH MY GOD, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF BEER BOTTLES RIGHT HERE.

I actually started grabbing some OUT of the recycle center's bin until I hear the wife very loudly behind me..."PUT THOSE BACK. HOW FREAKING EMBARRASSING."

I guess she thought the recycle dudes were going to get mad at us.

Yes dear.

If you were in my neck of the woods I would take some off of you.

Pilgarlic said:

"Can you have too many bottles? I estimate to have 500 plus."

Yes. 241 is too many. 240, on the other hand, is not. If you'd bothered to search, you'd have found this answer on many previous threads.

Click to expand...

My apologies for asking a question that has been asked before.

frailn said:

OH MY GOD, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF BEER BOTTLES RIGHT HERE.

I actually started grabbing some OUT of the recycle center's bin until I hear the wife very loudly behind me..."PUT THOSE BACK. HOW FREAKING EMBARRASSING."

I guess she thought the recycle dudes were going to get mad at us.
.

Click to expand...

that's what I do whenever I need them, I have grabbers so I dont have to get in the bin and get cut up. One of the guys that worked their told me to come after they closed up for the day and get all I wanted whenever I need them.

frailn said:

I say keep em that way you have plenty if any break, after TSHTF.

But, if you need room, I vote to offer them up on craigslist to fellow homebrewers. Why? Well, I went to the recycle center with the wife last week. As I started to toss an old pickle jar into the glass collection thing, it dawned on me...OH MY GOD, THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF BEER BOTTLES RIGHT HERE.

I actually started grabbing some OUT of the recycle center's bin until I hear the wife very loudly behind me..."PUT THOSE BACK. HOW FREAKING EMBARRASSING."

I guess she thought the recycle dudes were going to get mad at us.

Yes dear.

If you were in my neck of the woods I would take some off of you.

Click to expand...

This is how I get mine. Here is a little secret: Don't take your wife WITH you...

I just got into kegging.. so I'm looking to get rid of most of my bottles. I'm going to keep probably 4 cases worth.

nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............


this was from last weekends cleaning session... which is about 1/4 of my stock pile that is free (got 3 batches conditioning right now) and i'm always on the look out for more, because, i fear, i will run out i dont know if it's as much as an addiction as it is a fear of running out haha

(btw, 22ozers are on the counter, the cutting board and the drawer are all 12oz)

Ha! I had over 650 at one time. Finally got lazy & started kegging. Gave most my bottles away and now I have 21 kegs.

I just gave 2 cases away on craigslist. It felt good they were going to good hands and helping out a new brewer.

I bet I have 10 cases of empties right now, and about 10-12 cases with beer in them. This is after I gave 5 cases away! I started to segregate bottles with logos (Sam Adams, etc) and taller bottles. I plan on using them to bottle for the beer I will be taking to the beach this summer, and for beer I will be giving away. That way I won't worry about tossing them or getting them back.

I agree - it is an addiction. I just can't seem to toss a bottle anymore (unless it is screw top).

Give 'em away to a homebrewer that's just starting out. It's good karma. I started a thread a while ago to try and hook up bottle-givers and bottle-needers, I was able to clean out some space in my basement as a result.

snevey said:

You could sell some on Craigslist to a fellow homebrewer on the cheap.

Click to expand...

I think that is an awesome idea!

I have 1,400 bombers!!! Got them free!!! Sweet deal. They were going to be crushed - I rescued the last batch after 2 more skids were crushed.

They were practice bottles for a brewery bottling machine. All clean.

Guy said- Hey Rod - do you need any big beer bottles? I said - yea how many (thinking 1 or two cases) - the guy laughed and said he had a skid - still - I did not REALLY understand what "skid" meant until I got to the warehouse. We drove 25 miles at 15 mph over railroad tracks and country roads to get them home! All the while swaying back and forth and clinking all the way!!

Held together by cardboard and plastic and straps!! OH MY GOD!!!

Could you imagine if that pallet had toppled out of the back of your truck? It would have been "The Grolsch Disaster" all over again!

Grinder if you ever come to the better Columbus (OH) let me know and I'll take a case or six of those off your hands.

When I told my wife the question I posted to the board her response was: "I don't think I am going to like the answer."

I think what I have learned is this: If my wife will let me get a kegerator then I can donate some extra bottles to a new home brewer. I now have one more argument for the kegerator. Oh...and no I don't have too many bottles!

Yea - our Home brew club is reaping the benefits! The bird - I still wake up with nightmares of that drive.

We loaded it and within 1000 feet was an elevated railroad crossing OH MAN!!

Anybody who wants bottles and doesn't want to dumpster dive should volunteer at a local competition. We'll have about 850 empty bottles after ours next weekend and a bunch of the 600 from last year did not get taken. We also have dozens after every club meeting that nobody wants.

I had several hundred before but started downscaling my bottles when I switched to kegging. Basically when I drink a bottle now I recycled instead of keeping it.

So now a year or so later, I have less than a case of empties and only a few cases of homebrew left.

My question is how many are full and how many are empty? Might want to start filling them up!!

Was going through the same thing myself. Just started kegging. Have 12-15 cases of bottles. I will probably get rid of some, I am just trying to figure out how many to keep.

I've been kegging for a few years now, but I've still kept saving the glass. It's a good thing. My sister is getting married and asked me to make some soda and bottle it up as wedding favors. 300 bottles worth. Good thing I just happened to have that on hand.

https://cdn.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=41565&title=closetcase&cat=500

My closets are full, I'm real particular now, I only save bombers and 500mls.

Grinder12000 said:

I have 1,400 bombers!!! Got them free!!! Sweet deal. They were going to be crushed - I rescued the last batch after 2 more skids were crushed.

They were practice bottles for a brewery bottling machine. All clean.

Guy said- Hey Rod - do you need any big beer bottles? I said - yea how many (thinking 1 or two cases) - the guy laughed and said he had a skid - still - I did not REALLY understand what "skid" meant until I got to the warehouse. We drove 25 miles at 15 mph over railroad tracks and country roads to get them home! All the while swaying back and forth and clinking all the way!!

Held together by cardboard and plastic and straps!! OH MY GOD!!!

Click to expand...

omg... lol

that is awesome!

Wow - I wondering if I was the only one!

Started brewing last October and barely drank/saved enough commercial beer in time to bottle my first batch. Quickly realized I'd need an army of bottles moving forward, with a strong showing of 22ozers. By the time I was bottling my 3rd brew (a great IPA) I got great satisfaction by bulk-stripping, cleaning, drying and grouping/counting empty bottles - knowing that their future held many a great beer. (In fact, I've got a 3rd bucket-full of bottles soaking from my recent chiller discharge water right now)

Well, the busyness of life/job/holidays/moving/etc has prevented me from brewing any beer from December until this past weekend (Ninkasi IPA), but I haven't stopped collecting bottles! Probably 125x 12oz and 75x 22oz - a small collection compared to some, but in my downsizing-apartment-living-for-two world, it is major storage space with the rest of my beer stuff. And they are all empty!

At least my first apfelwein taste great and is ready to bottle!

had over 600 at one point, and it wasn't ever too much at the rate i was brewing. Allowed me to do brews that would sit in the bottle for 6+ months before drinking with out running out of bottles for other brews.



However, now that i have kegs, 600 is too many. Given almost all of them away, probably gonna cap it out at 100 total 12 ozers, and maybe a case or 2 of bombers.