Bottles... help?

[Gdavie01]

Hey guys,

Im brand spankin new to the Home Brew(my fementor is still in the mail...). However Ive got a bottle dilemma....

I was/am saving a heap of 330ml glass bottles(I think you guys have slightly larger ones in the US?) most of them were Stella Artois. So when I ordered my kit I made sure I included some crown seals and a capper(twin lever?). I was promptly called from the supplier and advised to steer well clear of any type of commercial beer bottle other than the large 750ml "swappa crates". She said the glass is far to thin and I will lose a finger or an eye and most of my beer due to bottles exploading.

Now things in New Zealand are a bit stange and the 750ml glass bottles are not very easy to come by so most of the brew shops here just sell 750ml plastic bottles and a few grolsh style glass bottles, which are mega expensive.

I understand that really "fizzy" beer will cause problems and that is dependant on how much suger I add to the bottles to prime them, but can i just make slightly flatter beer(and if so how much suger per bottle are we talking?) and use my 330ml commercial bottles?

Wow sorry for the long winded rants.

Thanks in advance,
George

 

[HItransplant]

I am by no means an expert, but if a bottle can hold pressure, then it can hold pressure.

If you overcarb a beer, no matter the bottle, you will have the possiblity of a bottle bomb... if you carb correctly, then I cant imagine why it would be any different than the pressure they brewery puts in the commercial bottles. follow?

Also, if your stella bottles are green (like ours are), you might want to go for a brown bottle. Unless you are storing in a cellar, the green will let more light in-- maybe that wont matter though, depending on how fast you drink them .

hope that helps.. im sure more will chime in.

oh, and welcome to the madness.. where enough is never enough. ---you chose a good forum to join.

 

[Gdavie01]

sweet thanks for the fast reply. The issue or so I was led to belive was that the commerical beer companies tried to "save" on glass, making it as thin as possible for their beer types. She also said that the prime they add to there bottles is heavily computer controlled and that if I put just a few extra grains of brewers suger in one bottle....BOOM!

 

[KMKsuburbannoise]

I would order some empty bottles. sounds like it may be cheaper to do that then buy beer you don't want.

 

[HerotBrewer]

I'm not familiar with NZ bottles, but sounds to me like your supplier is trying to sell you bottles. A few grains of brewers sugar will not make a difference. But do make sure you prime the whole batch and make sure it's well incorporated before bottling, don't prime per bottle.

 

[northernlad]

In over a year of brewing I have had one bomb reusing commercial bottles. I was in Sydney a couple weeks ago and I did not notice the glass from there being any different fomr glass in the US. In fact, the empty 750 of Coopers I brought is far thicker than our 22's

 

[HItransplant]

I'm not familiar with NZ bottles, but sounds to me like your supplier is trying to sell you bottles.

yeah, I agree..

do you have any other suppliers you can ask.. see if the answers match.

it certainly has all the familiar symptoms of bull sh_t.

 

[Gdavie01]

lol thanks heaps guys super fast responses. Going to talk to some bloke on Friday who can hopefully give me a definitive answer on Kiwi bottles. But you guys have convinced me not to throw the bottles out and at least try using a few.

 

[HItransplant]

lol thanks heaps guys super fast responses. Going to talk to some bloke on Friday who can hopefully give me a definitive answer on Kiwi bottles. But you guys have convinced me not to throw the bottles out and at least try using a few.

I put my bottles in a plastic container under 2 plastic bags and put them in the pantry for the 3-4 + weeks they take to carb. That way if they pop, no mess, no danger.

just another thought.

 

[HerotBrewer]

I put my bottles in a plastic container under 2 plastic bags and put them in the pantry for the 3-4 + weeks they take to carb. That way if they pop, no mess, no danger.

just another thought.

Excellent idea. I usually just put them in the laundry room covered with a wool blanket that should contain most shrapnel.

 

[NWMOBrewer]

I plan on bottling my second batch in a few weeks (i kegged my first ever batch because my wonderful SWMBO paid for my kegs) and I will cover it with something, I don't know yet, but will cover it because knowing my luck, I'll have some weak bottles (prolly the Sam Adams, JK) and don't want so much of a mess.

 

[HerotBrewer]

Honestly, I don't think you have much to worry about.

If you:

Took hydrometer readings several days in a row to make sure fermentation stopped, and

Used the proper amount of priming sugar properly mixed in your bottling bucket

You should have nothing to worry about.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

As long as those bottles aren't twist-off type, your crown caps & wing capper should work just fine. Regards, GF.

 

[RM-MN]

When I bottle I put them into a cardboard box and close the lid. This makes a nice cage in case a bottle ever explodes and shields the beer from the light at the same time. I also keep them in my (mostly) dark basement. I've never had a problem with any bottle I've been able to cap but I've only bottled about 400 bottles worth so far. I have found a few bottles that the wing style capper won't work on because of the size or placement of the shoulder at the neck of the bottle.