"Cool" PET Bottles?

[Eschaton_YDAU]

Hi everyone!

I have been brewing ginger wine/beer recently in small batches.

I've put it into glass before, but since I need it to bottle condition and keep it very sweet, it involves carefully monitoring it once in bottles (it's the middle of an active fermentation, and tends to carbonate completely in about 16 hours) and then stovetop pasteurization (which, in my experience, tends to blow caps with even the slightest of bad seals off with a lot of force).

Not worth it.

PET bottles aren't "cool," I know. But are there any out there that don't just look like soda bottles? I've seen the MR. Beer and Coopers ones, and they're alright. But has anyone ever bottled in some kinda neat-looking PET bottles? And where might I get them, if that's the case?

These are neat, but they are not rated for pressure: http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item/B233A

Wonder if they would still work... Has anyone ever tried them?

I await your replies

 

[lump42]

It might be fine for lighter carbonated "British" style ales. A local brewer used to sell 32 oz version in the same shape for their "half growler". It was fine for refilling, but I tried bottling in it a few time and the bottom was very distorted, bulged out to a round bottom. The star pattern gives the plastic more structure and is much more resistant to bulging.

You could always buy root beer bottles that come in brown PET bottles and reuse them. A&W uses them sometimes.

The other option is to pasteurize it, then keg it, carbonate it, and bottle from the keg.

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

You could always buy root beer bottles that come in brown PET bottles and reuse them. A&W uses them sometimes.

I thought Root Beer bottles were a no no, as the flavor leaches into the plastic?

 

[Eschaton_YDAU]

It might be fine for lighter carbonated "British" style ales. A local brewer used to sell 32 oz version in the same shape for their "half growler". It was fine for refilling, but I tried bottling in it a few time and the bottom was very distorted, bulged out to a round bottom. The star pattern gives the plastic more structure and is much more resistant to bulging.

You could always buy root beer bottles that come in brown PET bottles and reuse them. A&W uses them sometimes.

The other option is to pasteurize it, then keg it, carbonate it, and bottle from the keg.

No Kegs over here, maybe someday

I don't have much control over the carbonation of this stuff. I just have to hope that refrigerator temps stall it out (which they have, in my experience). I think the wine yeast I use (Lalvin d-47) is pretty temperature-sensitive. This stuff is basically alcoholic soda meant to be drunk fresh, so it's all rather fly by night.

Tastes great, though.

If those round bottles DO deform, that would allow me to know when to release pressure before the system hits a breaking point.... Hm. Tempting. The question is whether they deform at a reasonable pressure/carbonation level...

 

[Eschaton_YDAU]

I thought Root Beer bottles were a no no, as the flavor leaches into the plastic?

They would be fine for my purposes, I think. It's basically a sweet soda with a very strong ginger flavor that would overpower any residual flavors...

And it's about 8-9% alcohol, which should be enough to make the drinker not care about halfway through a bottle

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

It's basically a sweet soda with a very strong ginger flavor that would overpower any residual flavors...

I see. Well, ship me some and I'll be the judge of whether or not you can taste any root beer.

 

[Eschaton_YDAU]

I see. Well, ship me some and I'll be the judge of whether or not you can taste any root beer.

haha maybe I will

 

[lump42]

I thought Root Beer bottles were a no no, as the flavor leaches into the plastic?

I've used root beer and other used soda bottles without any off flavors. I wash them out well and then soak in oxyclean.