Newbie Learns a Lesson

[smata67]

So I've been collecting Stella Artois bottles for months and decided to use them to bottle my next batch. NOT! Standard crown caps with a wing type capper and complete failure time after time. I think I may have also bent the shaper on the capper trying to do these. Lesson learned. Always test bottles you are attempting to use BEFORE filling them with beer. I had to pour these back out into my bottling bucket, aerating the hell out of my beer. I guess I will now be able to do an aerated vs. non-aerated taste test. I had problems with my Anchor Steam bottles also. Generic and store bought long necks, no problem.

 

[northernlad]

Guilty, although I didn't get past one bottle before I found out.

 

[Pappers_]

I had problems with my Anchor Steam bottles also. Generic and store bought long necks, no problem.

I've had no problems with Anchor Steam bottles using a wing capper and standard caps.

I think sometimes people using wing cappers use way too much force, don't know if that's contributed to your problem, of course, but it is an observation.

 

[Hang Glider]

Two words -
Bench Capper

 

[MattyD]

I got pretty lucky. I work at a historic hotel that holds a lot of wine tastings, weddings and events. Recently one of the weddings had a few cases of some italian lemonaide with the flip hinge top bottles. I ended up with 13 of them and they are 750ml with rumors of there being a whole case of them still downstairs somewhere, so if I find those I think I have my first batch lined up with no cost to bottling.

 

[jmf143]

Here's the obligatory -

"Keg"!


(I bottle everything)

 

[Pappers_]

I got pretty lucky. I work at a historic hotel that holds a lot of wine tastings, weddings and events. Recently one of the weddings had a few cases of some italian lemonaide with the flip hinge top bottles. I ended up with 13 of them and they are 750ml with rumors of there being a whole case of them still downstairs somewhere, so if I find those I think I have my first batch lined up with no cost to bottling.

Sweet, Matty!

 

[beersydoesit]

I have found some bottles where the wing capper doesn't work very well. Mostly European bottles with a bronze glass look to them. I can usually get them to work but it is slower and fussier than with other bottles so I just quit using them. I can see that perhaps a bench capper would work better on these since the trouble seems to be not with the crown as much as the neck the wing capper attempts to grab. But since they were a small percentage of my bottle population and I like my wing capper, I just quit using them.

 

[smata67]

After wasting a dozen caps, I've yet to find out exactly why I'm having these difficulties. What I do notice is that the cap, after capping, is cocked on these. I think the cap is not sitting squarely on the top of the bottle. I also notice that on the stella 22 oz, I can see the upper lip sticking out from under the cap, whereas this is covered up in my properly capped longnecks and amber 22 oz. I measured the OD and both the stella and amber are identical, but the artois looks more rounded. I've got about 24 of these saved up, so I'm a bit concerned. Fortunately, I have about 200 of the longnecks.

 

[djinn88]

Maybe a little off topic, but here it goes. I've found the easiest bottles to do anything with are Michelob. The labels come off with just soaking and the minimal amount of glue on the bottles comes off super easy. As far as capping them, they are also very well mannered. The only problem is that you have to drink Michelob to get them, which for me was not a problem really.

 

[beersydoesit]

24 out of 200 bottles seems a small enough percentage. Unless Stella Artois is a standard for you, just leave them and move on. Difficult bottles upset the cool Zen of bottling day and aren't worth the headache.

Djinn, I have used those bottles as well but I don't like the beer. We have a lot of craft brewers in my neck of the woods and those bottles are super easy to use. The labels just float off in oxyclean and a quick wipe with a sponge and the glue is gone. And they make better beer than Michelob.

 

[ShorelineThomas]

Dave,

Hello from another Badger. I'm from Madison but have found myself in Seattle, another great place for good bottles pre-filled with great beer.

Thanks for the tip about removing labels. I bottled my first-ever batch yesterday (here's hoping the bottles don't explode) and I left most of the labels on as they didn't quite seem ready to come off on their own during washing and sanitizing.

Tom

 

[soundsandsuds]

I've never had a problem with Anchor bottles, either. Which is good, since the beer is delicious and they're great looking little bottles.
The only bottles I've had a problem with are the Howe Sound cap-able swingtops, since they're too wide below the lip for the wing capper to get around. Luckily the swingtops worked and were sanitized when I did the bottles.

 

[smata67]

Well, bottling another batch and the warsteiners aren't working either. I think I'm seeing a pattern here...

 

[beersydoesit]

I've used Warstieners.. but they're only 10.6 oz. So I quit.

 

[smata67]

Well, I did get myself a bench capper and the Stella Artois 22oz appear to cap fine with it. The wing capper is fine with basic 12oz ambers, but the bench capper seems to cap every bottle, no matter the type, just fine.

 

[Hannable1975]

I have used Stella and Anchor with no problems.

I use a wing capper. I have however crushed the neck on 2 Bud American Ale bottles.

 

[cclloyd]

I have found some bottles where the wing capper doesn't work very well. Mostly European bottles with a bronze glass look to them. I can usually get them to work but it is slower and fussier than with other bottles so I just quit using them. I can see that perhaps a bench capper would work better on these since the trouble seems to be not with the crown as much as the neck the wing capper attempts to grab. But since they were a small percentage of my bottle population and I like my wing capper, I just quit using them.

Right on the money - most of the euro bottles have a different flange under the lip - if you compare them side by side with a Sam Adams or other similar long neck US bottle you can easily see the difference.
And for the record SN bottles are easy to clean and cap and they come pre-filled with excellent beer. Bonus!!