12 oz and 24 oz bottles

[cdwiggi]

Hello All,

I am wanting to buy bottles for the next year worth of brewing... I am thinking that there has to be a better place to get them than LHBS at $15.99 and Northern Brewer/Midwest Supply for $11.99 and $15 to $16 shipping? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
cd :rockin:

 

[bchurch]

I just use the ones I drink. A little Oxy clean to remove the labels and there you go.

 

[Revvy]

It seems at first that accumulating bottles is difficult but if you mention around to people that you brew and need crown bottles they will start showing up. There's also craigslist, and freecycle.org, hooking up with other homebrewers, recycling centers. Asking at beerstores that have a good selection of beer for their returnables. Some stores will let you have their empties for the price of the deposit. And some bars will give you all you can haul out if you ask.

Also if you want to bottle in champagne bottles, go to a hall that does weddings, heck even a moose or vfw hall, you might just have to dumpster dive at worst, or just pick cases of empty asti bottles by the back door.

It seems daunting but you'll get plenty really fast. But in reality when you annouce you are homerbewing, they do come flying at you. I even had my building super years ago just use his key and leave me some on the dinning room table. He knew he'd get beer from me on a regular basis, especially if he was gonna do some work in my place.

 

[gimmejava]

+1 on bchurch's reply. You will be amazed how many bottles you can accumulate this way.

 

[mendesm]

I started to keep them out of the recycle bin. I must have about 100 to 120 beer bottles all collected in the last 2 months or so. Summer time is great for having friends over and asking them to bring a six-pack. Save them.

Drive around on recycling day and get them from the neighbors recycling bin.

Ask the neighbors to save them for you. You'll have to tell them you don't need anymore sooner than you'd imagine.

 

[mewithstewpid]

i bought all mine at first, but then i found some heavy drinking friends! after poker nights, i just ask for the bottles and promise them to be refilled in the coming months. i still have like 100 bottles at the house that need to be cleaned from my friends!

also, if you really hate bottling and dont have space and equipment for a keg, i highly recommend the the Tap-a-Draft. Easy to use, and sits in the fridge with available beer while staying fresh for a good long time!

 

[KurtB]

You can also check this thread

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/got-free-bottles-give-away-post-em-here-157575/

If you have not. There may be somebody in your area looking to get rid of a bunch.

 

[DGibb]

Drive around on recycling day and get them from the neighbors recycling bin.

That's not a possibility in Michigan where each bottle is worth a dime. Friends always bring beer when they come over (and I reciprocate in kind when I visit their places), and they are kind enough to tend toward the crown capped bottles so I can save them and refill them with my brew that I can share with them!

They enjoy the cycle almost as much as I do (and with less work involved!)

 

[fergusmj]

I went to the local recycling place last Sunday and there was a dumpster full of glass brown bottles. They also had a dumpster full of greens too, but obviously I didn't worry about those. I picked the ones I could see right on the top layer and left there with 71 bottles .

I plan on making it a weekly post church stop.

I'm still upset that I bought a case of empty bottles originally

 

[mendesm]

The bottles here in MA cost a nickel each. Most people don't bother bringing them back because one would have to accumulate 20 bottles taking space, plus the time and gas it takes to actually return them for a measly $1 back. More practical to just toss them in the bin.

If I understand correctly, when you put the bottles out on the street to be recycled, the city takes a cut of the deposit money that the recycling company collects from those bottles, even if it is just a discount on the price of the recycling pickup service. You and your neighbors are giving away free money. Granted, you need 10 bottles at .10 each to make a buck back, so individually, it's just peanuts and must people don't bother with it, but how many people recycle 10 bottles each week in your ENTIRE city/town? For them, it adds up pretty quickly.

That my friend is one of the big reasons governments everywhere push for recycling so much. Not only because "it's good for the planet", but because it's free money they get.

If you pick them up from your neighbors recycling bin that was left out on the street, you're not stealing anything, you're helping your neighbors dispose of them, AND by reusing them yourself, YOU are recycling and making a great contribution to society by letting less crap end up into the land fills. You're a HERO!!!

 

[cdwiggi]

I have been collecting them in that manor for some time but I am doing 10 gallon batches now and wanting to go bigger soon... Has anyone on here done a bulk buy on bottles or has a connection to a manufacture?

cd