EZ cap bottles and aging.....

I buddy of mine is getting married and as a wedding gift I want to give them a batch of mead. With the intention of them enjoying a bottle on their anniversary.

Now my question is, will I have(or they) any problems with EZ-cap bottles (cobalt blue) with aging up to 20 years(provided they don't enjoy all in their mead in the first couple of years)?

I doubt that little rubber seal is going to remain viable for 20 years. I absolutely love flip-top bottles for beer, but I really don't think they're intended for long-term storage. Properly sealed wine corks frequently don't survive even a few years, so I think expecting an ez-cap to hold up two decades is optimistic.

So, I guess I should go with a traditional wine bottle with a synthetic cork?

I have a coffee Stout that is 10 years old in March that is still perfectly carbed. I would not hesitate to bottle in these.

BigKahuna said:

I have a coffee Stout that is 10 years old in March that is still perfectly carbed. I would not hesitate to bottle in these.

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Vlax, who are you gonna believe...me, or a guy in a grass skirt! I'd like to try one of those decade old stouts though, I bet they are incredibly smooth.

I opened a brown ale the other day that's been bottled 18 months, and it was fine. OTOH, I buy a lot of beer in flip-tops (to add to my bottle supply,) and have frequently come across flat/oxidized bottles.

I suppose there isn't any kind of cap that is 100% reliable for long-term aging. Still, I'd be inclined to trust a synthetic cork more than a flip-top. It would be a drag to open up the anniversary mead in 20 years and find it spoiled.

Thanks, guys for the quick replies.

Here is another question, would a wax seal help against oxidization?

Plus it looks like I'll be doing another mead batch here soon...Cause I think SWMBO is getting a little jealous about the mead that is going to be givin away.

Hey least she is getting something out of my hobby...

I can't speak for the 20 year part but I got to agree with the guy in the grass skirt. I have some sparkling mead in EZ cap bottle that is 2 years old and still fine.

I can't believe I agreed with BK over BlindLemonLars but I'll try to get over it.

Nurmey said:

I can't believe I agreed with BK over BlindLemonLars but I'll try to get over it.

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As will I!

Honestly, my opinion is strictly based upon instinct and the considered analysis of my finely tuned, scientific mind. OTOH, BK has actually stored booze successfully in these bottles, for a decade. So I can't really blame anybody for agreeing with him.

Nurmey said:

I can't believe I agreed with BK over BlindLemonLars but I'll try to get over it.

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Most Quotable statement ever made on the Mead Forum.

Fact is, Synthetic corks are proven over tens of thousands of bottles of booze. EZ Cap Bottles are proven to me, once, for almost 10 years. I don't blame anyone for being skeptical. I think that if you take the time and effort to make something with the intent of it lasting 20 plus years, you'll want it to be the very best and most secure it can be. I will Stand by my statement about the EZ Cap bottles, and I will also tell you that my Leap Year Mead will be bottled in wine bottles with Synthetic corks.

BK gets to have it both ways...I suppose that comes from being a big honcho.

Here is what I am planning on doing, since I want the bottles to be able to last for 20 years.

I am going to bottle in wine bottles with synthetic corks and drip the bottles in wax, I think this would be the best way to prevent oxidation of the mead, plus it will look nice.

As for the EZ cap bottles I am not going to use them, and bottle MY mead in beer bottles.

perhaps this is a dumb question but how can you tel if your 10 year old stout is still carbonated if you don't open it? do you shake the bottle and look for bubbles? i know it would be a loss of carbonation if you opened em and recapped em