New guy , cheap bottling options

[Fatguy100]

Hi all new guy here .
I've decided to try my hand at making some hard apple cider , I've read threw a bunch of threads and have my yeast , pectic enzyme, sanitizer , bubbler and such on the way . Matter of fact thanks to all the info to be found here I don't have any questions on making cider .

But I do have a question on bottling , namely the cheapest , safe way I can possibly bottle about 2 gallons .

I'm sure a lot of you out there might say cheap isn't the way to go but here's my facts , I'm disabled and live on a fixed income .
My fun money amounts to about $30 a month .
So I tend to look for low cost options to fill the days with cheap entertainment.

My first thought was to get empty beer bottles , but I found a problem with that . I don't drink beer and I can't think of a single person that I know who does drink beer . Hard to believe I know .

I could buy new bottles, but that will set me back two months , as I won't have enough cash to buy bottles , caps and a capper in the same month .

I was thinking about plastic soda bottles , but I don't have a clue if re-using them is a good idea or not .

I welcome the help , thanks in advance

 

[madscientist451]

Screw top soda bottles will work fine. They are designed to hold the carbonated soda so the pressure from the cider will probably be less. I'd avoid using 2 liter bottles because you'll have to drink the cider up pretty quick or it will go flat.
Domino dot sugar cubes work pretty good when carbonating bottles, start with one cube per 16 oz bottle and experiment with how much carbonation you get.
Don't expect to make great cider using cheap juice, but it can still be enjoyable to play around with the different spices/flavors.

 

[Fatguy100]

Woo hoo if soda bottles are good , is there anything special a person needs to do other then clean and sanitize ?

" great cider " isn't a high priority for me , I wouldn't know the difference between bad and great .
My goal .. successful fermentation ,carbonation And drinkable .
No sense in setting the bar to high right out of the gate .
I've never had hard cider of any sort so I'll be pretty easy to please as far as quality goes to start with .

 

[Vale71]

Soda bottles aren't good since they let in a lot of oxygen over time (soda is not fermented so that's not an issue) which will oxidize your cider. They also tend to scratch easily. In the long rung reusable glass bottles are the cheapest options as they will last a lifetime and cleaning and sanitizing them only costs pennies.

 

[WBCo]

Any homebrew shops in your area? Mine usually has cases of used bottles that still have the paper labels on them. You have to clean them thoroughly and remove labels and adhesive, but they are significantly cheaper.

I've also seen people list FREE glass beer bottles on Craigslist and the like.

 

[GrogNerd]

I'm NOT recommending fermenting in them and recommend them ONLY if you want STILL (non-carbonated) cider; which I recommend starting with.

save the bottles your apple juice came in & use those. But don't take forever to drink it up.

Work on improving your recipe, your process & saving up for bottling. Then I would recommend Grolsch-type swing-top bottles; no need to buy caps (tho you may need to get new gaskets once in a while) or capper

 

[cactusgarrett]

It's a little coin up front, but you could pop for a bench capper. Then, you could hit up local establishments for champagne bottles and bottle in those. It's especially easy around the holidays to get them, but any place that does brunch will have a steady stream of them (from mimosas). I bottle all my sour beers with champagne bottles and I've never had to purchase any.

You could then bottle in champagne bottles. It's not as versatile as a 12oz beer bottle, but it's definitely smaller scale than, say, 2L soda bottles, and you don't have to worry about integrity or strength issues if you want to, say, add more carbonation.

 

[Immocles]

Any local stores sell specialty types of soda in glass bottles? Our local Aldi store often has ginger ales and root beers in green/clear glass pop top bottles. Occasionally they also have 750mL swing top bottles of sparkling lemonade as well. I've reused those for apfelwein and mead as well.

 

[HB_ATL73]

Then, you could hit up local establishments for champagne bottles and bottle in those. It's especially easy around the holidays to get them, but any place that does brunch will have a steady stream of them (from mimosas).

This is a good idea.. I remember going to a local popular spot for brunch and talking to the waiter about bottomless mimosas.. If I remember correctly they said they go through some astronomical amount like ~500 bottles a weekend!

You would have no problem taking them off their hands

 

[Special Hops]

Ask your neighbors if they care if you dig through their recycle bins for empties.

 

[eric19312]

Let people on here know where you are located. Lot's of homebrewers eventually switch over to kegging and then tend to hang on to cases and cases of bottles that would be perfect to gift to new homebrewer. We are a friendly community that way I just gave away 6 cases of bottles that were mostly new.

 

[GrogNerd]

also could find a local homebrew club.

was at a meeting when I was just getting started & mentioned I needed bottles. the next meeting one of the members brought 9 cases.

Let people on here know where you are located. Lot's of homebrewers eventually switch over to kegging and then tend to hang on to cases and cases of bottles that would be perfect to gift to new homebrewer. We are a friendly community that way I just gave away 6 cases of bottles that were mostly new.

 

[dwhite60]

Plastic soda bottles are fine. I've had beer in them for months with no oxidation issues. Just sanitize and fill. Hard to scratch the inside of them, unless you try to.

All the Best,
D. White

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Hi all new guy here .

Welcome to the forum and the hobby, from Long Island. If you can start to accumulate some swing top bottles as someone mentioned Aldi often has lemonade for sale that is in that type of bottle. Trader Joe has some ginger ale, at least they used to, and these beverages often are less expensive than buying the empty swing top, so it’s a win-win even if you pour the beverages down the drain you’re still ahead. Have fun, I hope you like the taste of cider.

 

[bracconiere]

When i travel with my homebrew, i fill 1 liter soda bottles from my kegs...works fine for me

only thing i'd think would be an issue for you, be careful with your priming sugar addition

edit: (and on a side note, if you dope your cider with enough sugar to get it to 10%. it really doesn't need to be carbonated, and just chil and serve out of a pitcher)

 

[HB_ATL73]

Aldi often has lemonade for sale that is in that type of bottle. Trader Joe has some ginger ale

Good to know!

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

@HB_ATL73 there are a couple brands of bottled water in swing tops I’ve seen lately too.

 

[HB_ATL73]

bottled water in swing tops I’ve seen lately too

Clear bottles?

 

[bkboiler]

One great way to get soda bottles on the cheap is at Costco they sell Perrier in a 16 or 24 pack in the green plastic bottles. You don't need brown bottles for cider and just rinse them out easily since it's just water there! Can take that purchase out of your grocery budget! Still have $30 leftover to make your first batch with...
Cheers!

 

[Fatguy100]

I think I'll try soda bottles first if it doesn't work out , no big deal .
My sister drinks a&w root beer in bottles so I have an easy source for those .

I get a lot of dry grocery type stuff off Amazon so I do have Amazon prime , I'll start keeping a lookout for deals on growlers .
I'll have everything on the next prime day to start and I should have ample soda bottles when the time comes .

I live in northeast Ohio , I'll figure out how to set me location .
Google didn't show any brewing supply shops in a reasonable distance to drive , but that doesn't always mean there isn't .

 

[Jayjay1976]

your neighborhood should have a community page on facebook. post on there that you are looking for discarded beer bottles for homebrewing cider, you should have no problem finding people to save them for you.

 

[Fatguy100]

Face book .... gasp , the horror , the horror !

I might be the last person in the world who can say this , but I don't use cell phones or social media .
I don't consider forums social media

 

[Jayjay1976]

Face book .... gasp , the horror , the horror !

I might be the last person in the world who can say this , but I don't use cell phones or social media .
I don't consider forums social media

Well it's too bad you don't live in my neck of the woods, I've got nearly 300 clean, well-used bottles that I've been trying for weeks to unload for free, but nobody is interested. Not even the local facebook crowd is interested. So I'm putting a bunch in the recycle bin every week until they are all gone. I'm kegging now and I ain't looking back.

 

[bleme]

Well it's too bad you don't live in my neck of the woods, I've got nearly 300 clean, well-used bottles that I've been trying for weeks to unload for free, but nobody is interested. Not even the local facebook crowd is interested. So I'm putting a bunch in the recycle bin every week until they are all gone. I'm kegging now and I ain't looking back.

I've been taking mine to the recycler a car-load at a time and just keeping my Grolsch bottles.

I got all my original bottles from the local sushi restaurant. The owner told me to come by at closing on Friday and Saturday nights. Each weekend got me enough to bottle 10 gallons. It wasn't long before there wasn't room in my garage for the car...

 

[GrogNerd]

you know you're a homebrewer when...

It wasn't long before there wasn't room in my garage for the car...

 

[z-bob]

1 liter plastic soda bottles work just fine. These bottles work even better (mainly they are a nicer size): https://www.burpy.com/costco/kirkla...ed-water-24-x-17-fl-oz/product-detail/1367894 The Kirkland water is about $8 per case at Costco stores.

Use one sugar cube (the 126 per pound size) per half-liter or 17 oz bottle, or two cubes per 1L bottle. The little Domino Dots cubes are the right size for 12 oz beer bottles. (note, the larger cubes will not fit in the mouth of a glass beer bottle)

Do you have a local Freecycle group? Post an ad "Wanted: empty beer bottles" and see what you get.

 

[camonick]

Do you have a local recycling center? I’ve heard of people going there and getting them for whatever the refund fee is... 5¢ or up per bottle. If you’re searching for bottles, be sure they are pry-offs and not twist-offs.

 

[Fatguy100]

Hmm , I don't have a Costco near me , but the last time I got groceries Wal-Mart had cases of flavored carbonated water on sale for like $4 and some change .
I'm gonna make a note to check and see if they are still on sale next time I near by

We don't have a bottle deposit here , And our recycling centers more or less resemble 10 dumpsters for people to toss stuff in . The last few times I've been by I have looked for reasonably clean bottles but so far nothing but twist offs .
I did get a nice 1 gallon glass wine bottle the last time though .

 

[camonick]

Maybe talk to a local bar or restaurant manager