why buy bottles?

I don't understand... can someone explain to me why anybody would ever purchase bottles? Is there an advantage to purchased bottles over bottles you get when you buy a six pack at the package store?

I don't normally bottle my beer (this is actually my first time ever). But, my sister in law wants a few batches in bottles for her wedding so I agreed to bottle some. I am doing it in 22oz bottles and instead of purchasing them for about $15 dollars a case, I bought them from the local packy for 5 cents per bottle (the bottle deposit). I don't get why you would pay over $1 per bottle when you can get them so cheap? It can't really be because the labels are on the used bottles can it? I assume it isn't because you have to clean them, because I also assume that nobody buys new bottles for every batch. Hhmmmm?

competitions require 12oz bottles with no markings on them. Most cappers will break twisttop bottles. Alot of the bottles without twisties have a brewers name emblazened on the bottle.

I buy my bottles for about $1.20 each. The best part is they have beer inside them too!

I just bought my bottles at my LBS in order to save a trip. One stop shopping and all that. It's like a Quick Mart. Prices are higher but everything's right there. From here on, however, I'll be getting some kegs so it's so-long to bottles.

Unmarked bottles for competitions or specialty bottles like Begians for corks. You can buy those full too, but they are a bit spendy.

I keg. The only time I bottle is if I'm swapping a few brews with the brewers I work with. I send them a full swing top, I get one back.

I know in my state there is no bottle deposit, so that's not an option. Options are buy empty bottles, drink and save (what I did mostly) and scavenge you local bars asking them to save bottles for you. I did buy 2 cases of 22ozers though. and Have one case of 12ozers I got from my mom for xmas with a BB kit the year SWMBO bought me my kit.

Now i have 2 cases of bombers I use for bottling apfelwein, and probably 5-6 Cases of 12 oz'rs taking of space where my more kegs should go.

McKBrew said:

Unmarked bottles for competitions or specialty bottles like Begians for corks. You can buy those full too, but they are a bit spendy.

I keg. The only time I bottle is if I'm swapping a few brews with the brewers I work with. I send them a full swing top, I get one back.

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+1 to swingtops and growler swaps!
I need to buy a 6 or 12pack of something without a twist top this weekend, I am out of competition bottles. My earlier post was simply to state reasons some people buy bottles. I have not bought an empty bottle in years except for an ocasional set of swingtops. All my growlers have breweries names on them.

I just get my parents and inlaws to save them as they mostly drink non twisties anyhow.

I have bought a 3 cases in the last few years. My friends all drink good beer that come in pry off bottles. I have at least 10 cases of empty bottles at any given time. craigslist is also a good place to look.

If you watch things in the classifieds on here, quite often you will find someone that has gone from bottling to kegging and is looking to give away mulitple cases of bottles that they are no longer needed.

FYI...beers from Red Hook have bottles that are blank and don't say anything on them, nearly identical to those that you buy at the LHBS...

I make an awful lot of wine and dont buy any bottles with the exception of a few cases of specialty Bellisama bottle as I never see those for free anywhere. I clean around 45 wine bottles at a clip pretty darn often and when I started making beer i bought the first few cases and then went right to kegging as I just didnt want to waste ore room to store these bottles also as I typically have around 300 empty wine bottles at any given time and usually around 1000 full wine bottles and around 6 carboys full of wine so I just couldnt see storing more bottles and having to clean them also. If I were going to need beer bottles again I would buy them again.

I'm debating buying another case of 22oz'ers (my starting kit came with 2 cases of 22 oz'ers) because I don't have enough time to drink 24 22 oz'ers before I need to bottle my next batch, and my first batch is still conditioning.

I am, however, trying to scavenge at least 12 bottles for the next batch. The problem is I am OCD about things matching

illin8 said:

FYI...beers from Red Hook have bottles that are blank and don't say anything on them, nearly identical to those that you buy at the LHBS...

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Stone bottles match too, as do Blue Frog Grog (although, given how small their operation seems to be, I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same source).
EDIT: Blue Frog Grog has those kind of painted on labels, and now that I think of it, Stone might use those as well

I just used it as an excuse to drink a lot of beer. Uh oh, I brewed a 5 gallon batch but don't have 50 empty bottles sitting around. Damn, I guess I better get drinking

marubozo said:

I just used it as an excuse to drink a lot of beer. Uh oh, I brewed a 5 gallon batch but don't have 50 empty bottles sitting around. Damn, I guess I better get drinking

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That's the route I'm going right now with 22oz'ers. The last three I bought though werent the same bottles as the LHBS ones, ooops

When I first started out bottling, I bought a case of 12 oz and a case of 22 oz bottles. Since then I've bought enough 6 packs of various brands and a fair number of 22 oz or 18 oz singles (e.g. Samuel Smiths) that I've added to my collection.

BUT, if I time it right, I can show up at my LHBS and pick up bottles for free. Customers bring in bottles they don't want or no longer use for others to pick up. Given that my entire state no longer recycles glass (sad indeed), I'm glad the LHBS is willing to act as an exchange point. Last week I walked in the door and saw stacks of 22 oz bottles sitting there. My eyes lit up! I walked out of there with 47 22-oz bottles and didn't pay a dime for 'em! Sweet! Though I did spend many dimes on other necessities in the store.

All my 12 oz. longnecks are non-returnable commercial bottles. I have 450-500, and have used them multiple times. Nothing whatever wrong with them from a homebrew standpoint. The glass may be thinner than what you buy....but those babies are strong, they have to be to stand up to shipment. I have only had two bottles crack, both vertical cracks in the neck.
I don't compete, but if you're interested in pry-offs that have no brand logo embossed into them, two that come to mind are Red Hook and Schlafly. I also think Saranac, Otter Creek, Newport Storm.....and I'm certain there are others. I also note that the new Michelob "craft" beers are being bottled in pry-offs, and I believe that is also true of the Budweiser American Ale. All of the half-liter Euro nonreturnables are pry-offs, and the Guinness 12 oz. bottles are really nice....the label is actually a shrink-on, which can be easily cut off, which means they are a dream to delabel, and that plastic "rocket " thing inside can be easily removed with needle-nose pliers.

Another plus to the Red Hook bottles, the labels almost come off by themselves and leave little glue residue. No markings in the glass or painted labels...they aren't as thick as Sam Adams bottles but work just as well.

+1 for craiglist I had a pretty good score of a rack of .5 lt swingtop bottles in their original plastic rack, plus a rack of .5 lt pry tops for free.

As far as buying bottles, a 24 case of 12 oz bottles costs about 12 dollars locally which isn't bad and the no markings rule make that a necessity sometimes for competition.

Another vote for Craigslist, and patience. I got 9 cases of de-labelled bombers for $20.