Cheap way to build up bottle collection for newbies like me!

Just got back from Costco where I discovered that they sell cases of 24 Kirkland brand Ales for <$20. About .80 a bottle out here.

The beer is not bad considering that it's Costco brand, they are crown cap bottles so I can save them for homebrewing, and the case they come in divides the 4 flavors by putting them in plain, unmarked, white 6 pack holders which I'll save to put my brew in when taking it over somewhere. I'll be able to write my beer's name on the 6 pack with brew date etc. and not have some other brewery's labels on it.

You could of course just drink your favorite craft brew, but I'd been sort of force drinking lots of beer to get empties which was expensive because I wasn't really taking time to enjoy the beer. Throwing a party today with lots of Costco beer will mean lots of empties for me!

The fastest way is to organize a beer party where everyone brings different styles of craft beer.

Another great way is to judge at large beer competitions. If you steward you will have access to all the label free bottles you can use.

If you live in a state that recycles you can get bottles for the cost of the deposits if you look around.

Craiglist, I got 200 or so for free. They looked clean but I cleaned them again.

Other than that, Kirkland ale sounds like a solid plan.

The cheapest way is to make friends with a bartender at your local craft beer bar, and ask them if you can pick up their empties before recycling day.

Dumpster dive behind a bar.

Have a party and have everyone bring craft brews.

or drink heavily........

Just post on facebook or mass text your friends/family.

"Dear friends. I am starting to brew my own beer. Please save all your beer bottles for me. In return I will share my delicious homebrew with you."

I got a couple hundred bottles in a couple weeks.

I have had some of the Kirkland's beers, they aren't bad. You get bottles and drinkable beer at the same time... seems like a decent idea to me.

beergolf said:

Dumpster dive behind a bar.

Have a party and have everyone bring craft brews.

or drink heavily........

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2 outta 3 isn't bad, I don't have many partys.

Echeck said:

The cheapest way is to make friends with a bartender at your local craft beer bar, and ask them if you can pick up their empties before recycling day.

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Yep, I was offered three cases of Grolsch bottles one night at a local tavern.

I emptied mosst of the bottles for my first batch (if ya can't empty 2 cases in 2 or 3 weeks ... come on pick a different hobby). But after that I had couple of cookouts and BOYCB (Bring Your Own Craft Brew) Parties and I'm set as far as bottles. Now I'm able to be really picky. I've weeded out the green ones and the lighter brown bottles. I've got them cleaned and laying in stackable laundry baskets that SWMBO found at walmart.

I knew I wanted to start brewing, so I did two things:

#1...I started saving all the pop-top brown beer bottles that I emptied, and
#2...I asked two of my children who live relatively close to do the same.

In no time at all, I had over three 24-bottle cases, and I was ready to brew and bottle!

glenn514

Kirkland brand beer is $28/case by us

D_Nyholm said:

Kirkland brand beer is $28/case by us

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Irrelevant, but the cheapest bottled beer I can get here is $40 bucks for a 24.

AAAAANNNNNDDDD, that's why I homebrew.

beergolf said:

Dumpster dive behind a bar.

Have a party and have everyone bring craft brews.

or drink heavily........

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I'll take door number 3 for heavy drinking, Alex.

I go the Costco route as well...I can get Rogue Dead Guy, Deschutes Mirror Pond for $24 case. Last one we got was the Sam Adams winter variety pack for the same price. $1/bottle filled is pretty good (considering the beer quality)! The only empty bottles I buy are 22 oz and 1L flip tops.

I put a wanted ad on Craigslist...I got 8 of the old heavy-duty bar cases full of bottles for $40

I was in costco yesterday and picked up a case of sam adams. SWMBO pointed out that I have 49 bottles conditioning and two more fermenters going and asked if I really needed to buy beer.

Yes, yes I do. I need the bottles.

Craigslist or there is a thread on here of people giving away bottles for free.

Total noob question: why do they need to be craft brews? is it to make sure it's not twist top bottles?

@ GallonJugs...

Ya, BMC almost always uses twist-off's, and they are don't work well for the home brewer. The smaller breweries more often use the pop-tops what we know and covet!

glenn514

rifraf said:

The beer is not bad considering that it's Costco brand,

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That's because it, like Trader Joe's beer is contract brewed by several microbreweries, most of it by Gordon Biersch. We have threads discussing it.

I emailed one of their brewers years ago and found out GB brews all their beers, even their contract ones according to the Reinheitsgebot.

GallonJugs said:

Total noob question: why do they need to be craft brews? is it to make sure it's not twist top bottles?

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Yes, and very few macro brews come in pop top these days. A notable exception is/was Bud American Ale.

My lhbs sells the for .34 cents. Beats collecting

I hate the labels on Kirkland bottles. They are hard to remove even with a soak in really hot water.

AgentHubcap said:

I was in costco yesterday and picked up a case of sam adams. SWMBO pointed out that I have 49 bottles conditioning and two more fermenters going and asked if I really needed to buy beer.

Yes, yes I do. I need the bottles.

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she is very bad at making a valid argument. There is no ready to drink beer contained anywhere in your inventory. I can't believe you only purchased one case.

I get to feeling nervous if I get below 3 full corney's.

Spring_Chicken said:

I hate the labels on Kirkland bottles. They are hard to remove even with a soak in really hot water.

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If they're still hard to remove after an overnight soak in oxyclean, steel wool is really good at getting all the gunk off.

gallonjugs said:

if they're still hard to remove after an overnight soak in oxyclean, steel wool is really good at getting all the gunk off.

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+1

I'm saving my Newcastle bottles right now while I wait for my beer to ferment. They are pop tops and the perfect size for the small fridge I have in my man cave. Only thing I need to work on are the labels though, anyone know an easy way to get them off?

Getting labels off is super simple with an overnight soak in Oxyclean Free. Usually They're completely clean after that

I love this forum, someone always answers quick. Thanks for the tip.

not sure if someone already said this but i go to a beer distributor and they sell me cases of used bottles for $2 a pop. sucks cleaning labels but it's cheap and you only have to do the labels once.

gmillerjr said:

I'm saving my Newcastle bottles right now while I wait for my beer to ferment. They are pop tops and the perfect size for the small fridge I have in my man cave. Only thing I need to work on are the labels though, anyone know an easy way to get them off?

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Aren't newcastle bottles clear? I thought clear bottles were taboo?

I have a few dozen Kirkland bottles in my inventory! I don't think it's a bad beer at all. Actually, I like a lot of the Kirkland branded stuff...

If you want lots of unmarked bottles (NO LABELS) that are perfect for your homebrew, go help out at a homebrew competition. Steward, judge, whatever. Competitions typically get 3 bottles per entry, and some can have hundreds of entries. Most people at the competition already have cases and cases of bottles at home, so the bottles that are left over after a competition are basically up for grabs.

That would blow, any particular reason why clear bottles would be taboo? I know that the brown ones don't let in as much light, which is why i plan on storing them in the basement. I'm new to this and have yet to bottle my first batch. if there's a reason i shouldn't use them please let me know. I mainly like them because they're exactly the right size for my mini-fridge in my cave. the regular size bottles don't fit.

Clear and green bottles let in more light that is all. I have green bottles and use them they work fine. If i had clear bottles I would use them too. Your fine just don't leave them sitting out in the sun.

Thanks guys, i figured that was the reason, just wasn't sure if there was something that was more like an etiquette thing. I have some brown ones i'm going to use for specialty beers that i let condition for longer periods. clear will be the drink right away ones.