Cheapest Bottles to RE-USE!

Hey guys.... It's my first post.... and right now I have 2 1 gallon batches of cider on thier way to glory... using coopers ale yeast.

Anyways... I am in need of bottles!!! I would rather drink some commercial brews and get an idea of what I like (since I just turned 21)and then "re-use" the bottles...

SO! I like all kinds of beer but usually light beer is the cheapest... so far I bought a sixer of Sam Adams and Guiness. Also I bought a 12 of Corona. Just wondering what a cheap beer is that I can buy for a party with the guys and have them help me out while I help them out... Any Ideas or suggestions are welcomed!!

thanks,
Ben

Welcome to the forum. Any brown bottle that's not a twist off will work fine, just see what's cheapest in your area. The clear corona bottles are fine for the cider, if you use them for beer just keep them out of the light to prevent skunking

Generally, the BMC's use twist offs, so they don't really work. I think Honey Brown might be pop-top, that's pretty cheap, otherwise Sam Adams might be your best bet (and they're great bottles).

Can't help you with the brands - I'm in another country.

Just keep an eye out on the thickness and strength on the glass. Some bottles can only be filled twice I find - once by the brewery and once by you. Sometimes the bottle will break around the neck when capping or will break when you open the bottle.

Raid your friends homes! I get most of my bottles that way- & i find that a soak in most no rinse cleaners will do away with labels and glue. Just remind your friends to rinse and save brown pop-tops. Most are excited to help out- I have found.

thanks guys.. great soo far.. good tip w/ the color of the bottle... I will make sure to use the corona bottles for cider only.

Get a cheap old school bench capper off ebay and you can use twist offs!

Mines from 1920

New Belgium bottles re-cap nicely, and the 12 bottle boxes are sturdy. they make a nice variety of beers.

I like bell's bottles...I guess because I like Bell's Amber Ale, and the labels come off really easy with an overnight oxyclean soak...

Also don't hesitate to ask the people at your local beer store...especially if they're beer geeks and keep a good selection of brews. If you're into beer and so are they, not only will they point you to any interesting brews they get in stock, but if you tell them you're getting into homebrewing (and if you drop off some samples to "get their professional opinion.") They might hook you up with emptiy retunables...at the worst for the cost of the deposit...but maybe even for nothing....also have them keep an eye out and set aside anything interesting...like Grolsh bottles or 16 ouncers...

Also as much as you need bottles, you'll find you'll also need bottle boxes..especially good sturdy ones, and ones with individual compartments. I'm always asking my guys for good boxes to store my bottles in.

been into the keg action lately but i prefer 22oz bottles. i would pick a couple different brews in 22s everytime went to the store while my first batch was in primary and secondary. then i just kept stocking up. you use less caps this way and it seems to me the bottles almost always seem dark and sturdy. they have all been used at least three times and still seem to be in great shape.

i did make the mistake of using grolsh bottles and leaving to much head space in the bottles for one batch. guess you could do that with any bottle though.

Which area of the country are you from? Just look for something in the returnable bottle. I know there are a few brews you can still buy like that. They aren't very tasty, but it's bottle. Otherwise, MOST craft brews are pry-offs.

Greg

Grolsch 16oz Swing-top FTW!

The only problem is that you have to drink the Grolsch first...

Sam Adams has the best bottles and some of the best beers. You might as well sample from their vast selection and gain an education while you save higher quality bottles. If you collect only one type of bottle, you won't have fit and storage issues that come along with mismatched bottles. Been there, done that and scrapped the oddballs.

Cheap beer is not good and good beer is not cheap! Besides, hangovers usually follow closer to the cheap stuff.

The only bottles that shed labels faster than Sam Adams are New Glarus, but then you have to be in WI to find New Glarus. Oxyclean mixed with hot water and a good hours soak will cut the labels off and speed your clean up time.

Grolsch 16oz Swing-top FTW!

The only problem is that you have to drink the Grolsch first...

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lol, all my 16oz bottles came from familey members who have been drinking that crap for a long time. bet it tastes a lot better fresh.

I have found that the Cheapest Reusable commercial bottles are MooseHead I use them a lot plus I like the green for Cider.

xcrusader said:

Anyways... I am in need of bottles!!! I would rather drink some commercial brews and get an idea of what I like (since I just turned 21)and then "re-use" the bottles...

Click to expand...

Can't go wrong with just about anything from Dogfish Head (maybe start with the 60 Minute?) and their labels come off SUPER easy.

Cheers and welcome to the obsession!

I agree 100%. I have collected quite a few Sam Adams bottles, but living in Wisconsin I probably have more New Glarus bottles in circulation (I *love* Fat Squirrel). Both of them de-label easily; I use hot water and dish soap and a nylon scrubby pad to get the glue residue off. They're ready to go in less than half an hour.

Bottles that have pressure-sensitive adhesive are almost impossible to get off (you'll know; if you pry up a corner with your fingernail, they leave little strings of adhesive) so don't waste your time. Even if you can remove the labels, regular soap doesn't dissolve the glue worth a darn so all you do is smear it around the bottle...and recycle it after a bunch of screwing around. Trust me, your time is better spent emptying another bottle that cleans up better.

The biggest problem with re-using bottles is that any un-rinsed bottles will turn into science projects. A friend picked up 16 cases of bottles free, which we thought was a great score. Unfortunately, at least 8 cases were full of mold, bugs, cigarette butts, etc. The only good way I found to get the mold out was to pour a couple ounces of straight bleach in each bottle, then submerge them in more bleach water. *Most* of them came out ok. This is now a move only to be used in desperation (as in, we're out of bottles!)

What we've told our friends who contract beer from us is that they have to provide 48 clean bottles (buy 'em or clean 'em yourself, I don't care). This helps remind everyone to rinse their bottles, which makes cleanup take 10% of the time.

treemuncher said:

Sam Adams has the best bottles and some of the best beers. You might as well sample from their vast selection and gain an education while you save higher quality bottles. If you collect only one type of bottle, you won't have fit and storage issues that come along with mismatched bottles. Been there, done that and scrapped the oddballs.

Cheap beer is not good and good beer is not cheap! Besides, hangovers usually follow closer to the cheap stuff.

The only bottles that shed labels faster than Sam Adams are New Glarus, but then you have to be in WI to find New Glarus. Oxyclean mixed with hot water and a good hours soak will cut the labels off and speed your clean up time.

Click to expand...

Hey guy, welcome. I tend to use 1-4 clear bottles on efvery batch I bottle, just so I can see what is going on in there. Corona and shrak fin whatefver bottles are pretty tall. New Castle bottles are pretty short.

As far as what to try, welcome to the world of the people with open eyes. I have found that I will try almost anything now that I am a brewer. If I find something I like, I can make a lot of it, cheap.

That said, get sixers of these:

New Castle. Classic brown ale, plenty of malt, mildly hopped, beautifully crafted. good stuff.

Bass. The standard Brit Pale Ale.

Stone (San Diego) IPA. The standard India Pale Ale.

DogFishHead 60: the other standard IPA

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale: the standard American Pale Ale.

Firestone-Walker Pale Ale: the 'other' American Pale Ale. Hard to find outside Cali.

Smithwick's (pronounced smitticks) Guiness product, an Irish ale.

Rogue (Oregon) Dead Guy. I forget the style. I am not the only one that loves it.

You already got a sixer of Guiness.

Once you are through that list you should have 54 empty bottles and a pretty good grip on the styles you can brew until you get a little more experience.

Once you are through all those start a new thread about what you liked; any number of folks can point you at the next nine sixers to buy while your batch number 2 is fermenting. If you can't wait try Pilsner Urquell and Old Rasputin next.

Poindexter!!!! You just gave me a plan for next friday night!!!!!! In my area we have a store that you can "mix a six" which you choose six beers and pay $7.99 a sixer. That will give me a great idea of what I like and I will most deffinately choose the beers you have suggested! My buddy who I drink beer with enjoys the classic american "piss" but me.... my pallet is much more sophisticated.. Right now I have a couple ciders going and i really want a good beer.. I appreciate it man!

I just picked up some Sam Adams white ale for 1) a tasty Belgium white and 2) 12 more bottles to use

bensyverson said:

Grolsch 16oz Swing-top FTW!

The only problem is that you have to drink the Grolsch first...

Click to expand...

I would buy it just for the bottles at this point... but here in Las Vegas you can only get Grolsch in regular bottles...

(sad about the bottles... not the beer )