Twist off caps boo!!!!

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rgontasz

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About a month ago I got one of my friends into home brewing. He had been curious for a while and we jumped in and he brewed his first extract batch! I told him I would help him save some bottles for his first batch and I already have about a case put away (I now keg).

Today, I was at the store and thought, "man, I could go for a nice sample pack of some lighter beers" as I will be cutting the grass today. So, I bought a sampler from Star Hill. I knew the beer would be just ok to slightly better than ok, but they are local and I like to support that kind of thing. Anyway, get home, crack the first one and disappointed to find it is a twist off.

Honestly, I bought this for the bottles. The beer was just a bonus. Anyone else had this problem. I wish they would advertise the bottle type or if there was a way to tell!
 
Hey you still get beer, as long as it's not bad. But alot of times on the bottle or on the sides of the cap it will either say twist-off or use an opener, probably not as common as I am remembering but you can try looking at them and see if there is anything like that
 
YUP... Almost exactly the same circumstance as mine. I have a brew ready for bottles next weekend, but not enough bottles. I bought a case of Blue Moon for Friday night, and also to have something to drink while working in the yard Saturday afternoon. I was certain they were pop tops. I grabbed the bottle opener for the first three beers. On the fourth, I was too lazy to get up so I asked my wife to grab one for me (she was closer to the kitchen than I lol).

She twisted it off while walking over and handed it to me.

HEART = BROKEN. Very disappointing.
 
I would expect it from Coors and I know SN now uses twist offs, but I did not expect a regional brewery to be using them! I was also surprised to see that founders is using twist offs now too. There is something weird about twisting the cap off a back woods bastard! haha!
 
Yeah, I've started to see them from SN and Founders. I had a North Coast Scrimshaw that was a twist a while ago too. Maybe a miss order for them or maybe an experiment to switch. I sure hope not because this guy likes to save his bottles and twist offs are useless!
 
i buy my beer for the beer. if the bottle is a poptop, thats just a little gift at the end kinda like a toy out of a cereal box.
 
You CAN tell by looking that a bottle is twist-off. on the twist-off bottles, there is a thin rim right below the threads. This rim isn't there on pry-off bottles. You can sometimes tell from looking at the caps, too, but on some it's not that easy.

Also, for those who buy beer for this reason, Goose Island was twist-off, but has recently switched to pry-offs.
 
FWIW twist-offs work just fine. I ended up with a few in the stash and I used them several times with no issues. Tho I was always nervous about them and drank them first. But really it was no problem. Plus it's cool to twist off your own beer.
 
Yeah I'm the same way. Tallgrass is by far my favorite brewery but I cringe everytime I buy some of their cans because it doesn't contribute to my bottle collection.

Same deal with boulevard. Love their beer but most of their stuff comes in twist offs :(
 
Eh, I don't know if I want to risk it with using twist offs. I feel like the chance of the cap not sealing properly is too great.
 
I emailed Full Sail about my disappointment that their bottles are twist offs. They make great beer, but I'd love to be able to use the 12 oz bottles, and more importantly their 11oz stubbies.

I love their beer, but looks like their bottles all get returned for the bottle deposit.

Hi ***** - Thanks for taking the time to write and thanks for the kind words. Glad to hear you are enjoying our LTD. To answer your question, the main reason we switched to twist off was because so many of our customers requested it. After intensive Q and A testing we found there was no compromise in quality between a twist off and a pry. So we decided to switch to twist offs, so customers could enjoy our beers with the twist of the wrist and not have to worry about having an opener handy.

We truly appreciate you taking the time to write, we love hearing from our beer friends and family. On behalf of the Full Sail crew, thanks for your ongoing support and if you ever find yourself in our neck of the woods, swing by, we'd love to treat you to tour. You could see how we make our godlike nectar, have a bite in our Pub, sample some brews fresh from the source and soak up the view of the beautiful Columbia River Gorge.


Cheers!
Sandra Evans, Marketing Manager
Full Sail Brewing Company
506 Columbia Street, Hood River, Or 97031
Specialists in the Liquid Refreshment Arts Since 1987
 
You can tell by looking at the bottle. And if it's a sealed 12-pack, look for a 6-pack of the same thing where you can see the top of the bottles.
 
Shiner went to twisties. :( Michelob actually went from twisties to pop-tops. I MEAN WTF! I too bought some Boulevard stuff to get bottles then was thwarted to learn they were twisties. I now have more bottles then I know what to do with and am gathering up a lot of 22oz bombers since a friend started kegging. :D
 
Yeah, I've done this. Kind of sad when I expect to get a good bottle out of the bargain -but in truth I buy 'em for the beer first (I'm not going to buy garbage beer just to get a bottle).
Yeah, I know twist-offs can work (I've also used some in a pinch before I started kegging) but I've also broken some of these. They really are thinner than the pop-top bottles, not just at the neck. Would I use one if I were bottling? Yeah, if I needed to -but I don't go out of my way to keep those bottles (kind of like asking for trouble).
 
I know this topic has been flogged before but apparently Canadian brown twist off bottles work well. That's all I have been using since I started brewing and I have done hundreds of bottles. I use a bench capper to cap though.

I remember hearing that the U.S. twist off bottles have a thinner neck and are more susceptible to breaking.

I probably have close to two hundred bottles in my collection and have not broken one!

If you need extra bottles go over to a friend's house and get a few empties. I think I have bought maybe 24 or so of my collection and the rest have been pillaged from many different garages. :)
 
Fantastical said:
I know this topic has been flogged before but apparently Canadian brown twist off bottles work well. That's all I have been using since I started brewing and I have done hundreds of bottles. I use a bench capper to cap though.

I remember hearing that the U.S. twist off bottles have a thinner neck and are more susceptible to breaking.

I probably have close to two hundred bottles in my collection and have not broken one!

If you need extra bottles go over to a friend's house and get a few empties. I think I have bought maybe 24 or so of my collection and the rest have been pillaged from many different garages. :)

Well, living in Canada myself, I helped a friend a while ago bottle a batch (came out to 54 bottles) using an Emily capper and ONLY Canadian twist-offs (he had no pry-offs).

The tops of 4 bottles broke off completely, and 2 more were chipped with glass possibly still having gotten into the beer - overall, a sixer wasted, and a VERY frustrating and arduous time. Would American twist-offs have been any worse? I have no idea, but I'll never cap even Canadian twist-offs ever again.
 
Well, living in Canada myself, I helped a friend a while ago bottle a batch (came out to 54 bottles) using an Emily capper and ONLY Canadian twist-offs (he had no pry-offs).

The tops of 4 bottles broke off completely, and 2 more were chipped with glass possibly still having gotten into the beer - overall, a sixer wasted, and a VERY frustrating and arduous time. Would American twist-offs have been any worse? I have no idea, but I'll never cap even Canadian twist-offs ever again.

That's why I use a bench capper. The capper you are using puts too much pressure on the neck. It is essentially crushing a narrow tube of glass. A bench capper such as this works fine. I have bottled probably around 1000 bottles and never had one break on me. 2 have not sealed properly and left me with flat beer.
 
Yeah, I know Emily cappers are far from ideal, but neither me nor my friend have anywhere to really mount a bench capper. Either way, it's undeniable that most people who are bottling with crown caps - as opposed to those who exclusively keg, or use swing-top bottles (ie Grolsch, EZ Cap), and/or (*shakes head*) PET bottles - are using hand cappers, so it's an issue that definitely shouldn't be ignored or dismissed, although your information is obviously valuable for those using bench cappers, or at least ones as good as the super agata, assuming that's what you own since you linked to it.

I'm moving soon though, and hopefully I'll be able to accommodate a better capper. I was originally thinking about that super agata you linked to, but ultimately, I've also heard great things about - and would rather go with - this, a colonna capper, as it'd also allow me to cork Belgians and bières de garde, as well as ciders, and I find that capability just too good to pass up.
 
I mounted mine on a piece of plywood -large enough to be stable, but small enough to move around to wherever I need it.
I agree that most have wing cappers (I mean consider that these things are almost always packaged with beginner brewing systems) but there really is no point in 'addressing' the problem of using one to cap a screw-top bottle. The wing cappers aren't designed to use those kinds of bottles, period. Bench cappers have that versatility. Use the right tool for the right task.
 
Nightbiker said:
I mounted mine on a piece of plywood -large enough to be stable, but small enough to move around to wherever I need it.
I agree that most have wing cappers (I mean consider that these things are almost always packaged with beginner brewing systems) but there really is no point in 'addressing' the problem of using one to cap a screw-top bottle. The wing cappers aren't designed to use those kinds of bottles, period. Bench cappers have that versatility. Use the right tool for the right task.

What I mean by addressing is making people aware of the issue, and there certainly is a need for that. If they just hear that Canadian twist-offs are strong enough, without knowing that it probably doesn't apply to the capper they own, they're in for a hellish time.
 
Very distressing to learn Founders is moving to twist-offs. I don't buy low-grade beer regardless but I do let bottle selection guide my high-grade beer picks and Founders bottles comprise almost my entire stock of 12oz bottles.

Is anyone aware of breweries that put twisties onto 22oz bombers? Those are my favorite bottles but I still need 12ozers for conditioning tastes and giveaways that won't be returning the bottle.
 
What I mean by addressing is making people aware of the issue, and there certainly is a need for that. If they just hear that Canadian twist-offs are strong enough, without knowing that it probably doesn't apply to the capper they own, they're in for a hellish time.

Definitely! I was just stating the bench capping side of the story. Thanks for adding the other! :mug:

I am actually an apartment brewer and don't have my bench capper mounted. I use it on the kitchen counter every time. One hand on the bottom of the shaft and one pushing the handle down. Works great! Mounting is not a necessity. Just bottled a batch of Cascadian Dark Ale last night! :ban:
 
I bought a six pack of Pilsner Urquell because I wanted to retaste a good lager before brewing one. And the bonus was supposed to be the empty bottles. Yes, they are green but I thought I'd use them for my tester bottles which are quick to be emptied.

The tops were not twist off but too large for standard bottle caps. And I didn't realize it until my third bottle. Oops.
 
What I mean by addressing is making people aware of the issue, and there certainly is a need for that. If they just hear that Canadian twist-offs are strong enough, without knowing that it probably doesn't apply to the capper they own, they're in for a hellish time.

Oh ok, I misunderstood. I agree, nothing worse than being disappointed because of unforseen issues (lord knows there are enough of those on a daily basis).
 
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