The best bottles for bottling.

Ok, so I bottled for the first time and I have to say it was a pain in my arse. I took the clamp and some extra bottle caps and tried two bottles before I did anything and I thought...wow...this is easy. Fast forward....

Now I have a handful of bottles filled with beer and went to clamp the top on...1 bottle took me up to 5-7 tries. I went to my LHBS and told the guy my story and he goes oh yeah....that beer has horrible bottles. So, then and there I learned that some bottles are easier than other to cap.

So...in your experience whats the best beer to buy and save for bottling?

One of my favorite are the old fashioned bottles that "Switchback" (in Vermont) uses. I also like the ones that Sierra Nevada uses.

Longnecks never give me problems. Stubbies do, but depending on what style, it is either a little off-putting, or just plain won't work. I just try and save all the longnecks I can though.

I will have to keep a lookout for long necks, the ones that didn't work well at all were stubby.

For what it's worth, I'd spend more time hunting for 22oz "bombers" than long necks. Washing, filling, and capping fewer bottles always seems to make my brew day go better!

You can probably sweet-talk a bar into letting you pull a few cases out of their recycling.

-B

[Edit] I forgot to mention, if the label doesn't come off easily in some hot oxyclean, the whole bottle goes right in the recycling. Not worth the energy for me.

Look for the standard sized "blob" …..smaller blob - Bass & DOS equis come to mind, can be tougher. I agree with the labels too. I rarely buy beers with the plasticized labels. Brands that are good and have easy to remove labels get bought again.

I tend to prefer the bottles from Flying Dog, they seem to be a bit more solid than others. That said, I'm in Maryland and they're an easy find. Best of luck!

Sounds like a post to the "You know you're a home brewer when" thread when you buy beer based on how simple it is to remove the labels.

I've had good luck with the shorter bottles like Founders, Sierra Nevada and Lagunitas use. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but long necks always move around when I'm using my wing capper, but the short bottles stay put.

If using a wing capper, you have to watch certain stubbies like Abita. They don't work well. Best thing is to get a bench capper because it works with all. See photo. Abita on the right has a shorter distance from the top to bottom of rim. Bad for wing capper. Sierra nevada is ok though.
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The best ones I have are the old returnables. I have almost two cases of old Old Milwaukee returnables.

Other than that, I used mostly Summit and Sierra Nevada stubbies.

Have almost a case of Duvel bottles too, heavy duty they are, but never used them. Am kegging these days.

I am switching from ez cap bottles to 12 oz. long necks. I got a twelve pack of Sam Adams variety and a 6 pack of Full Sail. I test capped both types and they seem to have worked pretty well. The Full Sail labels were a bit of a PITA to get off, but the Sam Adams fell off themselves after an hour in hot water and Oxyclean Free. We got some of the Sierra Nevada Otra Vez tonight and I tried the capper on it, but it didn't squinch it tight with my Red Barron wing capper, so those are no good. The beer is really tasty though. Very fruity with an ultra-clean finish. Very pale, but nice, medium to light body.

I will bottle on Sunday and will let you know how it goes. I don't expect any issues. In fact, that is why I have moved to bottling with caps, since it is tried and true.

Pacifico, new castle, bombers, and Sierra Nevada bottles all work. Can't say I've had one so hard it took more than one try. Picture of said bottle?

TexasDroughtBrewery said:

I will have to keep a lookout for long necks, the ones that didn't work well at all were stubby.

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I have read that certain stubbies don't work. I had this problem with Lagunitas. I looked it up and there were threads about the lip being different. I looked closely comparing with Sierra Nevada and sure enough the lip was different and the Sierra Nevada bottles worked just fine.

When I used to use a wing capper, stubbies were almost impossible to cap and I later discovered that some of my beers were flat because they weren't properly capped. (I use a Super Agata Bench Capper now and it has no trouble capping stubbies).

For me I find that Sam Adams bottles cap easy (plus I usually have a stock pile of them because I can get a 24 pack for $28 at SAMS).

I weigh all of my bottles. Or at least used to, once you start doing it, its easy to tell heavier ones vs lighter ones

Deschutes, Stone, adn a few others have notably heavier bottles. Most 12oz bottles (longneck or stubby) are 195-205g. Deschutes and Stones bottles are 225-230. I save these for higher carbed beers like saisons. The super heavy european style ones, usually over 300g per 12oz, I save for sours and brett beers incase the keep fermenting in the bottle.

Stone also has the advantage of not having to remove the label since its just painted on. I have noticed about half their stuff now is in normal lighter bottles though. Weird

m00ps said:

I weigh all of my bottles. Or at least used to, once you start doing it, its easy to tell heavier ones vs lighter ones

Deschutes, Stone, adn a few others have notably heavier bottles. Most 12oz bottles (longneck or stubby) are 195-205g. Deschutes and Stones bottles are 225-230. I save these for higher carbed beers like saisons. The super heavy european style ones, usually over 300g per 12oz, I save for sours and brett beers incase the keep fermenting in the bottle.

Stone also has the advantage of not having to remove the label since its just painted on. I have noticed about half their stuff now is in normal lighter bottles though. Weird

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I am giong to hijack my own thread really fast. So I have some stout bottled and I look at them from time to time to make sure I don't see any infections or anything that can cause them to explode but...It started making me think how do I know when the beer is carbed or if I do have a leak in the cap? I thought about this so much I ended up having a dream where I saw a beer in a bottle at a brewery and it was fizzing in the capped bottle and I was like "ah ha! thats how you know" then I woke up like **** I don't know....

dad23ds said:

If using a wing capper, you have to watch certain stubbies like Abita. They don't work well. Best thing is to get a bench capper because it works with all. See photo. Abita on the right has a shorter distance from the top to bottom of rim. Bad for wing capper. Sierra nevada is ok though.
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+1. Was going to mention that myself!

I busted a bottle capper/bottle and sliced the right thumb (8 stiches and decided to keg) in late 2014. Those low profile bottles like ABITA, was the issue. It makes you want to use more force capping. Also, I noticed the difference between oxygen and non-oxygen caps. The oxygen caps fit better around the mouth (don't know about the oxygen part tho). I think if you keep in mind these two things, you'll be just fine. And make sure you stop forcing after the cam of the capper. No need to clamp down...trust me!

My impression is LHBS bottles appear thinner/less weight as mentioned above..

PianoMan said:

+1. Was going to mention that myself!

I busted a bottle capper/bottle and sliced the right thumb (8 stiches and decided to keg) in late 2014. Those low profile bottles like ABITA, was the issue. It makes you want to use more force capping. Also, I noticed the difference between oxygen and non-oxygen caps. The oxygen caps fit better around the mouth (don't know about the oxygen part tho). I think if you keep in mind these two things, you'll be just fine. And make sure you stop forcing after the cam of the capper. No need to clamp down...trust me!

My impression is LHBS bottles appear thinner/less weight as mentioned above..

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I have used a keg since batch one. I love using the keg but...there are a few beers that I don't consider "daily drinks" like a large stout, a cider, or a funky IPA that I wanted to bottle so I can keep my keg filled with everyday beer that I enjoy having more than one of.

TexasDroughtBrewery said:

I have used a keg since batch one. I love using the keg but...there are a few beers that I don't consider "daily drinks" like a large stout, a cider, or a funky IPA that I wanted to bottle so I can keep my keg filled with everyday beer that I enjoy having more than one of.

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Agreed. I use the kegs to carb up before bottling myself.

dad23ds said:

If using a wing capper, you have to watch certain stubbies like Abita. They don't work well. Best thing is to get a bench capper because it works with all. See photo. Abita on the right has a shorter distance from the top to bottom of rim. Bad for wing capper. Sierra nevada is ok though.
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This was going to be my response. I almost exclusively use stubbies for space saving, and I hate hate hate capping those "short skirt" Abita type bottles. Off the top of my head Lagunitas and Founders both use them as well. You develop an eye for the flare length pretty quickly. The trick with those is to tighten the jaws of the capper slowly until they "engage" with the flare, then clamp down as usual. If you just clamp down from the get go, the jaws will tighten around the neck, then slip and slam into the flare, which in the worst scenario, will break the bottle. Now that I've figured that trick out, I'm not so reluctant to use those. I still hate them though

Sierra Nevada bottles are my hands-down favorite. Sturdy, easy to get a brush in and scrub, comfortable to cap, and there are almost never thin spots, bubbles, or imperfections in the glass. Sierra doesn't mess around. The beer isn't too bad either.

For longnecks, Stone has the most consistent thickness, imperfection-free, sturdiest bottles. Ballast Point, New Belgium, and Deschutes have very nice bottles, too.

m00ps said:

I weigh all of my bottles. Or at least used to, once you start doing it, its easy to tell heavier ones vs lighter ones

Deschutes, Stone, adn a few others have notably heavier bottles. Most 12oz bottles (longneck or stubby) are 195-205g. Deschutes and Stones bottles are 225-230. I save these for higher carbed beers like saisons. The super heavy european style ones, usually over 300g per 12oz, I save for sours and brett beers incase the keep fermenting in the bottle.

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Great info here. I'll have to keep this in mind when bottling high carb Belgians and Weizens. Usually I just wrap the standard American bottles in grocery produce bags and cross my fingers. No breakages so far, knock on wood. I also save heavy gauge Euro bottles and the old Green Flash Rayon Vert bottles (oh how I miss thee) exclusively for Brett and wild/fruit secondary beers.

PianoMan said:

My impression is LHBS bottles appear thinner/less weight as mentioned above..

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I was always told they were thicker and heavier and wondered if my LHBS were just a bunch of cheapos. I also notice that those bottles tend be littered with thin spots. Just hold a bottle up to the light and rotate, you can obviously see the difference in color where the thin spots are. It's almost like leopard spots on some of them.

Sierra Nevada & Green Flash are the only stubbies I'll trust, and they still make my wing-capper "stick" a little. It doesn't like it, but it does it.

Yeah, I stick to longnecks when I can. I will admit, I put my winter warmer up in SN stubbies, just because I ended up with a case of them after so long. (I am weird & don't like to mix my bottles - no LNs & stubbies in the same pack!)

dad23ds said:

If using a wing capper, you have to watch certain stubbies like Abita. They don't work well. Best thing is to get a bench capper because it works with all. See photo. Abita on the right has a shorter distance from the top to bottom of rim. Bad for wing capper. Sierra nevada is ok though.
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Pretty much it right there. I have to agree with Dad23ds on this.


Look at the shoulder on the Abita bottle. It's not 'tall' enough for a wing capper to get any kind of crimping leverage like it could with the Alaskan bottle.


I look at the bottles I brew and I chuck any that look like the Abita to the recycler. As far as stubbies go, my favorite is Redhook. I think they are the perfect bottle and they look cool too.

I like and use the Sam Adams bottles.

I have never noticed any difference in bottles when bottling.

For 12 ozs bottles I use Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and Stone. No problems with any of them. I use a red wing capper.

But it is just a pain to sanitize fill and cap so many bottles, so I have moved to using Bombers for most off my beers these days.

My preference for Bomber bottles are Dogfish, Jolly Pumpkin, and Belgian champagne style bottles (which take the larger European caps).

I have a lot off Stone and Rogue bombers which work fine.

The only Bomber bottles I would NOT recommend using are those from new Belgium. I have had a lot develop cracks, and just don't trust them. Never had one blow on me, but I inspect all my bottles before and after use, and have tossed many of the NB bottles because I was unsure about them.

Does it matter if the bottle is a twist off? My brother asked me this b/c I was collecting some Shiner 107 Birthday Hoppy Pills bottles thinking.."Hey.. these are long neck"

Say "no" to twist-offs.

IME, you cant properly seal a bottle for bottle carbing if its a tiwst off

Well son of a b....I have some homework to do...and some twist offs to toss.

Just wait until you think you're all set and then you start labeling and realizing some of those bottles don't work for labeling....

Then you'll be right back here looking through the "which bottle labels are easiest to remove" thread.

I personally use any amber bottle and don't have issues with my wing capper whether the flange is close or far from the top as posted earlier. They both work fine for me however, you just have to pay more attention when doing the "abita" style short necks. Sierra Nevada bottles are great but I don't like how much glue they use on their labels compared to other short necks. that's just getting picky though.

TexasDroughtBrewery said:

Well son of a b....I have some homework to do...and some twist offs to toss.

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Something to think about is storage. I have a mix of stubbies and longnecks. My only dislike about stubbies is you can't fit 24 in bud light boxes. My wife drinks BL bottles and we buy the 24pk so I can use the boxes for my empties. Good news is Miller Lite boxes will generally hold 24 stubbies and I have another source for those.

If you are ever in Houston, check Defalco's website. They will periodically sale used cases of bombers (12) from Karbach for about $7-8. This was the only time I ever bought empty bottles. I prefer to buy bottles with beer in them. I also recruited a person at work that loves to empty bottles for me and considers it a challenge to give me more than I need.

Whichever bottle has the tastiest brew in it.

TexasDroughtBrewery said:

Does it matter if the bottle is a twist off? My brother asked me this b/c I was collecting some Shiner 107 Birthday Hoppy Pills bottles thinking.."Hey.. these are long neck"

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slym2none said:

Say "no" to twist-offs.

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What slym2none says. This is main reason I avoid buying Saint Arnold and Shiner. A good source for bottles w/box are the Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada 12pk at Walmart or Target. Usually around $14. Also, if you know any ladies (or guys!) that enjoy Angry Orchard, those are good and easy to delabel.

I go to beer/liquor stores and get free boxes that they are throwing away for storing bottles and bottled home brew.

You can get boxes that are made for short neck if you specifically need boxes for storing short neck. I keep a stock of empty cases for short and long neck bottles which each hold 24 of course.

The 22 oz ones.

http://www.morebeer.com/products/beer-bottles-22-oz-qty-12.html

I am currently using Grolsh 16oz bottles. They are super easy to recap and they look so good!


I got a deal at 60$ for 120 bottles!

The guy even threw a 67oz Grolsh bottle. Its huuuge and it look amazing!

I love the Grolsh bottles also but I was told to be careful that the o-rings on the seal don't ware out on you.

So, I had bottling day yesterday and I have to say that Sierra Nevada bottles worked like a charm!! I also had one random franconia bottle which worked great and two Abitas Madi Gras beer bottles that didn't work at all.

I like Guinness stout bottles with the nitro thingy in them. The plastic cover cuts off, so no soaking and messy peeling. The nitro thingy is easily extracted with a pair of needle nosed piers. I've never had any problems capped then either.

Guess I'm a bit of an outlier as I don't like the Sierra Nevada stubbies. The only bottle that ever broke on me was a SN stubbie. Anything that my wing capper takes even minor issue with I try to avoid. I gave a lot of those away over the course of the last 2 years, replacing them with longnecks and bombers. Dogfish Head has great bottles and I particularly like the unique Belgian and German bottles I've come across. Like DogFish Head, their bottles are somewhat unique and tied to their brand/product. I still have several stubbies and lightweight longnecks that I just have to work through.