Bottling in Belgian Bottles Without Corking

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MclovinBeer

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First post here. Has anyone bottled a non-Belgian beer in a Belgian style bottle, and capped the bottle without using a cork? I have a few Belgian style bottles that I want to use for an Irish Stout, but I don't want to spend the cash on a corker for such a small quantity of bottles. From what I understand, the 29 mm caps will fit the bottles that I have (Brooklyn Brewery). They were originally capped with a cork and hood, but there is a lip on the mouth of the bottle much like a regular bottle. Since I'm not brewing a Belgian, and won't need the additional pressure capacity, am I fine with just capping? Nearest homebrew supply is an hour and 45 minutes away, so renting a corker is out of the question. I appreciate any input you have. Thanks.
 
I've never used the Brooklyn bottles, but I bottle in Boulevard's Smokestack bottles a lot. It's a 750ml bottle that takes a 29mm cap. I use a bench capper that's able to change out the bell-you need to use a larger bell to use the Euro caps.
 
They were originally capped with a cork and hood, but there is a lip on the mouth of the bottle much like a regular bottle.

It might not fit a crown. The Belgian bottles that I use have a very rounded lip and need to be corked and caged. I would definitely test this out before you start bottling and then realize that you can't cap them.

Since I'm not brewing a Belgian, and won't need the additional pressure capacity, am I fine with just capping?

The cork/cage isn't for additional pressure capacity. When people have bottle bombs, the crown generally isn't the thing to burst...it's the bottle itself. The belgian bottles are generally thicker, so that will hold additional pressure. For me, the cork/cage is about presentation. I use a Colonna capper/corker (which isn't very good for capping...it dents the crown top). It's about $67 at Northern Brewer.

Edit: After looking at the Brooklyn bottles, it looks like they will accept a crown. I'm not positive, but it looks like a 29mm Euro. http://www.simplybeer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/brooklynbrewery_tour16.jpg You will be fine just to cap them.
 
If you can find any Jolly Pumpkin bottles (or Founders Backstage series), they are the same shape as standard belgian bottles, but they take a regular crown cap. Sierra Nevada also uses some bottles like this, but they are not as heavy as the JP bottles.

JOLLY-PUMPKIN-ORO-DE-CALABAZA.jpg
 
Bottled yesterday with the Brooklyn bottles and the 29mm caps worked perfectly. I got the 29mm capping bell and 100 caps for less than $10, and the large bottles look really cool.
 
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