Note on Anchor Steam bottles.

So today I learned a valuable lesson when bottling. Before filling a bottle shape you haven't previously used, make sure your capper fits it. I crushed an Anchor Steam neck and it shattered everywhere, full of my brew. Thankfully its just a 12oz loss and a big mess, but still.

On a positive note, my first brew using a recipe I developed myself turned out pretty close to what I wanted! Next time I brew it, it should be on the money.

Are you using a butterfly capper? I did that with a bottle but I forget what one now I have a bench capper. Hell I even have a 29mm bell on the way so I can do champagne bottles.

I did the exact same thing, although I didn't crush it, kinda just circumcised the top of the bottle. I think I just pushed down too far with my capper. I do plan on trying again(with empty bottles so as not to waste precious homebrew), because I do love them bottles.

I heard similar stories before I ever tried it, so I'm always more careful with Anchor bottles, but I haven't broken one yet!

any other brands to avoid?

FWIW, I've bottled tons of Anchor Steam bottles no problem, with both a red wing capper and a Colona capper/corker.

doctorRobert said:

any other brands to avoid?

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I've heard people say the same thing on the stubby (Sierra Nevada style) bottles and the red wing cappers, but I drink a lot of Sierra Nevada and Founders, so I have a lot of those bottles and have not had a problem with them thus far.

I used lots of those bottle with my bench capper and never had a problem.

BrookdaleBrew said:

I've heard people say the same thing on the stubby (Sierra Nevada style) bottles and the red wing cappers, but I drink a lot of Sierra Nevada and Founders, so I have a lot of those bottles and have not had a problem with them thus far.

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+1 on this; I also did tons of Sierra bottles with a red wing capper and a Colona capper/corker with no problems.

Don't think you'll have to worry much anymore, pretty sure the new Anchor bottles are twist offs, at least the Foghorn ones are.

The Abita bottles make me nervous, the feel awfully light, and the neck ring seems really close to the top. Anyone have experience with them?

JayBullen said:

Don't think you'll have to worry much anymore, pretty sure the new Anchor bottles are twist offs, at least the Foghorn ones are.

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They experimented with twist-offs briefly in 2005, but they went back to:



pretty quickly.

I don't know if the twist-offs ever made it to the east coast--I drink Anchor Steam a lot and never saw a twist-off bottle. I hope they're not switching again.

SumnerH said:

They experimented with twist-offs briefly in 2005, but they went back to:



pretty quickly.

I don't know if the twist-offs ever made it to the east coast--I drink Anchor Steam a lot and never saw a twist-off bottle. I hope they're not switching again.

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So I just cracked open an Old Foghorn(in the name of science), and funny thing, there are threads on the bottle but it's not a twist off cap. Needless to say I tried to cap it with my Brev capper and it didn't take. Maybe they had a few of those bottles left over from 2005...

I've bottled tons of Anchor bottles with no problem. All I've ever used was anchor and sierra nevada bottles.

Never had any problem with anchor bottles, but dos equis always gives me crap. Well, and the craps. Now that I think about it.

I've lost about 6 beers total to anchor bottles. I've used many more. Mine just shear at the top, so it's not a huge mess. It just makes me sad. I avoid them now, just to be safe.

Yeah. I have a butterfly capper and the anchor at the south end is thinner than the necks of the Anchor Steam bottles. It didn't take a geometry major to figure out why they broke. If I wasn't planning on moving onto kegging soon I'd think about getting a bench capper, but it seems like a waste when I won't be using bottles for much in the future.

Sierra and Anchor are my two favorite bottles to use. Like others, never had any issue with a wing capper. Maybe you guys are just to strong for your own good!

That happened to me too. I broke the first and only Anchor Steam bottle I've tried to use. Live and learn I guess!

I got a 5 gal batch worth of Bundaberg bottles (similar to red stripe, short and stubby) when I won a batch of homebrew in a silent auction. First time I reused them I went through about 6 caps before figuring out how to use my hand capper on them. I still use them, but avoid it if possible. Takes a lot longer and you have to go much slower than normal necked bottles.

bnmir said:

The Abita bottles make me nervous, the feel awfully light, and the neck ring seems really close to the top. Anyone have experience with them?

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I use the Abita bottle quite a bit and have never had a problem. I do have a bench capper though, so YMMV.

Ron