Re-used vs Store bought bottles

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puravida286

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I was wondering if there is an advantage to buying new bottles from a LHBS as opposed to simply washing and sanitizing previously drank beer bottles, such as the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles. I am about to bottle my first brew in about a week and have been saving the SNPA bottles. Are they ok to use?
 
Used bottles are fine to use as long as you make sure that you thoroughly clean and sanitize them, that they are the brown or amber bottles and are not the screw top type.

John
 
Only advantage of purchasing is you don't have to remove the lables.
Altho if you don't care, you might not have to remove lables from the used bottles either.
 
My Sierra Nevada Pale Ale bottles are all screw tops. So, I can't use them. Sam Adams bottles work perfectly, though. Soak a bit, scrape off the labels, wash, then sanitize.

Lorena
 
I bought a bunch of 22 oz-ers, and I pick up a four-pack of Grolsch from time to time to supplement my bottle collection. If I'm drinking a commercial beer without a screw top, I never pitch the bottle either.

An hour soak in TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) and the labels fall right off. Rinse well, throw 'em in the dishwasher, and hang 'em up to dry.
 
did someone say grolsch...

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Screw top SNPA bottles? What is the world comming to :confused:

Most commercial beers without screw tops work fine, but I have a few where the caps don't seal cos they are slightly undersize. Sorry, I don't know their origin.

Next time I go to get some beer, I'll take a micrometer :D

-a.
 
johnsma22 said:
Used bottles are fine to use as long as you make sure that you thoroughly clean and sanitize them, that they are the brown or amber bottles and are not the screw top type.

John

What is meant by "screw-top" aside from the obvious, out of curiosity? I used some bottles recently which look like they're threaded, but they seemed to work fine--I read this post and worried about it, but I went to open one that'd been carbonating for close to three weeks now and it seemed like it had plenty of pressure and carbonation in there...
 
Screw-tops CAN work OK, but from the accounts that I've read of people that have used them (not me), you'll come across a lot more failures (maybe 5%). Plus, most screw-tops tend to be cheaper bottles (less glass), which makes them more likely to break.
 
Drool at the Grolsch bottles. :cross:

I simply get my bottles from here http://www.floridabeer.com/

Excellent brews...the Key West Lager and Ybor Amber is mighty fine. $12 for a 24case of full bottles from the brewery. Can't beat $.50 per bottle with brew in it. Isn't that about the same price that is commonly charged for empties at most LHBS? :rockin: I like their bottles because they have no raised letters and the glass is plenty thick (pop-offs except for the Kelly's).

I also really like how they put a small graph showing the 'beer profile' on the Key West beer. A very novel idea indeed.
 
As far as screw tops go, I've actuall had quite a bit of luck with the Unibru bottles (unintentionally).
Took a while of drinking them (and a lot more time removing the foil) before I realized they were screw tops.
 
that they are the brown or amber bottles

color doesnt matter as long as you keep themin the dark. Dont store your beer in the back yard, in front of a large window, or on the surface of the sun and you'll be fine.

Personally I like the returnables beacuse ya get the nice case with them and the price is unbeatable . . . $1.20 for 24 . . . for that price I'll do a bit of cleaning
 
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