Should I use screw caps on growlers or stoppers?pers?

I really don't want to bottle and cap 40+ bottles per batch.
Does the beer hold as well in growlers? Screw caps OK, or should I use stoppers instead (and how the heck do I get those in tight?)

You could use growlers but I would not use stoppers!! The pressure build-up in a conditioning bottle of beer can be enough to blow the bottle to bits so a stopper would not be strong enough.

I imagine you could re-use the screw caps or get new ones for the bottles, either way as long as they are sanitized you should be good to go!!

Cleaning, sanitizing, bottling, and capping a bunch of 12oz is a pain that is for sure!

One nice thing about the smaller bottles is that if you only want to drink one or two or if you want to give some of your awesome beer away, it is not too hard with two or three smaller bottles!

Bottling is not a pain at all, once you get your process down. Take your time, and make it a fun experience. Crack open a homebrew or your favorite craft brew and listen to some good music. Once you learn to enjoy the process, it'll go quickly and you'll be less likely to make mistakes. Plus, it is very nice to be able to hand someone a sixer of your beer, bottled and capped.

As for the growlers, what kind of stoppers were you talking about? Rubber bungs? Those will probably not hold the pressure at all. On the other hand, the flip-top Grolsch style bottles are very good at holding pressure.

Growlers don't hold up to the pressure of bottling. There's many stories (with pics) on here of people who had growlers explode when they tried bottling in them.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/exploding-growlers-89246/

Don't bottle in growlers, it's dangerous.

ChshreCat said:

Growlers don't hold up to the pressure of bottling. There's many stories (with pics) on here of people who had growlers explode when they tried bottling in them.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/exploding-growlers-89246/

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How big where those?

I am not planning to do any bigger than the half gallon ones.

agurkas said:

How big where those?

I am not planning to do any bigger than the half gallon ones.

Click to expand...

"Growlers" are typically 64 ounces. They are usually found in brewpubs, and sold full of beer.

They are not designed to hold carbonation pressure, simply to use for serving already carbonated beverages for short-term.

They can explode if there is pressure on them.

The easiest thing to bottle in if you're not wanting to use a capper is 2L soda bottles. They hold high levels of carbonation just fine, as soda is more highly carbed than beer. Of course, once you open the bottle, you'll have to finish it quickly (just like with growlers) because it'll go flat in a couple of days.

Another thing to keep in mind is the sediment. Bottles are nice because you can empty a glass in one pour, without disturbing the sediment. With a bigger bottle, you'll do several pours, meaning the sediment from carbonation will resuspend, meaning the yeasty sludge in the bottom will be distributed throughout the beer. That's one reason I don't like bottling in anything bigger than 22 ounces, unless I'm pouring directly into a pitcher for serving.

22 oz bottles (or equivalents) does seem to be a great compromise between convenience and quality. They're not that expensive to buy new, and you can find plenty of beers sold in this size or something close if you want to re-use. I'm actually pleased with the $2 22oz Mission Street Hefe I've been seeing at Trader Joe's. It's a decent Hefe really, and especially for the price, if you consider that each one is a bottle for a forthcoming homebrew.

I LOVE Mission Street Hefe from TJs. Considering most want about the same for just the bottle, might as well enjoy the brew and have bottles left over.