I've searched the forum, but haven't found any answers to the question: Does anyone have an opinion on what type of bottles are best used for aging? Is it more personal preference, or does anyone have experience in this matter?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Best bottles for aging?
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TyTanium
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Ones filled with beer.
Brown for sure. Some love the O2 caps, but if its under a year or so normal caps should be fine. Some like larger bottles and/or corks for a psuedo bulk-aging. But I say bottle in what's convenient, shouldn't make too much of a difference.
Brown for sure. Some love the O2 caps, but if its under a year or so normal caps should be fine. Some like larger bottles and/or corks for a psuedo bulk-aging. But I say bottle in what's convenient, shouldn't make too much of a difference.
Ok, let's talk about bottles in general and then about aging.
First your bottles should be brown, not green or clear. The darker color protects your tasty brew from the light. If you have Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie talks about this.
If you plan on bottling Belgian beers and plan to carb to style above 3.5 volumes, you're going to need strong bottles to hold that pressure. Most US bottles are too thin for high carbed Belgians. If you weigh typical empty US bottles and compare to a same volume bottle from Chimay, for instance, you'll quickly understand what I mean.
On to aging. Three basic things you manage : temperature, light, and closure on the bottle.
Temperature: lower (without freezing the beer) the better. Of course ensure it is carbed before chilling. That said, I store my bottles in my basement. I've mostly stopped bottling. I have bottles from 2.5 years ago that still taste good. I'm sharing that to let you know that cellar temps are absolutely workable. Alternate example: Jamil used to have a super chilled converted shed just to store his bottled beer.
Light: even if you use brown bottles, light gets through. I cover my bottles with beach towels to shield from light. Less light gets in the better.
Closure: ensure you're capping securely. The bells on those wing cappers can get misshapen over time. You could also invest in Oxygen absorbing caps. They do work. Also, I think it was Brew Your Own or perhaps it was Zymurgy that had an article about capping. Might be worth you looking it up.
Remember that higher alcohol beers will naturally keep longer. If your beer will be in cellar or lower temps, away from light, then there's no big worries about stability for minimum six months, more likely one year. That is just my opinion and I'm certain others will differ.
Cheers
First your bottles should be brown, not green or clear. The darker color protects your tasty brew from the light. If you have Joy of Homebrewing, Charlie talks about this.
If you plan on bottling Belgian beers and plan to carb to style above 3.5 volumes, you're going to need strong bottles to hold that pressure. Most US bottles are too thin for high carbed Belgians. If you weigh typical empty US bottles and compare to a same volume bottle from Chimay, for instance, you'll quickly understand what I mean.
On to aging. Three basic things you manage : temperature, light, and closure on the bottle.
Temperature: lower (without freezing the beer) the better. Of course ensure it is carbed before chilling. That said, I store my bottles in my basement. I've mostly stopped bottling. I have bottles from 2.5 years ago that still taste good. I'm sharing that to let you know that cellar temps are absolutely workable. Alternate example: Jamil used to have a super chilled converted shed just to store his bottled beer.
Light: even if you use brown bottles, light gets through. I cover my bottles with beach towels to shield from light. Less light gets in the better.
Closure: ensure you're capping securely. The bells on those wing cappers can get misshapen over time. You could also invest in Oxygen absorbing caps. They do work. Also, I think it was Brew Your Own or perhaps it was Zymurgy that had an article about capping. Might be worth you looking it up.
Remember that higher alcohol beers will naturally keep longer. If your beer will be in cellar or lower temps, away from light, then there's no big worries about stability for minimum six months, more likely one year. That is just my opinion and I'm certain others will differ.
Cheers
I still keep mine(650 ml) in wine boxes and the 10 boxes of blue flips that I have, still store in the boxes that they came in, so no light gets to them at all. IMHO wine boxes are the best place for storing beer for any time, they are free and very strong. I am working on a Bret B beer and the only thing that I would add to KC's post is that for 12 bucks you can buy some wax and heat it in a old can, which will help retain the CO2 in the bottles and look really cool at the same time.
alexdagrate
Well-Known Member
+1 on the brown bottles. Don't even THINK of using clear or green.
As far as size of the bottle goes, I am of two minds:
1) Use the biggest bottles you can find. It sort of simulates "bulk aging." You might end up with the positive qualities of an aged beer sooner when using a 22oz or 750 mL bottle. At the very least, big bottles are easier to clean, since you end up cleaning fewer bottles. The 750 mL bottles sometimes used by Sierra Nevada for special beers and the Ovila beers are cappable, including the ones that come corked in the store. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo are available in 24 oz bottles, which are nice and big.
2) Use the smallest bottles you can find. If you're aging a beer, then chances are you're making something BIG, so 12 oz or even 7 oz bottles (like the ones Rogue XS beers come in) would probably deliver enough booze to satisfy. Think about it. If you bottle an 11% Barleywine in a 22 oz bottle, then drink it by yourself, you're almost drinking the equivalent of 4 pale ales. Also, the beers will last longer, which means you'll be able to get older and older beers as you just steal 12 oz at a time from the stash, not 22 oz. Personally, I use Deschutes 12 oz bottles, but only because I buy lots of Deschutes beers are Costco and I like the hop design in the glass.
As far as size of the bottle goes, I am of two minds:
1) Use the biggest bottles you can find. It sort of simulates "bulk aging." You might end up with the positive qualities of an aged beer sooner when using a 22oz or 750 mL bottle. At the very least, big bottles are easier to clean, since you end up cleaning fewer bottles. The 750 mL bottles sometimes used by Sierra Nevada for special beers and the Ovila beers are cappable, including the ones that come corked in the store. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo are available in 24 oz bottles, which are nice and big.
2) Use the smallest bottles you can find. If you're aging a beer, then chances are you're making something BIG, so 12 oz or even 7 oz bottles (like the ones Rogue XS beers come in) would probably deliver enough booze to satisfy. Think about it. If you bottle an 11% Barleywine in a 22 oz bottle, then drink it by yourself, you're almost drinking the equivalent of 4 pale ales. Also, the beers will last longer, which means you'll be able to get older and older beers as you just steal 12 oz at a time from the stash, not 22 oz. Personally, I use Deschutes 12 oz bottles, but only because I buy lots of Deschutes beers are Costco and I like the hop design in the glass.
As already touched on it depends on the beer you are bottling. If you're storing a 3-5 volume belgian you want heavy glass. I hoard champagne bottles just for that purpose.
An additional step you can take if you're using champagne bottles is that you can bottle like Cantillion or Lindemans. They use a cork and then a crown cap over top of the cork. That provides a double seal essentially. On non-corked bottles like barleywines and stuff you can do a wax dip which will give a better seal and additional oxygen protection.
An additional step you can take if you're using champagne bottles is that you can bottle like Cantillion or Lindemans. They use a cork and then a crown cap over top of the cork. That provides a double seal essentially. On non-corked bottles like barleywines and stuff you can do a wax dip which will give a better seal and additional oxygen protection.
