Corked Beer Bottles

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ChuckVelvet

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Probably a topic thats already been covered, but I can't find the thread. I'm about to bottle my annual Christmas beer, and thought I might ratchet it up a notch by putting it into corked champagne bottles. Since I don't see it alot, I'm guessing its pricey and a pain in the a$$.

That said, I'm gonna give it a go. Any thoughts/tips/etc? I figure theres gotta be a bunch of stuff I'm missing out on.
 
You'll need to get a Champagne corker to handle the larger Belgian style corks. Also get either Belgian beer bottles or Champagne bottles that can accept a cork and wire cage. Another option is cappable Champagne bottles. Cork and cap over the cork. I've used both.

I have the Ferrari bench capper and it works great. A #7 stopper inserted on the plunger will help to insert the cork at the right depth in the bottle.
Corker 001.jpg

Corker 002.jpg

Corker 003.jpg

Corker 004.jpg

The Belgian bottles make for a nice presentation
gow bottles 002.jpg
 
I hate to advocate processes I don't see many others doing, but I have had good results just using normal wine corks pressed into 750mL bottles. Some rootbeer bottled in this way became overcarbonated, when I removed the cork the rootbeer actually gushed a foot in the air. The point is that the normal corks pressed all the way in worked fine. I got the idea after trying some beer bottled this way by an old-timer at a recent homebrew meeting. Also, I work at a research vineyard/winery and we have had two small batches of wine carbonate in bottles that were not supposed to be carbonated. They were bottled normally, went through some malolactic or other secondary fermentation and carbonated. Both were very nice as sparkiling wines BTW.

These bottles: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=43481
are carbing just fine, they have wax over the top, but it has a small hole in it and the corks are not pushing out/up( in other words the wax is just for show).

I don't want anything bad happening from my advice(just because it works for me it might not for others), maybe just try one bottle this way next time you've got a batch with a normal level of carbonation(not high in other words). I'd be interested to see if others results are similar to mine.

Anyone trying this, please be careful - pressure and glass should be taken very seriously!
 
Also, Brewtopia my corker looks the same as yours, from the side at least. If I understand you PM correctly you push the cork halfway in, lift the lever/handle(so the bottle support can move), and then pull the cork/bottle(cork is halfway in the bottle now) through the small opening at the bottom of the compression chamber(iris?)? Is that correct? Isn't the expanded top half of the cork to big to fit through the small hole?
 
Originally posted by landhoney
If I understand you PM correctly you push the cork halfway in, lift the lever/handle(so the bottle support can move), and then pull the cork/bottle(cork is halfway in the bottle now) through the small opening at the bottom of the compression chamber(iris?)? Is that correct? Isn't the expanded top half of the cork to big to fit through the small hole?

This is correct. The expanded portion of the cork (sticking out of the bottle) fits fine through the hole in my corker. I believe the Champagne corker does have a larger hole than the regular floor or bench corker.
 
Brewtopia said:
This is correct. The expanded portion of the cork (sticking out of the bottle) fits fine through the hole in my corker. I believe the Champagne corker does have a larger hole than the regular floor or bench corker.

That's gotta be it, mine does have a hole designed for 'normal' corks. Looks like I'm going to have to improvize!
 
Wow...well done, guys. This definitely gives me something to work with, although it might be a pricey investment just before the holidays. Roughly, what would a setup like yours run, NakedCity? Also, lets say I'm short on cash and time (which I am). Any budget options? I'd rather do it right than cheap, but when push comes to shove...

Thanks again for the help. Let me know what you think.
 
ChuckVelvet said:
Wow...well done, guys. This definitely gives me something to work with, although it might be a pricey investment just before the holidays. Roughly, what would a setup like yours run, NakedCity? Also, lets say I'm short on cash and time (which I am). Any budget options? I'd rather do it right than cheap, but when push comes to shove...

Thanks again for the help. Let me know what you think.

Sometimes a LHBS will loan or rent out a corker. Just ask.
 
Alot of the lambics and gueuzes I buy are corked and capped despite being low carb. Many of them are stored and poured on their side. Just a guess that cork is more friendly for that kind of longterm storage.
 
Originally posted by ChuckVelvet
Roughly, what would a setup like yours run, NakedCity?

I bought mine about a year ago from my LHBS for $98.00
I look at their site now and it's listed for $124.99 You might be able to find it cheaper elsewhere.

I also have this corker (Plastic Plunger Corker pictured in the upper right hand corner) but it's kind of a PITA. Cheap though, and it does work in a pinch for standard corks.

Or just get this ;)
 
Brewtopia, not sure what that last pic was, but I was a mechanic for 10 yrs and worked as a biochem researcher for 5 or 6, and I've never seen anything that scary. Good Stuff. Thanks all for the help!
 
ChuckVelvet said:
Brewtopia, not sure what that last pic was, but I was a mechanic for 10 yrs and worked as a biochem researcher for 5 or 6, and I've never seen anything that scary. Good Stuff. Thanks all for the help!
it looks like it might be an air driven corker
 
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