What brands use recappable bottles?

[Levers101]

I'm wondering what companies/brands of use bottles that can be recapped for homebrewing?
I'm having trouble finding a decent list, and realized tonight at the grocery store that I have problems telling the difference between recappables and twist off ones after buying what I surely thought was a beer bottled in something I could use later on and turned out to be regular twist offs.

 

[homebrewer_99]

I don't think a list like that exists.

I will say only thing though, I got all my bottle from overseas. They don't use twist-offs even in the 12 oz bottles of beer that should be 1/2 liter bottles.

 

[Ize]

I would think that most small brewers do, and certainly the majority of imports... But as for an exact list...

My best suggestion is to buy em' drink em' and keep em' if they are... if not, hell at least you got to drink em'....



Ize

 

[Brewiz]

I used Sam Adams bottles back when I bottled. Or find a local micro and ask them to sell you some.

 

[Dude]

Yeah, Sam Adams, Bass, and Guinness (once you remove the widget with a needle-nose) for sure.

Many micros that you get in the gorcery store are useable too.

My collection of bottles when I first started brewing was 90% Sam Adams. Now if I save bottles I only use them if I have to. They look lighter and thinner than other brands.

 

[Mudd]

Lion Stout!!

A very good export stout.

Good heavy bottles - the kind that you are not afraid to toss across the back yard
when a bro goes dry!!

 

[mwessinger]

My most recently bottled batch has "Wicked" stamped on about 3/4 of the bottles. The wife likes Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blond, so I accumulated quite a few of these.

 

[JRGSPE73]

Your LHBS might also sell bottles. I know mine does, and reasonably cheap as well. Its not as much fun as drinking store-bought beer and then re-using, but its very handy if you're in a bind (like I was with my first batch, when I bought a case of Killian's and then realized that they were twist off). Plus, they might sell 22oz. bottles, which means only half as many bottles to clean/sanitize.:rockin:

-Josh

 

[brewhead]

though i have in the past collected recappable bottles, and sometimes some get donated, or someone's switching to kegging and i score their bottle collecion, i've found that jsut outright buying the bottles from your local hbs is just about as cheap as the time you'll invest in getting the labels off.

even when i soak em for a week and then get my power sprayer to em' - if i were paying myself - i'd be going broke.

in the dept of bottles i've settled that it's better to buy

 

[AHammer16]

You can tell twist offs versus pry offs by looking at the side of the capped bottle in the store. If the cap has diagonal lines on it, whick match the threads on the bottles, then they are twist offs. If the caps look like your homebrew caps, just vertical crimps, then they are pry offs.

 

[budbo]

Your LHBS might also sell bottles. I know mine does, and reasonably cheap as well. Its not as much fun as drinking store-bought beer and then re-using, but its very handy if you're in a bind (like I was with my first batch, when I bought a case of Killian's and then realized that they were twist off). Plus, they might sell 22oz. bottles, which means only half as many bottles to clean/sanitize.:rockin:

-Josh

My LHBS Sells 12/16/22oz bottles they are like $12 for a case of 12oz, and $14 for 22oz

I get lots of bottles trading Beer for bottles with friends that drink micro Brews and Sam Adams. Got lots of Sam and Pete's bottles

I also have my Trade DME for Beer program, since it is Illegal to sell beer I find that my friends who want a 12 pack are more than willing to trade empty bottles and 3# bags of DME :rockin: This program lets me brew a lot without spending too much cash or getting a huge stock built up.

i've found that jsut outright buying the bottles from your local hbs is just about as cheap as the time you'll invest in getting the labels off.

1/2 scoop of oxyclean in warm water in a 5 gallon bucket, soak the bottles for about 2 hours.. the labels peel right off then rinse the outside with warm water using a scrubby sponge and the residual glue comes off with no effort.

 

[Ivan Lendl]

sam adams, corona, stone,hieneken,negro modello, guiness,Arrogant bastard are good 22 ouncers that have a painted logo which doesnt need to be removed, Most micro's...anchor USED too but those bastards switched to twisters. When in doubt just try to twist one off in the store.(make sure some stupid kid with braces and a smock aint lookin').

Heinekin are tricky to cap if you dont have a bench capper though...

 

[Levers101]

Thanks for the info guys. I remember now that the guy at the LHBS said I could buy empties from him for $0.05 (Iowa bottle deposit) if I needed them in a bind because they don't sell bottles (they aren't a dedicated HBS). Since it'll be a while before I start bottling I might start by drinking beer from Millstream--the local micro. They use the squat short neck bottles which are good for keeping sediment from pouring with your beer and they are reasonably priced.

 

[brewhead]

1/2 scoop of oxyclean in warm water in a 5 gallon bucket, soak the bottles for about 2 hours.. the labels peel right off then rinse the outside with warm water using a scrubby sponge and the residual glue comes off with no effort.

AND a power sprayer and i'm still coming out ahead just buying the bottles from the local hbs. $8 a case

 

[user 574]

Becks bottles as well.

 

[Jester4176]

If you're going to buy a beer so you can reuse the bottle, buy Fischers. They come in 22oz and 12oz(never seen these) swing top bottles. They're usually pricier...$3.50 here....but you'll net a great bottle out of it, and it's a good beer to boot.

 

[wild]

Grolsch also makes a 16oz. swingtop brown bottle that makes bottling a snap.

Wild

 

[Eleusis]

Yeah, Sam Adams, Bass, and Guinness (once you remove the widget with a needle-nose) for sure.

My experience with Bass hasn't been as great.... for lack of proper jargon...:

The fat part is way higher on the bottle, leaving a thinner "lip". Does not work at all with my cheap capper. I think the consensus on Bass bottles is avoid unless you have a bench capper.

 

[Eleusis]

Thanks for the info guys. I remember now that the guy at the LHBS said I could buy empties from him for $0.05 (Iowa bottle deposit) if I needed them in a bind because they don't sell bottles (they aren't a dedicated HBS). Since it'll be a while before I start bottling I might start by drinking beer from Millstream--the local micro. They use the squat short neck bottles which are good for keeping sediment from pouring with your beer and they are reasonably priced.

Five cents is a steal. Buy like ten cases before he wisens up.

 

[cweston]

If you live in a state without a bottle deposit law, you can go to a recycle center and generally find a lot of bottles there: most micros and imports still use standard crown top bottles.

Seems to me that in a bottle deposit state, one could habg out at the bottle return area of a more upscale supermarket and find people returning beer bottles. Offer them the deposit rate plus a penny a bottle or something. $.06 or even $.11 a bottle would be so cheap as to be a no-brainer.

I'm such a cheap bastard, I can't even imagine paying $12 or whatever for a case of empty bottles. That just boggles my mind.

 

[Brewby, my beer]

I don't know if it's avilable in your area, but I use Long Trail bottles. They are a good standard long neck type. (and the beer is not too expencive either $6.99/6pk where I live.)

As for getting the labels off. All you have to do is soak them in very hot water with some OxyClean and the labels will fall off the bottles with little of no effort on your part.

I did this for my last batch I bottled. I put the bottles in my 6gal igloo cooler and filled with hot water an OxyClean. I put the top on the cooler and went to bed. I went to work the next day, and by the time I got home most of the bottles had no labels left on them. Some you had to wipe off with your hands, but most fall right off.

(I can get a case and one six pack in the cooler at a time, so I did this in two batches.)

 

[Mike's Brew and Brat]

I'm with Jester. Fischer bottles are cool. They have the swing top and are 22 once. I buy them full of the good stuff for $3.15

 

[alemonkey]

Just had Hazed & Infused from Boulder Beer Co. last night and it was a pop top. I bet you can get that in IA since we get it here.

That is an awesome beer, BTW. Well worth buying if you need bottles :rockin:

 

[uglygoat]

st pauli girl... nine bucks a twelve pack... i know they are green, but keep em outta the light.

 

[Levers101]

A grocery store in town that does most of its business selling imports and micro beers and also a ton of wine has Strongarm Ruby Red (?) on sale for $4.99 a six pack. Its not the best beer out there, but it was the cheapest I could get with recappable bottles, though Sleeman is about the same price, but their bottles say 11.5 oz and have weird necks that will definately stir up sediment when poured(picky, I know).
I picked up 15 empties from the LHBS for bottle deposit price last night (I took all the recappables they had off their hands) and have a case of new empties from Northern Brewer. The empties I got from the LHBS were half Negro Modelo bottles which I think will be impossible to get the foil off of, but they were dirt cheap and looked fairly clean. I should have enough bottles to bottle my cider without dipping into my brand new bottles, which I'm saving for the beer, and I should have another case down by the time I get ready to bottle my beer (which doesn't actually exist yet).

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I don't know about Iowa, but in WI I'm pretty sure you can still get returnable bottles, but you have to go to a liquor store, not a grocery store. Go and see if they'll let you have some for the price of the deposit. Or, buy the beer drink the beer and keep the bottles.

 

[Schlenkerla]

Try stopping at the local bar. If they sell any kind of long necks, you could just ask for some empties. I suppose you would have to pay the deposit they have invested in on the bottles $.05 each.

If you have buddies you could ask them to buy their beer in long necks for awhile.

Host a party at your pad, make it a stipualtion that their BYOB is non-twist-off. Then collect all of the empties. It might be a good idea to have several rolls of nickels on hand.