Bottling with flip tops?

[Sampson11]

I am having issues with an IPA that I bottled with some flip top bottles and I am wondering if others have had success or problems with these? It seems that some have carbed up perfectly while others are dead flat and have little to no bubbles. I am wondering if it is possible that the flip tops are not sealing properly and my CO2 pressure is leaking out instead of building up.

The beer in question is a Dogfish head 60min that I bottles about 6 weeks ago. I used 4.5 oz of corn sugar dissolved in 1.5 cups of boiling water. I added the sugar solution to my bottling bucket before racking the beer on top of it in a swirling motion out of the siphon tube. I am using mostly 1 liter flip top bottles that originally came from Howe sound brewery as well as some smaller grolsh bottles. The bottles were conditioned in my laundry room with an average temp of 72 to 75deg for at least a month before being refrigerated. My first couple bottles were flat and I just wondered if they needed a little more time to carb up or more time in the fridge. The last couple I drank were perfect, thick frothy head that lasted well and helped the beer taste much better. Tonight I just popped one after a week in the fridge and it is dead flat and is nowhere nearly as good as the last two bubbly ones.

I guess all I am really asking is should I be capping these with a traditional capper and caps and then just using the flip tops if I don't finish a bottle one night, (yea right, that rarely happens). Or is there a way to ensure the flip tops seal properly and work more often than not? It is really cool to pop open a bottle of homebrew with a flip top and share it with friends but if it risks a flat beer then I will switch up to using a regular capper instead.

 

[Owly055]

The gaskets on flip tops need to be replaced periodically. Your LHBS should have a bin full of them at about three cents a piece........ I flip mine every time, and if I get a flat beer, I mark the bottle with a sticky label and put a new gasket on it.

H.W.

 

[Brewenstein]

^^^ What he said.

 

[Sampson11]

Ahhh, thx. I bought most of these bottles new at the local liquor store and at that time they were bottled with a regular cap so this is the first time they have been used with the flip tops. Is it safe to assume that a newer bottle with a new seal should seal properly every time or is it a 50:50 proposition?

In the hivemind of hbt members what is the approximate lifespan of these seals? Should they be replaced every time or can they be used for a few times or more?

 

[DU99]

also don't hurt to put a bit food grade lube on them occassionally.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

I thought the title said "bottling with flip flops." I didn't see a problem...





Sorry. I'm still in Summer Mode. And drunk. A lot.

 

[donbrew]

I thought the title said "bottling with flip flops." I didn't see a problem...





Sorry. I'm still in Summer Mode. And drunk. A lot.

Me, too. I thought: my flip flops stink!

But seriously; why use flip tops when caps are cheap? Flip tops have their place I guess, but it is not in single beer sessions. I used to have some, but they went with gifting brews.

 

[Calder]

I have 5 bombers with flip tops. Been using the same seals for 5 years with no issues. They are usually the first bottles opened, so get used most of all my bottles. If I had to guess, I'd say they are on about batch 50.

 

[Gameface]

I purchased some of my flip tops filled with beer and some from a brew supply store. The cage (flip top wire thingy) is very similar but not identical, as well as the length on the bottle from the holes the cage clips into and the top of the bottle.

I had some issues with losing carbonation until I identified which cage went with which type of bottle. The bottles looked almost identical and short of using calipers to measure the distance from the holes to the top of the bottle, I couldn't tell visually, it would have been hard to differentiate them except that some have dots on the bottom ring (at the base of the bottle) and others had little ridges. Luckily the cages from teh bottles that were filled with beer had blue gaskets and the ones I bought empty had orange gaskets.

Anyway, maybe that'll help you.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

When I first stated brewing, I saved up a bunch of Grolsch bottles, because I thought the flip tops would be much easier to deal with. No real issues with them, other than nearly every batch, 2-3 bottles would be completely flat. Kind of a pain, but not too big of a deal. I'd just toss the bad bottle (even though the issue was the gasket). I quit using them because the wing-cappers are really just as easy to use, and I never have flat bottles. If you have them to use, I'd still use them until your tired of occasional flat bottles. Just expect a couple to be flat from time to time.

 

[flars]

I've been using Howe Sound bottles for 5 years with out leaks. Filled about 15 times over the 5 years. I thought the seals might be aging, so I used crown caps last month, just for extra security, to hold a stout that won't be opened until into December.

I used the crown caps just for security. The flip tops should last for many uses as long as they aren't dried out in a dish washer or long soaks in cleaners, and the bail doesn't get damaged.

 

[Sampson11]

Thanks for all the input and advice. It is sounding like with the total number of failures I am having that there may be more going on then just a couple bad flip tops or seals. Since the seals were pretty much new as well as the bottles it would seem like I should be having a better success rate. Perhaps I didn't get enough mixing with my priming solution?

I have about 30 of the bomber flips and about 50 grolsh flips so I would like to be able to use them consistently If I can, and while I don't have anything against traditional crown caps there is just something I like about popping a flip top on my bottles.

I have a new batch of a Irish red ale that should be just about ready to drink that was also bottled with all flip tops so I should know in a week or two if I have a better success rate with this latest batch. I am really looking forward to this one and I hope they are all well carbed.

 

[BrewinBromanite]

I guess I should have mentioned that I run all my bottles through the dishwasher's sanitize, high heat cycle, which I'm sure contributes to the 2-3/batch failure rate. Even then, it's always only a couple per batch, so the vast majority never have issues after multiple bathes & multiple dishwasher cycles. I agree, there is something about the flip top "pop"! Good luck on the next batch!

 

[Hoppity]

Your gaskets might be getting dried out in the dishwasher. Hit them with keg lube on both sides before sealing them as previously suggested. Or you could just take them off before putting them in the dishwasher.