1st time - bottles

[DCFDPipeman]

Getting prepared to bottle up my first 4 gallons of mead.. traditional, peach, blackberry to be more specific.. all made the by Brays, BOMM method.. plan to age them, drink every 3 months.. let a few go 1 full year..

I am trying to decide between: corking, caps and flip tops.. the plan is to drink some as I age it so not looking at 750ml at this time..

I know if I cork, I will get a floor corker.. do these to do caps as well?

Are flip tops (swing top) not a good choice for mead? I see a lot of people post about them..pro/cons? plenty available out there but reading that its not air tight as cork and cap?

I am thinking 500ML.. for a good size.. taste as I go.. Thoughts on 375ML?

Good sources to buy a multi-use floor corker/cap machine, bottles, corks or caps..

Thanks
Peter

 

[Maylar]

I use 750's with a hand corker. For sampling & sharing I also like 375 ml with the plastic topped "tasting" corks.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I know if I cork, I will get a floor corker.. do these to do caps as well?

To my knowledge there aren't any corker/capper combos. They are very different tools.

I use these and highly recommend them:
https://morebeer.com/products/colt-strong-high-pressure-bench-bottle-capper.html
https://morewinemaking.com/products/table-top-corker.html

I am thinking 500ML.. for a good size.. taste as I go.. Thoughts on 375ML?

I use single-serving bottles for meads because that's as much as I want to drink in a sitting:
https://www.amazon.com/187-Clear-Champagne-Bottles-case/dp/B0089WIAP8/
These can be capped or corked.

I don't like oxidation, so opening and closing larger bottles isn't a good option for me.

I use both 375 and 750mL bottles for other wines.

 

[davidabcd]

Flip-tops are a good option in that they seal well and ease of use.

 

[Maylar]

 

[RPh_Guy]

FYI there's a tool that helps hold the sleeve on the bottle while you're shrinking it, so that the top is flush.

https://labelpeelers.com/equipment/cappers/pvc-shrink-tool-bag-decapper-combo/

 

[Maylar]

FYI there's a tool that helps hold the sleeve on the bottle while you're shrinking it, so that the top is flush.

https://labelpeelers.com/equipment/cappers/pvc-shrink-tool-bag-decapper-combo/

Cool. Thanks. It does look a bit crude with the funky cap on top.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I use a rubber band from some asparagus I bought. Just run it top to bottom of the bottle. Works great.

 

[DCFDPipeman]

To my knowledge there aren't any corker/capper combos. They are very different tools.

I use these and highly recommend them:
https://morebeer.com/products/colt-strong-high-pressure-bench-bottle-capper.html
https://morewinemaking.com/products/table-top-corker.html

I use single-serving bottles for meads because that's as much as I want to drink in a sitting:
https://www.amazon.com/187-Clear-Champagne-Bottles-case/dp/B0089WIAP8/
These can be capped or corked.

I don't like oxidation, so opening and closing larger bottles isn't a good option for me.
I use both 375 and 750mL bottles for other wines.

Thanks! Im having a hard time find 500ml.. One local mead uses this size and it seems perfect amount.. but its only a screw top! I assume its just bulked again before bottled..

So I am thinking 375ML, maybe 187mls now too.. I dont think I am at the 750ML level yet as I am still learning.. but maybe I could use 750ML size for my 6mo and 1yr tasting?

Table-top-corker.. everything I "read" says get a floor corker.. https://morewinemaking.com/products/table-top-corker.html .. this one looks like a floor version but a table top.. hmmm???


I have yet to come across a mead with a crown-cap? I assume use a beer style bottle.. I dont see many posting about crown-caps.. what seems to be a shelf life of a crown cap?

What's a shelf life for a flip-top? opinion on these really varies..

Thanks All!!
Peter

 

[RPh_Guy]

Re: 500mL bottles
They seem easy to find. Here's one source:
https://www.amazon.com/North-Mountain-Supply-Bordelaise-Punt-Bottom/dp/B07PJ7Y4N6/

Table-top-corker.. everything I "read" says get a floor corker..

The one I linked is basically a compact floor corker. It has all the benefits of a floor corker. In other words it's extremely easy to use, handles any cork product, and doesn't require special cork preparation. I use it on the floor, just need to bend down to put a bottle in it.
If you want a larger version, that's fine, but be prepared to pay more $$.

It's the hand corkers that you want to avoid if you're serious about corking and want it to be fast and easy.

FYI you'd need a spacer if you want to cork the small 187mL bottles.

I have yet to come across a mead with a crown-cap? I assume use a beer style bottle.. I dont see many posting about crown-caps.. what seems to be a shelf life of a crown cap?

What's a shelf life for a flip-top? opinion on these really varies..

Crown caps are comparable to screw tops for wine. Both corks are screw tops are standard in the wine industry.
A notable difference is that unlike wine screw caps, beer crown caps often have an oxygen-absorbing chemical built in. This absorbs oxygen in the headspace, and delays oxidation of the beverage.

Artificial closures like plastic corks, screw caps, and crown caps all let oxygen through at a controlled rate over time. This limits the shelf life of the wine to a couple years.
We don't have actual data but it's very likely that swing tops would let through the most oxygen of all the options based on what we know about oxygen transmission, and they don't have the oxygen absorbing ability like crown caps.

Natural corks however actually stop letting through oxygen after a period of time, giving the wine a significantly longer shelf life: 5-20 years.
For corking I'm a huge fan of the colmated corks I get from More Beer/Wine. They have all the benefits of high grade natural cork (very long shelf life) with less risk (TCA "cork taint"). They're a good size, seal well, and are easy to remove.

Any of these closures may be suitable based on your goals.

Cheers

 

[madscientist451]

My mom drinks cheap white wine that comes in 1.5 L screw top bottles.
I've been re-using them for cider and wine without any problems.
However, the wine doesn't last long in bottles, I bulk age in a carboy and then my G/F drinks it all up soon after its bottled, so I suppose that's not a good test.
I've been aging cider in screw cap bottles and gallon jugs for years without issues.
I also use Zorks for non-screw cap bottles.
I usually carbonate my meads and use flip top or crown cap beer bottles.

 

[Seamonkey84]

Screw top wine bottles actually let in less/no oxygen compared to cork.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Screw top wine bottles actually let in less/no oxygen compared to cork.

You're right, the commercial screw caps have more limited OTR, similar or less than natural cork. There's not a consensus on which is ultimately better. For example this guy prefers cork in multiple taste tests:
https://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog...g-the-same-wine-sealed-with-cork-and-screwcap

However, I doubt the screw cap closures available to us are comparable to the screw cap closures used by commercial wineries. I suspect they have much higher oxygen transmission. There's no data that I have found, but the caps we can buy obviously aren't the same and nowhere near as well designed.

On the other hand if you're reusing the commercial screw caps like @madscientist451, that's a different story.

I wouldn't sweat it too much though, like I said any closure type is probably ok especially if it won't age a long time.