Bottling apfelwein

[ashbyp]

Hi -

Can you bottle carbonated apfelwein in normally corked wine bottles? Ie: not champagne bottles? Or will the pressure force the cork out?

Cheers!

 

[PeteOz77]

Wine bottles are not designed to hold carbonated liquids. You are asking for disaster if you try to carbonate in a wine bottle. But, you can bottle still apfelwien in wine bottles, and it's a nice change sometimes...

 

[ashbyp]

OK - glad I asked

Is it possible to re-cork champagne bottles?

 

[PeteOz77]

I have never tried it, but I hear that some chamagne bottles will take a standard bottle cap!

 

[janzik]

Wine bottles are not designed to hold carbonated liquids. You are asking for disaster if you try to carbonate in a wine bottle. But, you can bottle still apfelwien in wine bottles, and it's a nice change sometimes...

Is it the actual glass or is it because it's a cork and not a champaign wire twister top?

 

[PeteOz77]

I'm not an expert, but I believe the bottle isn't designed to hold pressure like a beer or champagne bottle, so I guess the answer is the glass, not the corking method. I have bottled some apfewien from a carbonated keg into wine bottles with screw caps without issues, but by the time I get the caps on, there isn't a lot of carbonation left in the bottles. I wouldn't try priming them

 

[Yooper]

Well, the reason you don't carbonate in wine bottle is both- the glass isn't designed to hold pressure, but I can guarantee you that the corks will pop out before the glass explodes. I've talked to a few people who bottled wine too early, and the corks all popped in the cellars. But, as Pete was saying, even if you capped with a bottle cap, it wouldn't hold up. Then the glass would explode.

For carbonated drinks, I've used plastic PET bottles, beer bottles, soda bottles, etc. They've all worked fine.

 

[tranceamerica]

last I checked a champagne bottle takes the larger cap - maybe it was just the bottle I found?? my neighbors seem to put a lot of champagne bottles in the recycleing...they'd be great for apfelwein or mead...

yeah, standard wine bottles are not for carbonated beverages because the glass is too thin + the cork will come out (compare a wine cork w/a champage cork) but a champagne bottle will work...

 

[jezter6]

I save all my belgian style brew bottles that use the cork & cage assembly. My LHBS will rent you a monster size corker for the day, so I'm planning on bottling my FrankenSaison in those bottles and letting them go for a little while.

Those are almost the only bottles I try and keep anymore.

 

[fratermus]

last I checked a champagne bottle takes the larger cap - maybe it was just the bottle I found??

As I understand it there are two different sizes. The ones I found last time I did it used regular caps.

 

[EvilTOJ]

The Martinelli's sparkling applejuice bottles take a standard bottlecap. I like using those for wine and mead. I've also been the victim of wine bottles popping because the wine wasn't fully degassed Blackberry mead all over the place.