What to do with these bottles?

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onipar

onipar

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After hitting a few yard sales today, I found five old swing top bottles for 50 cents each, so I picked them up.

Now I'm wondering, should I soak the labels off and use them for my homebrew as intended? The reason I hesitate is because they are pretty old and may be collectible with the labels on. Two of them are even still filled with beer. The guy said they are from Germany in the 80's. For what it's worth, they seem to sell for 2-10 bucks on ebay.

I got:
2 empty Grolsch
2 Flensburger Pilsener (1 filled, 1 empty)
1 filled Amber Fischer d'Alsace "Imported Malt Liquor"

Is it worth saving these, or do I just soak off the labels, get new washers, and bottle homebrew?

I know these two are decades old, but I have this weird desire to taste them. I'm sure they are stale and oxidized and nasty, but still... :rockin:

0625111234.jpg
 
emjay said:
Drink em
Click to expand...

:ban: Really?

I thought beer goes bad after a while. I mean, hell, if I decide to open them and soak the labels off, I'm sure I'll give it a sniff and see what's what, but I didn't expect it'd actually taste any good. Hmmm...

Okay, so I guess that's one vote for soaking labels off and using for homebrew (plus drinking).
 
I say see what a collector would give for them. They're old enough to get a decent price. Maybe even the labels have changed since,out of business,etc. Lots of breweries going under in Germany.
 
I would drink them to unless they had collector's value and were in pristine condition...Just so you know...Beer does not "go bad" it can be "out of its prime" however and it can not hurt you...
 
Zamial said:
I would drink them to unless they had collector's value and were in pristine condition...Just so you know...Beer does not "go bad" it can be "out of its prime" however and it can not hurt you...
Click to expand...

Depends on your definition of "goes bad" :)
 
unionrdr said:
I say see what a collector would give for them. They're old enough to get a decent price. Maybe even the labels have changed since,out of business,etc. Lots of breweries going under in Germany.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I did a quick ebay search earlier. The Fischer goes for up to $10 (though it doesn't seem like any actually sell). The Flensburger for up to $10 as well. Maybe worth popping on ebay to see if anyone wants them.

Zamial, thanks. Yeah, I didn't think they'd get me sick or anything. I just figured they'd have oxidized by now...but maybe still tasty. :)
 
I've seen that full bottles,cans,etc command a higher price than empties. But they may bring enough money to get some brewing stuff. Maybe try searching for sites that deal in collectors items in regards to beer & the like? they may fetch more than fleabay.
 
You could put them on display where you brew/drink... Since they're already 20 years old, I would leave them as is, if it was me.

If the seals look good on the filled ones, you could drink them. Sounds like you're already prepared for the worst. If they are higher ABV, they could have survived decently. If not, at least you'll know what 20 year old brew tastes like. :drunk: I would give them longer in the fridge to chill before opening them though. I would suspect that the seals are still good enough since there's still liquid in them. Although they could have more value to a collector if the bottle is full, with the seals intact. Looks like the Flensburger seal is already torn. The Amber looks intact, at least in the picture it does...

Personally, unless you're REALLY hurting for bottles, I wouldn't mess these up. You could start a display of odd bottles. Things you wouldn't normally find in a liquor store.
 
unionrdr said:
I've seen that full bottles,cans,etc command a higher price than empties. But they may bring enough money to get some brewing stuff. Maybe try searching for sites that deal in collectors items in regards to beer & the like? they may fetch more than fleabay.
Click to expand...

Good idea. Yeah, as I looked on ebay, it seemed like the only swing tops that were really selling were the Grolsch (I have two empty of those). But they were selling them by 12-24 at a time, and looked liked they were most likely being bought by brewers like us, not collectors.

These are the first swingtops I've had, and was psyched to have found them at yard sales (2 separate ones at that!). I bough them only intending to reuse, but the collector in me got hold. :drunk:

On a side note, when you reuse swingtops, do you generally soak the labels off like you would any other bottle? Most of the ones I saw on ebay still had labels, which is why I ask.
 
Golddiggie said:
You could put them on display where you brew/drink... Since they're already 20 years old, I would leave them as is, if it was me.

If the seals look good on the filled ones, you could drink them. Sounds like you're already prepared for the worst. If they are higher ABV, they could have survived decently. If not, at least you'll know what 20 year old brew tastes like. :drunk: I would give them longer in the fridge to chill before opening them though. I would suspect that the seals are still good enough since there's still liquid in them. Although they could have more value to a collector if the bottle is full, with the seals intact. Looks like the Flensburger seal is already torn. The Amber looks intact, at least in the picture it does...

Personally, unless you're REALLY hurting for bottles, I wouldn't mess these up. You could start a display of odd bottles. Things you wouldn't normally find in a liquor store.
Click to expand...

Actually, both labels are torn. the guy at the yard sale said they were never opened, but I guess it'd be taking a chance. The brew inside the Amber actually looks bubbly on top too.

I may just keep for display purposes like you suggested, unless I find someone that collects. They *are* seriously cool looking. the pictures don't show, but the ceramic tops have awesome designs on them.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! Definitely lots to think about.
 

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