Cheap Plastic bottles for carbing brew

[brewanew]

I would greatly appreciate any recommendations/ideas on cheap bottling solutions. Cheaper than 2 cases of glass bottles $40+ with caps or PET bottles $35+ with caps. I'm newbe not wanting to invest to much into this endeavor so I was thinking 2 litter soda/sparkling water bottles or 1 litter carb sparkling bottles.

Thanks

 

[Cambone]

Why not buy two cases of beer? You get two cases of beer and they even throw in the bottles for free!

 

[jeffd10]

Why not buy two cases of beer? You get two cases of beer and they even through in the bottles for free!

+1

Got a local bar restaurant you can smooze bartender/manager

recyling place may sell them cheap

 

[DonutMuncher]

Why not buy two cases of beer? You get two cases of beer and they even through in the bottles for free!

+1

You can buy a couple cases of pry-off beers, enjoy them, then re-use the bottles. Of course this will probably run you more than $40, but you get to enjoy beer!

You can buy a case of PET bottles for around $25 to $30 online.

Or, as you mentioned, you can try re-using empty soda bottles. Just keep in mind that if you are going to use clear bottles, they need to be well-protected from light. Also keep in mind that if you're going to use 2-liter soda bottles, that's a lot of beer you're opening at one time that will go flat if not consumed. I'd use smaller bottles.

 

[petey_c]

I use 20 oz. coke bottles. I have a case and a half. No problems with carbing, skunking, or bottle bombs (Okay, there was one. A Coopers Heritage lager (ale) using carb drops, that split the seam at the bottom!)

 

[brewanew]

Thanks for the responses. Petey glad to hear I'm not the only one to try this. My main concern is creating a bottle bomb and of course skunking the beer.

>>Has any one used 1 liter bottles for carbing?<<
I'm thinking of going 1 liter sparkling carb water bottle but I'm afraid it maybe to much beer that will =pressure= bottle bomb=no beer for me? But, to bottle 5 gallon(2 cases) cost $14 in the cheapo 1liter plastic bottles

>I contacted a popular watering hole and they may donate bottles to my cause.<
Sounds great, free cases of bottles. But, how in the heck do I clean em extremely thoroughly? I have no idea who drank for em ect./kinda nasty..Should I use Star-San??, Oxy Clean?, Bleach?, Dishwasher?

Thanks for your help!

 

[BradleyBrew]

check craigslist there are always people selling bottles. I bet 99% of the people on this forum can relate to your question... do yourself a favor and just get some glass bottles you can reuse. You will pay now but save more down the road.

 

[hogwild]

There are a couple of root beers that come in brown plastic bottles. I've used them and they work fine.

 

[Draken]

I walked into my local brew store and walked out with 48 bottles and 200 o2 absorbing caps for under 30...

 

[petey_c]

Water bottles are NOT designed (maybe more so the caps/seals?) to handle carb'ing pressures. Don't waste your time bottling in them. PET bottles won't retain carb. after about 6 - 8 months. You can slowly build up your supply of PET bottles, without even really trying.

 

[veritas524]

I just asked everyone at work to save me their bottles. Then when that wasn't enough, I hung out by the recycling pick up area and offered $.10 a bottle if people let me cherry pick their stuff. Soak them in PBW or oxyclean and they should rinse right out.

 

[Zen_Brew]

>I contacted a popular watering hole and they may donate bottles to my cause.<
Sounds great, free cases of bottles. But, how in the heck do I clean em extremely thoroughly? I have no idea who drank for em ect./kinda nasty..Should I use Star-San??, Oxy Clean?, Bleach?, Dishwasher?

Thanks for your help!

I often re-use beer bottles. Get a big Rubbermaid tub and soak the bottles overnight in a hot oxiclean solution. Next day rinse the bottles well and drip dry a bit. Then dip them in a bucket of starsan for a minute and drip dry up side down. Cap with a piece of sanitized foil. They're all ready to go when you need them. It is a pain in the butt, but I think the price for new empty bottles is pretty crazy.

 

[aidan]

If you have weekly glass recycling in your neighbourhood take a walk around before the pickup, bring a big sack and you'll have your pick of the bottles out of the recycle bins. You might look like a bum but it's for a good cause!

 

[H-Balm]

You might try Target or certain Grocery Stores.

In the past I have gotten some fancy sparkling drinks and things with Grolsch stopper lids.
Nice thing is they were Liter sized.

 

[dbhokie]

We have never bought bottles, well unfilled empty bottles. It's nice to have some sitting around in case you might want to compete (they won't take glass with brewery markings on them afaik), but just buy amber pop-top beers to drink while you wait on your brews.

We have a pretty simple process that seems to work well.

1.) Rinse the bottle thoroughly after drinking
2.) Fill up a cooler with water (or a large vessel) we use cold water, add oxyclean, add bottles to fill up the cooler, then take about 3-4 gallons of very hot water (usually boiled on a brew day to conserve time and focus efforts), and add it on top, the labels and glue slide right off, leave them in that for a bit or a day if your forget.
3.) We then rinse the bottles very good again and drain them on a drain tree.
(note: there are a lot of people who suggest a bath in citric acid (mixed with water) in order to ensure the oxyclean residue is gone, we haven't had a noticeable problem yet, so we don't do this.
4.) Sanitize the bottles on bottling day
5.) Cap Bottles
6.) laugh at the bottle's original manufacturer as you drink your beer and curse at them for not making you beer as good as yours

 

[jtf3456]

I bought 20 1 litre carbonated water bottles, the generic brand from the grocery store for $19 and they work perfectly.

 

[brewanew]

Thanks to all of you for your great responses!

I'm leaning a little to 1 litre carbonated water bottles. I'm not sure if I want to clean glass bottles I have not idea where they have been.

>But still wondering of a FREE & somewhat cleaner solution to bottle<
I wonder if Wine bottles would work?? Should be easy to get from local restaurants and I guess the thought is no one is contaminating it with their funky mouth. All wine is poured.

 

[yancydc]

Thanks to all of you for your great responses!
I wonder if Wine bottles would work?? Should be easy to get from local restaurants and I guess the thought is no one is contaminating it with their funky mouth. All wine is poured.

You won't be able to cap them, so that's a no go. I also don't think regular wine bottles are designed to withstand the pressure of carbonation, but I'm not positive on that.

 

[glenn514]

Over a year ago, I bottle-carbed a batch of apfelwein in PETE bottles. I re-used several 2 liter soda bottles, along with some of the bottles the apple juice originally came in. I did it partially as an experiment to see if it would work...and it worked just fine! The soda bottles worked out better than the juice bottles because the soda bottles are completely round. The juice bottle "handle" indentations got popped out by the carbonation.

Beer, I think, would work just fine in PETE bottles...but you would want to use the NON-clear ones. Light doesn't cause problems with apfelwein...only beer.

glenn514

 

[Kingfish]

Bleach is a VERY good sanitizer. Just dump bottles in a bin/bucket/trash can/bath tub/whatever. Add bleach and let them sit a while. Labels will come right off and no nasties will survive. Just rinse them a few times them use an appropriate sanitizer (Star San) on bottling day.

 

[spokaniac]

Glass is pretty easy to clean. You can soak them in PBW or oxyclean, run them through the dishwasher with no soap or rinse aid, or soak them in a bleach solution to get all the cooties off and any residue out of the bottles. For stubborn residue inside a bottle brush or jet washer works great. Then sanitize them with starsan or iodophor on bottling day and your all set.

Wine bottles are not good, but there are some champagne bottles that are capable and are made to withstand the internal pressure from carbonation.

I like having 1 or 2 of the PET rootbeer bottles per batch too. You can give them a squeeze and check how they are carbing up.

 

[MimersMead]

My boyfriend is a bouncer for a bar, so I get him to bring home a couple of 24s of the Grolsch bottles when I brew. We just pay the bar the deposit price for the bottles. Then I don't have to worry about bottle caps!

 

[dbhokie]

You could use champagne bottles if you saved the little holders that hold the corks in. They are designed a bit different (thicker) than wine bottles. Wine bottles are really more made for non-carbonated (still) beverages. I doubt they would break, more likely the corks would just pop out, but you don't want that either. (anything with a swing top would work).

 

[AGadvocate]

My local beverage center sells me empty beer bottles for the deposit cost of .05 cents each. They always have empty cases of Sam Adams bottles which the labels peel off really easy soaked for a few minutes of hot water

 

[dbhokie]

New Belgium and Sam 12 pack boxes are great for storage btw. In my experience they hold the weight and last a lot longer. Although recently I have been picking up 24pk cs boxes , which are much sturdier, or 12 pack cs wine boxes for 22-24 oz, from my LHBS, he doesn't mind tossing me a bunch.

 

[Zen_Brew]

I'm leaning a little to 1 litre carbonated water bottles. I'm not sure if I want to clean glass bottles I have not idea where they have been.

I wonder if Wine bottles would work?? Should be easy to get from local restaurants and I guess the thought is no one is contaminating it with their funky mouth. All wine is poured.

I wouldn't get hung up on the "peoples funky mouths" thing. An Oxyclean soak and a sanitizer will get rid of all the nasties. Glass does not hold bacteria very well. Hell, every time you eat out at a restaurant you are using glasses and silverware that have had peoples funky mouths all over them right?

 

[AJP]

I told all my friends to save there bottles, and I have been saving mine. Within a month or so I have over 9 cases of empties available for bottling.

 

[LimerickBrewCo]

No matter what you decide for this batch, I'd recommend starting to build a collection of glass beer bottles. Just ask friends and family to keep any pop top beer bottles and keep any you buy yourself. You'll had more than you know what to do with very quickly and won't have to pay for anything but caps which are only a couple bucks.

 

[brewanew]

Zen_Brew great point that you make."Hell, every time you eat out at a restaurant you are using glasses and silverware that have had peoples funky mouths all over them right?"

I think I'm going glass beer bottles if I can get a local bar to donate or I can find "local beverage center" >>AGadvocate<< whats the name of the place your buying your bottles from, sounds like a great deal. I wonder if I would have one around here locally?

 

[malevolent]

I have a restaurant near me that knows my family (been going there for about 15 years). They donate 22oz and 12oz bottles to me. I give them a few home brews every time I bottle and just label the cap on when they can expect it to be ready to drink.