Apfelwein Bottle / Cork or Cap?

[Thunder_Chicken]

I am making a gallon batch of EdWort's apfelwein recipe. I am looking to carbonate this in the bottle, and was thinking about bottling it using a couple of the Muscato bottles that I have (shown below) BTW - Furnace Brook Winery in the Berkshires - good stuff!

I have a wing capper for 12 & 22 oz beer bottles. I wouldn't mind recorking so long as there is a reliable way to do it without buying more equipment (this is a one-off thing, for now anyway).

If knocking a new cork in with a soft mallet is possible and reliable, I'll do that. Aesthetically this is my preference, but not if it means I risk losing the bottle.

If not, it appears that there is a lip on this bottle. Will these bottles accept a standard bottle cap?

 

[Inner10]

I am making a gallon batch of EdWort's apfelwein recipe. I am looking to carbonate this in the bottle, and was thinking about bottling it using a couple of the Muscato bottles that I have (shown below) BTW - Furnace Brook Winery in the Berkshires - good stuff!

I have a wing capper for 12 & 22 oz beer bottles. I wouldn't mind recorking so long as there is a reliable way to do it without buying more equipment (this is a one-off thing, for now anyway).

If knocking a new cork in with a soft mallet is possible and reliable, I'll do that. Aesthetically this is my preference, but not if it means I risk losing the bottle.

If not, it appears that there is a lip on this bottle. Will these bottles accept a standard bottle cap?

Looks like a Belgian, living so clost to QC I get tonnes of those bottles. They don't take a regular cork or cap. The caps are larger and the corks are 44 x 25.5mm. You can order belgian corks and cages but you really need either a floor corker with a stopped jammed on the driving rod or a legit champagne corker.

 

[Revvy]

Depends on whether those champagne esque bottles are foreign or domestic will determine which size cap you need. Standard American sparking wine bottles take regular crown caps. If not you need to get some of the larger 29mm caps for belgian or champagne bottles.

If you have a standard wing capper, you will need to get a 29mm bell for it. You unscrew the smaller bell and screw this on.

And order these caps.

(Hint Hit, mark the bells and the sides of the plates with a sharpie so you know which is which.)

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

Thanks; that's disappointing but good to know. I'll see if I can find some nice 22 oz. beers that I like in the next month and just cap them.

Just missed your response Revvy. I've got a cheapo wing capper and the bell doesn't unscrew.

My wife likes the non-alcoholic sparkling cider, maybe I can get her to down a few bottles in the next month. That would work.

 

[Inner10]

Thanks; that's disappointing but good to know. I'll see if I can find some nice 22 oz. beers that I like in the next month and just cap them.

Just missed your response Revvy. I've got a cheapo wing capper and the bell doesn't unscrew.

My wife likes the non-alcoholic sparkling cider, maybe I can get her to down a few bottles in the next month. That would work.

You can get a floor corker for $35 brand new from a LHBS...people are always selling them on the used market for $20-25. Order a bag of corks for 6 bucks and a rebar tier for 5.

No need to jump too far off your wallet.

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

You can get a floor corker for $35 brand new from a LHBS...people are always selling them on the used market for $20-25. Order a bag of corks for 6 bucks and a rebar tier for 5.

No need to jump too far off your wallet.

Let me see how this batch goes. I'm really a beer man who likes the occasional wine. If it rocks and I also learn how to brew a good Merlot, I'll definitely invest. Right now I'm just happy to be brewing.

 

[Inner10]

Let me see how this batch goes. I'm really a beer man who likes the occasional wine. If it rocks and I also learn how to brew a good Merlot, I'll definitely invest. Right now I'm just happy to be brewing.

No beer looks more classy than a corked Belgian though...

 

[Revvy]

I do believe that ALL cheapo wing cappers unscrew. I thought the same with my red one for years until I was having a discussion about something with the owner of my lhbs and said something. And he picked up the brand I had and did it. If I recall the first time it was a little tight after years of not doing it and using it, but it did. Have you given it a good try just to make sure?

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

I do believe that ALL cheapo wing cappers unscrew

The metal bell and the plates are inserts in injection molded plastic, and the body of the capper is all one piece. Nothing unscrews. This was the bargain basement cheapest-of-the-cheap capper from the LHBS, black plastic, made in Italy. It caps regular beer bottles fine, but that is all it does I'm afraid.

 

[flips]

You can get a floor corker for $35 brand new from a LHBS...people are always selling them on the used market for $20-25.

New for $35?? where is this?

flips

 

[Revvy]

New for $35?? where is this?

flips

39 from here.

Colona Corker

 

[flips]

I will give it to you for being close to $35... But it misses on the floor and the corker parts...

From the description: Caps beer or domestic champagne bottles with metal crown caps, does not cork wine bottles.

Edit: I suppose you could sit on the floor with one of these... still not what I would call a floor corker...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FRWJN...iveASIN=B000FRWJNE&adid=0V3VA7K058JHMPNZW6YY&

flips

 

[Revvy]

I will give it to you for being close to $35... But it misses on the floor and the corker parts...

From the description: Caps beer or domestic champagne bottles with metal crown caps, does not cork wine bottles.

Edit: I suppose you could sit on the floor with one of these... still not what I would call a floor corker...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FRWJN...iveASIN=B000FRWJNE&adid=0V3VA7K058JHMPNZW6YY&

flips

They call it a floor corker, and the Colona Corker CAN be used to cork belgian cork and cage bottles, AND wine bottles.

Caps beer bottles and corks wine bottles. Accommodates 12 or 22 oz crown-cap beer bottles, and includes 26 mm and 29 mm bells; also accommodates 187, 375, 750, and 1500 ml wine bottles.

And there's threads on here, as well as a pretty famous tutorial in BYO MAGAZINE on how to use it for capping Belgian Cork and Cage bottles.

I wouldn't have posted it if it wasn't usable.....This ain't my first rodeo where this question is concerned.

 

[flips]

Sorry Revvy... I was being a smartass..

I thought what you posted was different than what is used in that article. I thought that article used one like this from NB:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/colonna-capper-corker.html

Which seems to be the description that you posted above, which does say it handles corks, etc... Maybe I don't understand the function of the Colonna units. I thought that you had to interchanged parts to use it for corks vs.s crowns. Does the bell just force the cork down in to the bottle without a guide?

flips

 

[Inner10]

New for $35?? where is this?

flips

http://www.musca.com/store/item493.htm

5 min walk from my house.

 

[Inner10]

Sorry Revvy... I was being a smartass..

I thought what you posted was different than what is used in that article. I thought that article used one like this from NB:
http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/colonna-capper-corker.html

Which seems to be the description that you posted above, which does say it handles corks, etc... Maybe I don't understand the function of the Colonna units. I thought that you had to interchanged parts to use it for corks vs.s crowns. Does the bell just force the cork down in to the bottle without a guide?

flips

Flips,

The Portuguese and Colona aren't perfect for Belgians or champagne...only champagne corkers are but they are more money. I set my Portuguese to minimum penetration, ram the cork in half way, set to deep, press down on the base, then lower the handle to eject the cork and bottle.

 

[flips]

wow. that is a great deal! That's what I was picturing when you said floor corker. That's twice that much at my LHBS...

http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/portuguese-floor-corker.html

Portugal must have a free trade agreement with Canada...

flips