Ah! Ran out of bottles...

So I unexpectedly ran out of bottles tonight. Pulled more beer off the trub than any of my previous batches.

In desperation, I looked around and ended up with this:
http://www.icemountainwater.com/Products/ThreeLiter.aspx

I know it probably won't work to carb up and everything, but now that it holds my beer, anything I can do to save it?

The yeast will probably ferment the priming sugar and fill the headspace with CO2. You won't get very much into your beer, depending on how much you put in the 3L bottle. When you do get more bottles, you could probably fill them and then add more priming sugar (or prime tabs). How much, I don't know.

I filled it up to that very top ridge (yeah, I had that much left over).

easy thing to do would have been to go buy a 12 pack at the store and drink it all (or get budwiser and poor it down the drain)cleanand sanitize those bottles then use them haha

I didn't get the page to open so I couldn't see the bottle you used. If it's a water bottle, then it's probably not made for carbonation pressures and it could leak or burst. If it held carbonated water or anything like that, you're probably fine.

sgrcltpunk said:

easy thing to do would have been to go buy a 12 pack at the store and drink it all (or get budwiser and poor it down the drain)cleanand sanitize those bottles then use them haha

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+1 to this but invite BMC peeps over for Sunday football....

ChshreCat said:

I didn't get the page to open so I couldn't see the bottle you used. If it's a water bottle, then it's probably not made for carbonation pressures and it could leak or burst. If it held carbonated water or anything like that, you're probably fine.

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This was my thought. I was in the camp of it leaking. Bursting would be bad. Maybe I'll just pack it in another container and see what happens. All about the learning experience!

got any plastic soda bottles? these will work in a pinch just clean and sanitize. fill leaving a headspace then squeeze out the air and cap. not real good for long term storage but they will handle the pressure as soda has a higher carbonation.

Since it's in there, I'd leave it. Check it every day and when the bottle gets tight, throw it in the fridge and drink it quick. It'll be green and won't quite be as carbed as your final product in the glass bottles will be, but it'll likely be drinkable and it won't go to waste.

In the future, 2L soda bottles or 20oz soda bottles work fine for beer or cider, since they're made to hold a significant amount of carbonation. I'd recommend using soda water bottles or the like, since they're holding a flavorless substance, but any will work in a pinch if you wash them out well.

It won't hold the pressure of carbonating beer. Keep the lid cracked so it won't build up pressure. Collect bottles as soon as possible and let the beer ferment in the water bottle for a week or so to consume the priming solution in there. Then bottle in your new bottles using carb tabs or drops. Keep the bottle out of the sunlight as it will skunk the hops pretty quickly.

I know I'm resurrecting an old thread, but thought I'd update on the results after deciding to stick with the plastic water bottle...



Notice the expanded bottom and handles are no longer there.

Flavor was good, and it was mildly carbed. So as a last resort option it worked really well. Although I may be lucky it didn't turn into a bomb.

**Edit** Wow, guess I could've toned down the size of that bad boy a little more.