Joewalla88
Well-Known Member
Is it possible to cork a beer by hand without a corker? I want to cork and cage my next batch of sour beer, but not sure if it's possible without buying more gear that I don't really want to invest in right now.
If all else fails, I'll try this route. Though your all bets are off thing make me a little concerned.There are plastic corks (actually called champagne stoppers) that have a mushroom shape that you just push down in with your palm. Then cage. I’ve used them with champagne level carbonation and as long as your cage is secure you’re good to go. Now, when you remove the cage, all bets are off.
Plastic Champagne Stoppers, Bag of 50 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0068RP2YI/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
If all else fails, I'll try this route. Though your all bets are off thing make me a little concerned.
With the plastic corks you'll sometimes find bottles don't make a good seal, especially on some of the green 750s. For whatever reason there is some variance among the exact size of the mouth opening on those. Otherwise, they work fine but they aren't as air impermeable as wood or synthetic wood corks so you will get more oxidation over time. If you plan to drink them within a few years you'll be fine though.
If you have a wing capper that can cap 29mm caps you can insert a straight cork and cap over it like lambic and some saisons. Otherwise you can probably find somebody local to you who has a floor corker you could borrow. Some homebrew shops rent them out as well.
I'm just hoping to reuse some bottles I've been collecting. Rodenbach, dutchess, other random Belgian style beer bottles.
Do the wing cappers work for the 29mm caps? I thought they didn't for some reason.With the plastic corks you'll sometimes find bottles don't make a good seal, especially on some of the green 750s. For whatever reason there is some variance among the exact size of the mouth opening on those. Otherwise, they work fine but they aren't as air impermeable as wood or synthetic wood corks so you will get more oxidation over time. If you plan to drink them within a few years you'll be fine though.
If you have a wing capper that can cap 29mm caps you can insert a straight cork and cap over it like lambic and some saisons. Otherwise you can probably find somebody local to you who has a floor corker you could borrow. Some homebrew shops rent them out as well.
I have the ubiquitous Portuguese floor corker - it won't do the Belgian (mushroom shaped) corks.
I'm not sure what you mean. Belgian and champagne corks are typically cylindrical when they go in the bottle, and get the mushroom shape after the part that's outside the bottle decompresses back to it's original size. And the Portuguese corker will do those.
Or are you talking about something completely different, that I'm not familiar with?
That's what I have, and yes, you can do Belgians with it. It's kind of big to be "tabletop", however. So if you buy it, expect something bigger than they lead you to believe.Hey all, I was wondering if the following corker could be used for cork and caging Belgian bottles:
https://www.morebeer.com/products/table-top-corker.html?site_id=9
It looks pretty similar to the Portuguese or Italian floor corkers I’ve seen others use on YouTube. Also, I’ve heard to use a #7 stopper to set the gap — is that the standard carboy bung or the drilled rubber one?
That's what I have, and yes, you can do Belgians with it. It's kind of big to be "tabletop", however. So if you buy it, expect something bigger than they lead you to believe.
I don't use a stopper for depth, I use the adjustable nut that's there for setting depth. Your choice, however. Either will work.
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