Leaking EZCap Bottles, What now?

[boicutt]

Okay, so first batch done and bottled last night in grolsch style bottles. I knew what I was getting into when i bought them but I didn't think that brand new seals would do this.

I layed them on their side and plan on leaving them there to prime, I figured the liquid would act as a seal for the CO2. I was wrong, came home to find 2 had leaked. I opened them and try to reposition and seal. First, was that a bad move? Second is it normal that there was already co2 present after less than 24 hours or is that a sign of a risk already?

To answer questions that might be asked, it was fermented for 3 weeks 3 days short of 4. Final bottled amount 4.15 gallons. 3oz of table sugar dissolved in about 1 cup of water. They are 1 Litre bottles, if that info is relevant!


Thanks for the help!

 

[DevilNuts]

I use 1 liter growlers with swing tops for my beer. I have heard mixed things about using growlers for carbonation, but I haven't had a problem yet and I think the quality of the bottle might account for whether or not it will work well.

If the bottles, caps and seals are good, it might be the amount of sugar, or maybe even over-filled bottles?

 

[boicutt]

I got the branded E-Z Cap bottles. Got them from my LHBS but that's what seems to be sold mostly on the net as well.

Well I did as John Palmer said, leave the wand down the bottom till full, and when removing the wand it leave enough headspace up the neck.

Please tell me I didn't produce bombs with the priming sugar I put for the quantity I have...

 

[Beernik]

E-Z Caps (0.5L, 1L, or 2L) shouldn't do that unless you over primed and I wouldn't think you would know if you over primed in a day... Unless your beer wasn't finished fermenting.

You may have gotten a set of bottles with cracked gaskets.

That said, I wouldn't carb bottles on their side. You want sediment and yeast to drop to the bottom of the bottles.

Buy a bag of new gaskets and swap them really quick. A bag of new gaskets isn't too expensive.

 

[boicutt]

According to my calculation I don't think it's over primed, can someone confirm?

As for sediment, won't it just fall back to the bottom once I put them in the fridge?

 

[jfk69]

Three ounces of priming sugar is not overcarbonating four gallons of beer. You should be fine there.

 

[harleybug88]

According to my calculation I don't think it's over primed, can someone confirm?

As for sediment, won't it just fall back to the bottom once I put them in the fridge?

Yes, let them set in the fridge for as long as you can take it, a week would be good to let everything settle.

 

[boicutt]

Thanks for the input guys!!

 

[harleybug88]

While were on the subject of EZ cap bottles, what's the pro's and con's of them? Does Anyone have more input from who has bottled with them?

 

[nicklepickles]

pros: easy to use, look fancy, tend to to better with higher carbonation
cons: more expensive, have to replace gaskets every once in awhile

I use swing tops pretty often, i like using them because bottling is a good bit quicker, not having to deal with caps and whatnot.

 

[Beernik]

I think the only con is price. You generally can't get them by drinking beers so you have to buy them new.

I went about 6 years before I started replacing seals. I think I've only had two bottles fail to carb due to bad seals in 8 years of brewing.

I like the 0.5L ones because I like drinking pints more than 12 or 22oz. I also like to take a 1L or 2L to parties.

The one trick on storage, to keep the seals good: store them open.

 

[KepowOb]

I use them too and haven't really found a con. I got 72 of the .5L ones when a friend switched to kegging. I still use some 12oz bottles though, as sometimes that's all I feel like.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[brewprint]

I absolutely love those bottles. I wish I had more. I think I have around 30. Most of them are grolsch beer. It's $8.50 for a 4 pack which is actually cheaper than buying the empty ex cap brand. They say grolsch on them but I don't care. Lots of stores carry that beer around here.

 

[harleybug88]

So far it's pro for the flip top EZ caps. ...Anymore comments?

 

[boicutt]

Honestly, apart from possible leaks due to seals, no real con to these bottles!

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I bottle almost exclusively in 1 liter flip tops. They're a bit more money in the short term, but they'll save you money & time in the long run. Bottling is a breeze & takes about 1/8 the time as bottling in 12 oz bottles with crown caps. You'll have to replace the gaskets every once in a while, but they'll last several bottlings before they need to be replaced. The 1 liter size comes in cases of 12 instead of 24 though. They're also resealable, so if you don't finish the bottle (though you really should finish it) you can reseal it & put it in the fridge, it'll still be carbed a few days later.

Here's a tip: Save the little cardboard divider from the case & use it to separate your bottles & store the freshly bottled beer/wine/mead/cider in those 18 gallon Rubbermaid tubs. This will keep the bottles from banging together in direct contact & the tub will contain any possible bottle bombs. And you can stack them. Those tubs are great for washing bottles too.
Regards, GF.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

When I first started brewing, I saved enough regular grolsch swing tops for around 10 gal of brew. I've used a combination of those and regular 12 oz bottles with a capper for hundreds of bottles over the last couple years. Pros - ease of use on bottling day.
Cons - just about every batch I end up with around 1-3 bottles that had a bad seal and failed to carb. Compared to one or 2 ever with the capped bottles. Frustrating - but to be expected, so I never worry about it. Although I've started to move away from them unless I really need to use them for this reason. That and I've never replaced the hardware or gaskets. I've got enough that I just toss them when I find one that didn't seal.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew