filling glass bottles with force carbed soda

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FlyingDutchman

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So this may seem like a pretty stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway...

I am looking at getting one of those carbonator caps that fit on standard 2 liter and similar plastic bottles. As a cheaper way of starting to force carbonate. However I would like to bottle in glass bottles since I have a ton of them. Is it possible to carb it up and transfer it without losing a bunch of carbonation?
 
FlyingDutchman said:
So this may seem like a pretty stupid question but I'm going to ask it anyway...

I am looking at getting one of those carbonator caps that fit on standard 2 liter and similar plastic bottles. As a cheaper way of starting to force carbonate. However I would like to bottle in glass bottles since I have a ton of them. Is it possible to carb it up and transfer it without losing a bunch of carbonation?
Click to expand...

You will loose some, but with that little bit of headspace I can't imagine it would be a problem. Thats pretty much how they fill bottles normally. I would just make sure that your bottles can handle whatever pressure you are putting into them. Soda is usually at a higher pressure than beer, so if you have thinner beer bottles I would be careful.
 
If you're transferring, you don't need to worry about how thin your bottles are.

To minimize carbonation loss keep everything as cold as possible. Just enough above freezing that it won't flash freeze when pressure is released. I've been there and that's fascinating, but doesn't make for a good beverage.

Also keep in mind that the larger your final container is and the smaller your headspace is, the more carbonation will stay in solution. CO2 has to come out of solution to pressurize the headspace to equilibrium.

Pour slowly along the sides of the bottle to minimize agitation and foaming and you'll do just fine.
 
I remember opening a bottle one time and watching it almost instantly cristalize [sp]. It was pretty cool. Then there was the one time my wife left a Coke can in the car overnight in January - before we moved to warmer climates. Came out the next morning and swept the ice off the carpet. Nothing soaked in at all...

So since exploding bottles are not an issue, could I use threaded glass bottles as well? That would probably about double my bottle collection and I may even have enough for a full 5 gallon batch!

Thanks for your help,
 
MrFoodScientist said:
If you're transferring, you don't need to worry about how thin your bottles are.

To minimize carbonation loss keep everything as cold as possible. Just enough above freezing that it won't flash freeze when pressure is released. I've been there and that's fascinating, but doesn't make for a good beverage.

Also keep in mind that the larger your final container is and the smaller your headspace is, the more carbonation will stay in solution. CO2 has to come out of solution to pressurize the headspace to equilibrium.

Pour slowly along the sides of the bottle to minimize agitation and foaming and you'll do just fine.
Click to expand...

Can you explain why exploding isn't a problem? If you carbonate the liquid using a carbonator or a keg to 30+ PSI (as high as 80 PSI for a carbonator) and put it into glass bottles designed for 12 PSI exploding is a risk. I would agree if you are only carbonating it to the same level as beer, but most soda isn't.. it's much higher.
 
EFaden said:
Can you explain why exploding isn't a problem? If you carbonate the liquid using a carbonator or a keg to 30+ PSI (as high as 80 PSI for a carbonator) and put it into glass bottles designed for 12 PSI exploding is a risk. I would agree if you are only carbonating it to the same level as beer, but most soda isn't.. it's much higher.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's my thought too. Of course the bottles will explode if they have a greater carbonation pressure than they can handle.
 
EFaden said:
Can you explain why exploding isn't a problem? If you carbonate the liquid using a carbonator or a keg to 30+ PSI (as high as 80 PSI for a carbonator) and put it into glass bottles designed for 12 PSI exploding is a risk. I would agree if you are only carbonating it to the same level as beer, but most soda isn't.. it's much higher.
Click to expand...

You forget that some of these bottles are designed to go through pasteurization tunnels. What do you think happens to that 12psi when it's heated to 160-180°F?

If you're worried about your soda blowing up beer bottles, buy a pack of Crush, Stewarts, IBC, or the like. I'm telling you right now, those bottles are thinner than some of the beer bottles I have. And they hold up fine. Though I do hate bottling in the Crush bottles, the mouth is so wide that I almost lose my BMBF Stopper in them and it doesn't get a good seal. And if you consider that it fits the same size crown cap, imagine how thin that is.

I may have misspoke when I said it doesn't matter how thin your bottles are, you certainly don't want to bottle in something that was designed just for decoration. But if it held a carbonated beverage, it's likely to hold a carbonated beverage again.
 
MrFoodScientist said:
You forget that some of these bottles are designed to go through pasteurization tunnels. What do you think happens to that 12psi when it's heated to 160-180°F?

If you're worried about your soda blowing up beer bottles, buy a pack of Crush, Stewarts, IBC, or the like. I'm telling you right now, those bottles are thinner than some of the beer bottles I have. And they hold up fine. Though I do hate bottling in the Crush bottles, the mouth is so wide that I almost lose my BMBF Stopper in them and it doesn't get a good seal. And if you consider that it fits the same size crown cap, imagine how thin that is.

I may have misspoke when I said it doesn't matter how thin your bottles are, you certainly don't want to bottle in something that was designed just for decoration. But if it held a carbonated beverage, it's likely to hold a carbonated beverage again.
Click to expand...

Personally I have had bottle bombs. I would be a little cautious with glass for soda. Thats just my $0.02.
 
I keep hearing that soda is much higher carbonation than beer...if it is, I can't tell the difference when I drink either one as far as carbonation goes. And if there is such a difference like 12psi vs 30psi, why not carb the soda at 12psi...the same as beer? I like the carbonation of beer it's just fine to me.
 
Because a soda carbed to 2-3 volumes will taste flat. It's just the way it is. A Heffeweisen would taste flat at 1.5 volumes too. Why? Style.

Room temp bottle conditioned beers typically sit at about 30 psi. Transferring an already carbonated soda, cold, at 30psi isn't a problem but I'd be concerned if they are allowed warm up. We're talking about 60-70 psi.
 
bobby_m said:
because a soda carbed to 2-3 volumes will taste flat. It's just the way it is. A heffeweisen would taste flat at 1.5 volumes too. Why? Style.

Room temp bottle conditioned beers typically sit at about 30 psi. Transferring an already carbonated soda, cold, at 30psi isn't a problem but i'd be concerned if they are allowed warm up. We're talking about 60-70 psi.
Click to expand...

+1...
 
Not sure if anyone is still on this thread, but was there ever a conclusion? I am looking to bottle a carbonated tea-based beverage in glass bottles - would you recommend using a cornelius keg and filling/capping the bottles individually with the soda? Do I run a risk of a bottle bomb or making a flat soda?
 
I've collected a fair share of small 473ml of Orangina glass bottles which I would like to carbonate with water so that I can store them in the fridge and then take them to work instead of taking a 2 litre jug.

I know the orangina bottles are thick and strong, but I also know the drink itself is slighty carbed not so much like actual soda pop, so will connecting a co2 tank to this glass be ok? Depending on the PSI? Any recommendations? thank you.
 

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