Bottles - Twistoff?

[Jamo99]

I picked up a case of beer today, thinking that I could reuse the non-twistoff bottles for my homebrew. The bottles aren't twist-off, but when I pop the cap off, the rings are there that I would expect on a twistoff bottle. This is the second time that I have noticed this and I'm wondering if I can reuse these bottles with my own brew/caps. Has anyone reused these bottles before and with good or bad results?

 

[McKBrew]

What brand of bottles?

 

[Jamo99]

They are from Otter Creek brewery out of Vermont. They are 12 oz longnecks with a 33 on the bottom of the bottle.

Edit: Scratch that number on the bottom of the bottle. That was just that particular one. The numbers vary.

 

[Judd]

I've used them without any problems, although if you plan on aging your beer you may find that twist-offs are more prone to oxidation.

 

[malkore]

you'd be best off using a bench capper. wing cappers may not seat the cap properly and it won't be a perfect seal...so flat beer, and possible infections in some bottles.

 

[jakee117]

I had the same problem with a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale two weeks ago. Decided not to reuse them. I hope this isn't a trend.

 

[eviljafar]

I use twist offs with my bench capper and I've had no carbonation problems. A wing capper will tear the top right off some twist offs though . I cap, turn 90', push down again, then give a gentle tightening twist. Bottling is always a bit messy so I rinse my bottles after capping in warm water. In the last few hundred bottles I have only heard one hissing after I rinsed and I just twisted it tight.

The caps I use are labelled suitable for twist offs but I don't know if they're any different.

I actually collected a whole bunch of Leffe bottles. They aren't twist off but they are a pain to cap with my capper. A combination of the bottle shape and capper I guess.

 

[Jamo99]

For the time being I'm going to take the better safe than sorry route. It's not like beer bottles rarely pass through here. I might use a few as test bottles, but won't risk much of any of my batches.