Re using bottle caps

I'm not trying to be cheap here, but my LHBS still hasn't sent out my order, so I am short new bottle caps for my pumpkin ale, which will have been in secondary for 2 weeks this weekend, and I want to get it in bottles. I used some caps off of commercial beers that I drank as a test on my 1st brew, and they worked ok (and I have a big bag of them), so I may just do that, but can I also re use the bottle caps that I got from the shop?

I've re-capped in the past, but only for short duration storage (1-month or shorter).

Never had a problem. Obviously you need to sanitize well.

i just ordered some stuff from Northernbrew.com and it came quick. So if your LHBS hasn't sent it out, why dont you go pick it up this weekend before bottling?

Ever reuse a condom?

I have a buddy that reuses twist off bottles and caps by simply twisting them back on.



Nothing wrong with be cheap if you are happy with the results. Clark Howard is proud of the fact that he's cheap. Cheap people are the people that have money. It's not a question of how much money you make but how much you KEEP!

Sam Walton one of the richest men in the world before he died drove an old pickup truck. He didn't get rich by being a spend thrift.

the definition of cheap as I understand it is being willing to except lower quality for a lower price.

DaveGerard said:

I'm not trying to be cheap here, but my LHBS still hasn't sent out my order, so I am short new bottle caps for my pumpkin ale, which will have been in secondary for 2 weeks this weekend, and I want to get it in bottles. I used some caps off of commercial beers that I drank as a test on my 1st brew, and they worked ok (and I have a big bag of them), so I may just do that, but can I also re use the bottle caps that I got from the shop?

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I understand the question is about capping, which I can't attest to b/c I've never been in the situation where I needed to recap... but why not just leave this in secondary for another week?! You don't need to follow the "1-2-3 rule" religiously.

Especially with something like a pumpkin ale, I would assume it needs to age a bit, so why not let it bulk age. Bottle after 3-4 weeks in secondary? It's not going to hurt it... probably only help.

I want it to be ready for thanksgiving, so bottling after another week will be cutting it close. And the LHBS is an hour's drive away, and I don't have the time to get there. I'm done with them anyway after this, this is the 2nd order that they've held on to for weeks, and they don't even respond to my emails asking why. I can call them, but I'd rather walk away. Anyhow, that aside, I'm gonna try to recap, these beers won't last very long anyhow.

You could definitely bottle it and get it carbed by Thanksgiving if you bottled now - but that doesn't mean it's going to be ready to drink and/or taste optimal.

"Green beer is green beer" I always hear...

If you are serving to an understanding crowd, then I say go for it and get it ready by Thanksgiving, but if they are sticklers for the perfect beer, I might just tell them, "Hey I made some pumpkin beer and it will be ready in about another week or two..."

Next year start earlier!

rohanski said:

Ever reuse a condom?

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You turn it inside out and shake the F*** out of it, lol.

Sorry, I couldn't resist I will understand if the mods delete this.

boo boo said:

You turn it inside out and shake the F*** out of it, lol.

Sorry, I couldn't resist I will understand if the mods delete this.

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Still laughing....alternatively maybe some star san would do the job.

abracadabra said:

Nothing wrong with be cheap if you are happy with the results. Clark Howard is proud of the fact that he's cheap. Cheap people are the people that have money. It's not a question of how much money you make but how much you KEEP!

Sam Walton one of the richest men in the world before he died drove an old pickup truck. He didn't get rich by being a spend thrift.

Click to expand...

So, how much did Walton get to "keep" when he died?

What's the point of saving your money if you ain't going to use it?

rohanski said:

Ever reuse a condom?

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once, but I turned it inside out first....