Brands with Pry-off bottles

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DJBod129

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I tried searching, but couldn't come up with anything, really...

I was at the store the other day with my brother, getting beer for a shindig, and he wanted to get something with pry-off tops for me (knowing I would re-use them for home brewing). After much deliberation, he got a 12 pack of Blue Moon which does not have pry-off tops. So I was thinking maybe we could start a list here, for easy reference. Please add any missing brands to the list.

Brands with pry-off tops:
Sam Adams
Stella Artois
Magic Hat
Flying Dog
 
Brooklyn, Smuttynose, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Dogfish Head, Otter Creek, Hacker Pschorr, Paulaner, Spaten, Troegs, Stoudts, Weyerbacher, Boulder, and many more...
 
Yeah blue moons owned by coors now so they must have changed their bottles.

My favorites are sam, negro modelo and presidente for 12oz. Anchor and harpoon for 22 oz.

Also trying the starsan strip on some redstripe. Would be the perfect bottle for a honey brown if it works on mine.
 
Pretty much most (real) microbrews.

And I say real because BlueMoon is made by coors so there you go.
 
Twist off are the rarer of the two over here... Just about every other case of Miller has twist off or pry off... Just about every other brand is pry off...
 
Twist off are the rarer of the two over here... Just about every other case of Miller has twist off or pry off... Just about every other brand is pry off...

Unfortunately not the case anymore in the states. Most of the "cheap" beers are twist off now.

Cheapest source for me was Root beer bottles!
 
I tried searching, but couldn't come up with anything, really...

I was at the store the other day with my brother, getting beer for a shindig, and he wanted to get something with pry-off tops for me (knowing I would re-use them for home brewing). After much deliberation, he got a 12 pack of Blue Moon which does not have pry-off tops. So I was thinking maybe we could start a list here, for easy reference. Please add any missing brands to the list.

Brands with pry-off tops:
Sam Adams
Stella Artois
Magic Hat
Flying Dog

Stella? no dice, it must be a different size, but I can't cap any of them with my wing capper, don't know if it's a different size or what, but it's annoying.
 
Tap Room is a Microbeer brand that I've found and like but they use twist-off so be warned.
 
I use a steady supply of Smithwicks, Harp, Sam Adams, Bell's, and Great Lakes. I made it a point to only drink those brands for about 6 months and I'm more than set for bottles now!
 
sam sam and more sam. I found that they have some of the easiest bottles to clean the labels off of as well. an over night soak and a quick scrub with a metal scouring pad and you're golden.
 
Otter Creek are twist off, at least in Vermont they are. I go for Long Trail for a VT pry off brewery.

Also, while Sam Adams are pry off, don't use Sam Light. The metal on the label turns into glitter in your water. Basically, the paint slid off the label, then the label slid off the bottle. It was an awful mess.
 
Stella? no dice, it must be a different size, but I can't cap any of them with my wing capper, don't know if it's a different size or what, but it's annoying.

Don't tell me that... I was planning on having all of the green bottles that I have (all Stella) for my Apfelwein when it's done. MAybe I'll try to dry cap one tonight to see if it works...
 
Bass Ale bottle are the ones I used to use. Labels come of real easy.

I had some Bass Ale bottles saved up from way back and tried to use them, but my wing capper couldn't get a cap on their tightly enough. Each one I tested (and I'm glad I did) came off easily in my hand. I thought it was strange but noticed the lower portion of the lip is shaped slightly different than the other bottles I had.

I had to scramble and sanitize a handful of Grolsch swing tops to have enough, and threw the bass bottles away. Anyone else had this problem?
 
I had some Bass Ale bottles saved up from way back and tried to use them, but my wing capper couldn't get a cap on their tightly enough. Each one I tested (and I'm glad I did) came off easily in my hand. I thought it was strange but noticed the lower portion of the lip is shaped slightly different than the other bottles I had.

Ditto on the Bass bottles. I had about a case worth that I had to toss.....it was painful.:eek:
 
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I'm drinking a healthy dose of Sam Adams Octoberfest now that it's available, the only reason being that I can collect the bottles....yeah that's it...:rockin:
 
I buy a ton of brooklyn lager because I love the beer and they are good pry offs... but its a complete PITA to get the labels off even with a heathly dose of oxyclean for a couple of days.
 
Ditto on the Bass bottles. I had about a case worth that I had to toss.....it was painful.:eek:

Stella? no dice, it must be a different size, but I can't cap any of them with my wing capper, don't know if it's a different size or what, but it's annoying.

Don't tell me that... I was planning on having all of the green bottles that I have (all Stella) for my Apfelwein when it's done. MAybe I'll try to dry cap one tonight to see if it works...

I had some Bass Ale bottles saved up from way back and tried to use them, but my wing capper couldn't get a cap on their tightly enough. Each one I tested (and I'm glad I did) came off easily in my hand. I thought it was strange but noticed the lower portion of the lip is shaped slightly different than the other bottles I had.

I had to scramble and sanitize a handful of Grolsch swing tops to have enough, and threw the bass bottles away. Anyone else had this problem?

I have been told that because the imports are metric they are very hard to cap with a wing capper. I have done it with my bench capper they held but didn't look quite right. I then saw that the company I bought it from sells a different crown and caps for imports
 
Stella? no dice, it must be a different size, but I can't cap any of them with my wing capper, don't know if it's a different size or what, but it's annoying.

I had to go home and try capping one as I have a six pack I was saving for my next brew. I had no problem at all, no beer in it, but it was on tight. Had to use an opener to get it back off. Was the problem getting them on or did they come off later as pressure built up? You are making me concerned about using them now.
 
Stella? no dice, it must be a different size, but I can't cap any of them with my wing capper, don't know if it's a different size or what, but it's annoying.

I had some Bass Ale bottles saved up from way back and tried to use them, but my wing capper couldn't get a cap on their tightly enough. Each one I tested (and I'm glad I did) came off easily in my hand. I thought it was strange but noticed the lower portion of the lip is shaped slightly different than the other bottles I had.

I had to scramble and sanitize a handful of Grolsch swing tops to have enough, and threw the bass bottles away. Anyone else had this problem?

Ditto on the Bass bottles. I had about a case worth that I had to toss.....it was painful.:eek:

My very first brew I tried to put in Bass bottles. My wing capper wouldnt cap them properly. There is a second ridge below the lip that a wing capper grabs on to. On some of the imported bottles that ridge is closer to the lip than on most American bottles. I managed to get them to seal up by taking the bell out of the capper and using a small dead blow hammer and lightly tapping until the cap was completely sealed. Wasnt pretty but it worked fine.

Stella and Amstel bottles are the same way. I used the Stella bottles for apfel wine but I threw the amstel bottles away.

Nobody has mentioned my favorite bottles. Guiness Draft comes in the perfect homebrew bottle. The labels are shrink wrapped on so all you need is a knife and they come right off. You are left with a bottle with no names or marks of any kind imprinted on them.
 
anchor
becks
bell's
big sky
birra moretti
bridgeport
bute creek
carlsberg
coopers
dicks
dogfish head
deschutes
eel river
firehouse
firestation5
fishtale
great divide
grolish
green flash
guiness
hair of the dog
heineken
kona
new belgium
new castle
steinlager
north coast
petes
pikes
pilsner urquell
red hook
river horse
rogue
sam adams
sierra nevada
smith wicks
spaten
speakeasy
st. pauli
stockyard
stella artois
mission st.
stone
three floyds
terminal gravity
victory
widmer

I have more that are pry top but are kind of rare so I didnt list them
 
I have been told that because the imports are metric they are very hard to cap with a wing capper. I have done it with my bench capper they held but didn't look quite right. I then saw that the company I bought it from sells a different crown and caps for imports

I'm glad I saw this thread. I just started collecting 22 oz of Becks, being that its an import will I have problems capping it? What would be a more universal capper to have for 22 oz most of which I guess are exports - Becks, Heineken, Corona as well as some of the US beers such as Blue Moon (I've read it was owned by Coors, didnt know that b4) :), Sam?
 
Paulaner bottles are crimp on/pry off, and their labels slide off with a brief soak. I'd type this better if I hadn't just finished one
 
Dog gone it I just found out that stellas are not possible for me to cap & I have about 24 of them. I had to clean some Sam Adams bottles & delabel them, while bottling! Pain.

Oh well first batch Brewers Best Irish Stout is in bottles.

After delabeling, I decided that I like the Mexican clear bottles. They have painted labels, and bottle fine. They look a little funny with stout in them, but also, Newcastles are clear bottles and they worked fine as well. Corona, del Sol, and Jimmy Buffett's Landshark has a clear label that may as well stay on there.

Bad list: Stella, Grolsch 12 oz (the irony, eh?), Pilzner Urquell are all very similar tall green bottles that dont work well with the capper.
 
O'Dells, Red Hook (nice hops wreath around the bottle too, but they are stamped with the brand), Samuel Smith (the foil around the neck is a PITA to get off), Widmer bros., Big Sky (yummy Moose's Drool), Michelob, and Budweiser American Ale are a fe more. That list, up to Big Sky, is what I generally drink when I buy commercial, so I tend to have those bottles on hand. I have a few buddies who drink Michelob and generously donate the bottles to my noble cause.
I have to say though, +100 on Guinness. I love the stuff, and you don't have to soak the labels off. Yank out the widget with a pair of needle nose, score the label with a knife or razor blade, then peel it right off.
 
A thought occurs... This would make for a nice Wiki entry. It would be nice to have a database of bottles people have had success with reusing. This would prevent me from buying another 2 cases of Boulevard (which comes in a closed box, so you can't see the bottles until you get them home) only to learn that they are twist off.
 
llama are you sure woodchuck has pry off caps? My buddy loves the stuff but I could have swore i negated taking them because i thought i saw the threads on the bottle. I dont drink it so I have never taken off a cap from it.
 
just look at the cap, you can clearly tell the difference.

My question is why would beer companies even use twist tops?

Because 99.9% of their consumers would never think of re-capping a bottle, and twist-offs are more convenient (especially if you find yourself in a hotel room or on a camping trip without an opener).

Sucks for us, but it makes sense.
 
i can open a beer bottle with anything lol. when i dont feel like reaching or searching for a bottle i just grab a lighter or anything else within reach. I have even used sticks which work great when camping.

where there is a will there's a way!
 
i can open a beer bottle with anything lol. when i dont feel like reaching or searching for a bottle i just grab a lighter or anything else within reach. I have even used sticks which work great when camping.

where there is a will there's a way!

I do the same. I always enjoy people's faces when I reach for a lighter and pop open a beer mid-conversation.

BTW, is this a sticky in any of the forums? If not, could it/should it be?
 
llama are you sure woodchuck has pry off caps? My buddy loves the stuff but I could have swore i negated taking them because i thought i saw the threads on the bottle. I dont drink it so I have never taken off a cap from it.

Oh man... I grabbed my camera and headed for the fridge. I was all set to prove you wrong.

But yes, you are correct. Woodchuck has twist off caps, and I just threw away about about 3 dozen of them. Foot+mouth=me

Thanks for pointing that out though, I wouldn't have noticed until bottling time. :mug:
 
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