Bottle Cap Size

[RM-MN]

The real answer to the problem is to just discard the bottles that don't crimp right. Bottles are not expensive to buy and often can be had for free. Life is too short to let non-standard bottles ruin your beer.

This says the guy who puts up with the non-standard Corona bottles (not all are, some Corona bottles have the bulge in the right place to cap properly) but I do like to have one or more clear glass bottles per batch so I can see how the beer is clearing (or not clearing).

 

[Dr_Jeff]

I don’t have the wing capper anymore. I got the bench capper from an old guy back in the 1980s. It was old then so it would be hard to find another. Pictured are two bottles. One is Lagunitas the other is Sierra Nevada. I’m not sure which is which. I never thought much about the difference before. Both are strong dark beers close to a year old.

The old capper is a Climax capper, they work great, I have one as well. And a fantastic name too.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

I have an old stand capper as well. It belonged to my grandfather a long time ago. It is a much tighter crimp than the hand cappers I got with other lots. When I use the hand capper I can flick the cap off with my thumb. With the old stand capper the cap is almost verticle and I have trouble opening it with some openers, no way can I push it off. And as a note, some of the champagne bottles sold in the US use the same cap as a standard beer bottle. I used the stand capper as a teenager in the 80s on commercial chamagne bottles, and I still bought champagne bottles from the LHBS a few years back that i could cap as well. When I looked at current stand cappers they use the same bell as the hand capper, which has a larger bell than my stand capper. I still will not trust a new capper and use the old one.

 

[Dancy]

I use a wing handled capper with no complaints but I have to ask — Is the issue people have with those that they work fine at first then do a poor job after so many uses? I’m not brewing 2-3x a month and the beer is just for me so maybe my capper isn’t worn out. I certainly can’t “flick the cap off with my thumb“.
Also, I don’t use odd bottles — traditional 12 oz and then I bought Belgian bottles new from NB and a hand capper designed for those.

 

[z-bob]

I use a wing handled capper with no complaints but I have to ask — Is the issue people have with those that they work fine at first then do a poor job after so many uses? I’m not brewing 2-3x a month and the beer is just for me so maybe my capper isn’t worn out. I certainly can’t “flick the cap off with my thumb“.
Also, I don’t use odd bottles — traditional 12 oz and then I bought Belgian bottles new from NB and a hand capper designed for those.

No. They are using bottles with a short distance between the mouth and the bottom of the ring. Winged cappers work just fine if there's enough distance from the mouth to the gripping point (but they are still more awkward to use than bench cappers) The only time wing-cappers are better is when you have different height bottles all mixed up -- and they have the right type of top with about an inch of travel.

 

[hotbeer]

but I have to ask — Is the issue people have with those that they work fine at first then do a poor job after so many uses?

The issue for me was that they require the use of two hands and you have to get the capper positioned properly over each individual bottle. And that just seemed to fiddly to me. So I ignored them from consideration at the very start of my search for a capper.

Bench cappers at counter height just make it very quick, easy and painless to cap a beer bottle and do it correct the first time. And no tired arms either.

 

[Architect-Dave]

Well, my bench capper arrived and I ran a few test runs…all the bottled capped nice and tight - even the Lagunitas bottles. Problem solved…Winged capper, you have earned your wings.

 

[balrog]

As @z-bob so astutely points out, a winged capper relies on pulling up, while pushing down, on a "standard" geometry of bottle, and certain bottles have a shorter geometry.

A beer bottle with NO collar could *ONLY* be capped with a bench capper as there would be nothing for the metal wings to pull up on. (sorry Mom, for ending that sentence with a preposition)

 

[bellhp]

Good thread , My first batch I bottled after my 20 year brewing pause was a disaster , part of the problem was my wing capper which worked great in the 90's was showing these same issues you had. I adjusted it to the point of breaking a few bottles . and then I ordered a bench capper ... problem solved .
I had no idea geometry of the bottles had changed , I've got tons of those short bottles as I am a fan of Founders " dirty bastard" scottish ale.

 

[DuncB]

Maybe for capping champagne bottles with the big 29mm caps.

That's what I use my winged capper for now with a 29mm bell and different caps. I bottle the Belgian beers and wine in the champagne bottles.
Bench capper for the beer bottles.

 

[DuncB]

Interesting Paradox about the collar on the beer bottles not being long enough for the winged capper.
The Hobgoblin beer bottles have a long collar but the bottom of the collar tapers onto the bottle so a winged capper can't engage on this taper and it doesn't work. Bench capper works fine.

Also I've noticed that some champagne bottles now are thin necked, Mumm and a Moet bottle I collected recently, these take the standard beer cap and not a champagne bottle standard.
I read somewhere that " lubricating the bell " made the capping process a little easier, haven't tried it myself.

Glad the lagunitas bottling issue was solved and ingenious rescue removing the bell and tapping it to finish it off.

 

[ncbrewer]

I read somewhere that " lubricating the bell " made the capping process a little easier, haven't tried it myself.

I had trouble with some poor seals when using a bench capper. I also read about lubing the bell and tried that - it solved the problem. I use parafin wax, rubbing it on the inside of the bell before starting each case. I found that without lubing, the bottle was kind of stuck in the bell and had to be pulled out. After lubing, it comes out of the bell much easier. I think it tends to hold onto the cap, and pulling it out pulls on the cap and sometimes moves it a little, causing the poor seal.

 

[balrog]

"There's always time for lube"

 

[ehall]

I guess ultimately, size really does matter...