Bottle Question...

[jlg4398]

I'm wondering if I can use store bought beer bottles (American India Pale Ale) twist off caps and recap them with a regular caper. They're regular 12 oz bottles
with metal twist off caps. If I can I will save all glass beer bottles I can.
Currently I'm use plastic 16 oz bottles.
My first batch of beer turn out really good and I think I'm going to be hooked on this hobby for awhile. Thanx for the input,

 

[wingedcoyote]

Sorry. I haven't tried it, but the general consensus is that twist-off bottles do not work with regular caps/cappers.

 

[Hello]

If you must, use a bench capper. I wouldn't use them for long term aging and in fact, I wouldn't use them at all ever. However, it seems to be something people ask frequently and when you're trying to build up your bottle collection tossing twist offs may be hard to do. I just wouldn't do it. They're harder to cap. I tried it with both a bench and wing capper and had issues with the wing capper. I did it with the bench capper but 1 of 3 bottles leaked.

 

[MaxStout]

For all the planning, work and expense in creating a batch of brew, do you want to risk it on twist-off bottles, just to save a little money? If they leak, you could end up with a lot of flat, stale beer. There are plenty of ways to amass a nice collection of good pop-tops, the best way being to drink some craft beer. You can also get bottles from friends, bars, recycling centers, Craigslist, and of course, from your LHBS.

Twist-offs are best put in the recycling bin.

 

[andy6026]

I've used them and they work fine. However, I was sure to give them a really strong squeeze onto the bottles using a bench capper. I don't know if or how much that helped. I only did two batches though and then after that I accumulated enough 16 oz bottles (non-screw type) and found that it's better to fill fewer bottles.

I think one of the issues, I've been told, is that the glass in the neck is often thinner. This lends them to easier breakage while capping. It didn't happen to me but if this is true then it's probably a numbers game.

I'd wait to see if someone chimes in to say they use them frequently, or someone else to say they tried them and it didn't work at all.

I would stress the point that filling fewer 16 oz bottles is waaay better (for me), as it takes less time, uses less caps (not really an issue), and allows you to fill a full pint... since you're going to be pouring it into a glass anyways. To each his own though of course...

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I tried it with a wing capper once (filled with water as a test), Bottle cracked all the way down to the bottom. I don't think it's worth the trouble IMO.

 

[mtnagel]

He's asking about reusing the caps not the bottles. And to that I would say no.

 

[unionrdr]

I wouldn't re-use the caps either. Couldn't vouch for the seals after the first use. There's so many different brands of 12oz pop tops that it should be very easy to find a style/brand you like & save those. Sam Adams work real well,as do Wernesgruner,Paulaner,Franziskaner,most craft beers,ad infinitum. And I use the o2 barrier caps,as they only cost about a dollar more per 144 count bag for greater protection & longevity of your bottled beers.

 

[Temptd2]

We reused some of the twist-off cap bottles early in our bottling - using a bench capper. We never had any breakage, but we had about 6 or 7 leakers in two cases of beer. We quit using them.

As for reusing caps, we've never done THAT nor would I recommend it. Bottle caps are cheap, why bother?