My Bottle Capper Broke! How Screwed Am I?

[TwistedHalo]

So, when I started my bottling process earlier this evening it had been 20 days since the my wort started fermenting. The Gravity had been staying at a constant of 1.013 for the last five days, so I decided it was time. I did all of my proper sanitation, made my priming solution, added it to my bottling bucket, and then siphoned the wort from my primary into my bottling bucket. I set the lid from the primary on top of the bottling bucket, without sealing it, and let it set for about 40 minutes to settle while I got everything in place. I then filled 4 bottles, capped 2 of them, and then on the 3rd, SNAP!, the damn bottle capper broke, its completely unusable.
I quickly sealed the bottling bucket with the lid from the primary. I did have to stick my arm into the wort (with a sanitized, elbow length brewers glove) to tighten the nut for the spigot because it loosened when I turned the spigot into a position that would let it sit on the floor without touching. I won't be able to get a new capper until at least noon EST tomorrow when my local brew store opens. Is it a problem that I added the priming sugars and they are sitting in the wort without being bottled? Does anyone see any other problems that might arise from what I described above?
Man am I going to pissed if all I get from this first batch is 2 beers. arg!! lol

Thanks for any help guys!

 

[freisste]

Leave it alone for a week. Reprime then and carry on as usual. I would pour the sanitized priming solution directly on top of the brew and give it a few stirs. Make sure to minimize splashing - just get it swirling without bubbles or anything like that.

 

[Flboy]

Grab a bunch of soda bottles. Use the 33 ounce size. This way ya can tell the little lady you only had a couple brews!

 

[wilconrad]

Can you salvage the capping bell from the broken capper? If so, you could place it on top of the bottle and smack it with a hammer to apply the cap. Google "Hammer Capper" to see what I mean. Not the most elegant capping process, and may require a deft touch, but it apparently works.

 

[TwistedHalo]

Can you salvage the capping bell from the broken capper? If so, you could place it on top of the bottle and smack it with a hammer to apply the cap. Google "Hammer Capper" to see what I mean. Not the most elegant capping process, and may require a deft touch, but it apparently works.

I don't know, but it's worth a shot. I'll look into it. Thanks!

 

[Yesfan]

Which capper did you have?


I always worry about my Red Baron capper breaking on me or (worse) the neck of the bottle shattering. Maybe a bench capper as a replacement?

 

[FatDragon]

Can you salvage the capping bell from the broken capper? If so, you could place it on top of the bottle and smack it with a hammer to apply the cap. Google "Hammer Capper" to see what I mean. Not the most elegant capping process, and may require a deft touch, but it apparently works.

That sounds brilliant, and probably woudn't be too hard (if more labor-intensive than using a capper). I'd probably wrap a clean and sanitized dishcloth around the bell and neck before hitting, and go for several taps rather than a single bang, but as long as you can apply enough pressure to the bell to crimp the cap tightly, the bottle will be capped.

Considering how cheaply-made my Chinese bench capper is, I could be forced to use this method at any time myself. Glad I saw this post here.

 

[Sbarnard80]

Try a rubber mallet if you have one. Goggles not a bad idea either. Agree that a couple of littler taps are better. Good luck.

 

[prohl84]

Considering how cheaply-made my Chinese bench capper is, I could be forced to use this method at any time myself. Glad I saw this post here.

Exactly. Cheers to all the homebrew MacGuyver's who are calm in the face of a beer crisis.

 

[Firestorm159]

I had the same thing happen to me about five weeks ago except I filled all of my bottles and on the first bottle I broke my capper! Talk about freaking out. It was 1:00am and we were having a snow storm so there was no getting hold of another capper until about 4:00pm. So the only choice I had was to set a sanitized cap on each bottle and cover each one in aluminum foil until I could get them capped. Considering this was my first ever brew I was pretty upset. Needless to say they didn't get capped for about fifteen hours after they were bottled. I thought for sure the priming sugar would ferment out but to my surprise a little over 2 weeks in the bottle I tried one and it was carbonated, and actually was pretty good. I now have 2 cappers so hopefully I won't have that problem again. Cheers.....

 

[bschot]

I agree with letting the priming sugar ferment out. Reprime and bottle as normal. I bought a bench capper and haven't looked back since, I still have my red wing capper as an insurance policy but I doubt I'll ever have to cash it in but it's good for peace of mind.

 

[flars]

02/14 thread about broken capper. Capper purchased from Northern Brewer. NB said defective Red Baron cappers produced and sold. Replaced capper and lost brew.
Thread starter, jrsdws

 

[wilconrad]

That sounds brilliant, and probably woudn't be too hard (if more labor-intensive than using a capper). I'd probably wrap a clean and sanitized dishcloth around the bell and neck before hitting, and go for several taps rather than a single bang, but as long as you can apply enough pressure to the bell to crimp the cap tightly, the bottle will be capped.

Considering how cheaply-made my Chinese bench capper is, I could be forced to use this method at any time myself. Glad I saw this post here.

I've gotta give credit to Leon Kania for this one, the author of the first brewing/alcohol-production book I ever owned, The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible. My brother and I bought this book when we were teenagers to inform our moonshine-making aspirations. It's a witty, informative and creative book written by a guy who lives up in Alaska and produces wine. beer & liquor with readily-available items. One of his projects is the "Pore Boy Rapper Capper" (see below) which is a wooden-mallet-powered capper made out of wood blocks and some copper pipe fittings. The OP's predicament brought this device to mind!

I highly recommend The Alaskan Bootlegger's Bible if you're looking for an entertaining read (or if you want instructions on building a still out of soldering iron, among other "resourceful" projects).

 

[TwistedHalo]

I decided not to try the hammer method, it was late and going to be loud, and potentially dangerous. I got a couple of suggestions on other forums to just go ahead and finish my bottling as long as I could do it within 24 hours, the guys at my local brew shop concurred with that idea when I went in to get my new capper today. So, when I got home I finished the job. The wort was sitting in the bottling bucket with an airlocked lid on it for a max of 18 hours. I guess we'll see how the beer turns out when I open one in about 3-4 weeks. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks for the help fellas!

 

[adamelb]

Which capper did you have?


I always worry about my Red Baron capper breaking on me or (worse) the neck of the bottle shattering. Maybe a bench capper as a replacement?

Had a Red Baron shatter a bottle on my 2nd bottling day. My buddy was capping for me and when he went to cap a 12 oz former Harpoon bottle it shattered the neck off. Luckily no one was hurt and we were able to just throw out the bottle. I avoid Harpoon bottles now, just in case, though it was likely user error or just a weak bottle.

Best of luck to the OP.

 

[Sbarnard80]

I decided not to try the hammer method, it was late and going to be loud, and potentially dangerous. I got a couple of suggestions on other forums to just go ahead and finish my bottling as long as I could do it within 24 hours, the guys at my local brew shop concurred with that idea when I went in to get my new capper today. So, when I got home I finished the job. The wort was sitting in the bottling bucket with an airlocked lid on it for a max of 18 hours. I guess we'll see how the beer turns out when I open one in about 3-4 weeks. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Thanks for the help fellas!

I bet it will be fine. It takes a week+ to carb so it stands to reason you lost very little of the carbing potential in less than 24 hours. And if you practiced your usual sanitation rituals for bottling, putting a sanitized lid back on for a day should generate no extra risk. Here's to a successful brew

 

[knyland]

Had a Red Baron shatter a bottle on my 2nd bottling day. My buddy was capping for me and when he went to cap a 12 oz former Harpoon bottle it shattered the neck off. Luckily no one was hurt and we were able to just throw out the bottle. I avoid Harpoon bottles now, just in case, though it was likely user error or just a weak bottle.

Best of luck to the OP.

Ive broken a few Sierra Nevada bottles a Sam Adams bottle or two and oneNew Belgian. I loosened the bell a quarter turn and havent broken any in about three batches.