Brands with Pry-Off Caps?

[Tacohockey50]

I saw a 24 pack of Stella Artois at Sams Club for $28. (only $6 more than a case of new EMPTY bottles.. hint, hint.) But Stella has a foil wrapper so you can't see the cap. Does Stella have Twist-off or Pry-off caps? AND...... what brands have bottles with pry-off caps? I don't want to buy brands with twist-off caps because they are not good for home brew. I'll start the list:

New Belgum - Fat Tire, Voodoo, etc -
Breckenridge - (Palisades Peach is the BOMB)
Sam Adams

 

[RM-MN]

I have a few screw top bottles that got mixed in with the pry off ones. They seem to seal just as good as the pry off ones.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I don't want to buy brands with twist-off caps because they are not good for home brew. I'll start the list

Along the "north coast", any brand that's from a regional 'craft' brewery is likely to use the bottles you are looking for:

• from MI: Upper Hand Brewery, Bell's, Founder's, ...
• from WI: Ahnapee Brewery ("I'll be in the garage", best.craft-cold-extraction-stout.ever ), Central Waters, LakeSide, Big Eddy (rip), Rush River, many yummy choices on the Door penisula, that brewery that refuses to ship Spotted Cow out of WI , ...
• ....

eta: pay attention to the labels - paper labels tend to come off much easier than the 'plastic'-like labels. Sometimes one just enjoys the beer, sometimes one gets enjoyable beer and reusable bottles.

 

[Tacohockey50]

I have a few screw top bottles that got mixed in with the pry off ones. They seem to seal just as good as the pry off ones.

Thank you. Yea, some people have success with twist-off bottles. But as long as I'm using empties from beer I bought... might as well buy brands with pry-off caps. I wonder.... is success with twist-off necks a function of the quality of the bottle capper? The inexpensive bottle cappers that come with cheap starter sets might not have the power to deal with twist-off necks. Brew on!

 

[RM-MN]

The inexpensive bottle cappers that come with cheap starter sets might not have the power to deal with twist-off necks.

You mean cheap cappers like my Red Baron that came with my starter set somewhere around 10 years ago won't cap those twist off cap bottles? That's news to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferrari-LDC-4016-Bottle-Capper/dp/B001D6KGTK
Why not buy beer you like and give it a try with your capper? You can always chalk it up as a bad investment.

 

[hotbeer]

I haven't bought beer myself in quite a while. But when I did, they always had "twist off" printed in tiny letters on the cap. Sometimes on top, sometimes on the side in the crimp.

There are so many brands out there that aren't twist off I'm not sure why you seem to have trouble finding them. Unless you are only getting the brands that have big money for advertising.

I'd recommend a bench capper. They aren't that much more money.

 

[Tacohockey50]

You mean cheap cappers like my Red Baron that came with my starter set somewhere around 10 years ago won't cap those twist off cap bottles? That's news to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Ferrari-LDC-4016-Bottle-Capper/dp/B001D6KGTK
Why not buy beer you like and give it a try with your capper? You can always chalk it up as a bad investment.

Glad you're having success with the Red Baron. Some people have success reusing twist off bottles, other people don't. I was wondering if the capper might be the difference. Or maybe the caps. Got to be some reason for the wide variance of success. User error might be the variable.
I got all my equipment (2 carboys, bucket, hydrometer, funnel, capper, etc) used for $30. My capper is red, but doesn't have any name or makings on it. Probably a Red Baron cheap knockoff?
In the meantime......
brands with pry-off caps?

 

[beermanpete]

Sierra Nevada
Firestone
Lagunitas

I like to have uniform bottles and cartons. I use the Firestone 805 bottles and Sierra Nevada bottles. I get 12-packs so they stack nicely.

 

[Rish]

I saw a 24 pack of Stella Artois at Sams Club for $28. (only $6 more than a case of new EMPTY bottles.. hint, hint.) But Stella has a foil wrapper so you can't see the cap. Does Stella have Twist-off or Pry-off caps? AND...... what brands have bottles with pry-off caps? I don't want to buy brands with twist-off caps because they are not good for home brew. I'll start the list:

New Belgum - Fat Tire, Voodoo, etc -
Breckenridge - (Palisades Peach is the BOMB)
Sam Adams

Speaking of Pry-off bottles... I almost got slapped by some Budweiser sales girls. The conversation went like this:

Have you tried the new Budweiser?
No.
Why not?
It's not real beer.
But It is real beer.
If it was real beer, it would be in real bottles.

Stella is pry off.

 

[Sam_92]

It's not so much about the cap style as it is about how easily or NOT the labels come off. I'm in the PNW and Deschutes is awesome in this regard and their beer is damn fine too. Sam Adams is good, Sierra Nevada is good, a little soak in oxyclean and the labels come floating right off. Many brands are not that easy and I won't name any names but I have a chip on my shoulder still because of how hard I fought those labels.

 

[MajorJC]

SweetWater brewing company has good beer and good bottles. They used to put their 420 strain in black bottles instead of the amber ones.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

One approach to removing labels is to soak the bottles overnight. If the labels come off, use them; if the labels don't come off, recycle them.

 

[seatazzz]

Just about any 'craft' or specialty beer will be in pry-off bottles; BMC bottles are always twisties. When I buy beer in bottles (for the same reason most of us do, to re-use the bottles) I'll usually go with Sierra Nevada (also nice sturdy boxes for the 12 pack), or Deschutes; both of them have labels that slide off easily after a few hours soak in hot oxyclean water. Alaskan and Elysian use mylar labels that won't come off EVER. The ink will wash off though, and you have a nice white or silver label you can write on with sharpie.

 

[Tacohockey50]

It's not so much about the cap style as it is about how easily or NOT the labels come off. I'm in the PNW and Deschutes is awesome in this regard and their beer is damn fine too. Sam Adams is good, Sierra Nevada is good, a little soak in oxyclean and the labels come floating right off. Many brands are not that easy and I won't name any names but I have a chip on my shoulder still because of how hard I fought those labels.

Yea, I've been fighting the plastic labels on Breckenridge bottles. (peeling them off & cleaning the occasional residue with alcohol & a rag - PIA) I'm re-entering home brewing and have few bottles, so I'm doing whatever is necessary to build up an inventory of empties. Some plastic labels come off easier if first warmed up with a hair dryer but some are worse with heat - go figure.
Thank you to everyone on this forum..... We used to brew but it's amazing how much we forgot in the decade we were away.

 

[A.Homebrewer]

Boulevard
August Schells
New Glarus
Boulevard cleans up the easiest bu they all do OK. After soaking and pealing I use a scotch brite pad, takes about 10 seconds.
Boulevard also has a lot of beers that come in the tapered neck style bottle.

 

[tld6008]

Just look at the side of the installed cap the twist off will have angles that correspond with the neck threads. BTW twist off bottles and caps can be reused.

 

[SeeMont]

This is one of my pet peeves. All these twist off bottles go in the land fills. Even the brand embossed bottles like New Belgium brewing. What a waste. Even the use of the printed bottles of Stone brewing. Or the plastic labels that are next to impossible to remove. WHY?
I am lucky that were I live, we have a brewery that recycles glass bottles, The "Old Fashion" ones Bayern Brewing in Missoula Montana. The accept and pay for used glass, have a washer that cleans them. They even have labels that "Wash Off", what a blessing for home brewers.
I wish the, Craft Brewing industry would join and do the right thing, Work together, reuse glass. helping the home brewers, keep the waste out of the land fills.
Just saying, Cheers

 

[tld6008]

I never tried to remove the labels, was always more concerned with what was inside the bottle.

 

[Rish]

Abita
Dos Equis
Samuel Smith
Anchor

 

[InspectorJon]

+1 for the paper labels. I have Anchor Steam bottles from the 1980s that still work great. Most craft brew bottles here on the US west coast have pry off caps.

 

[bwible]

Stella is pry off.

But they’re green bottles

 

[bwible]

Victory Brewing near me.

Sam Adams - but those have the Sam Adams name embossed on the bottle and you’re not supposed to use those for competitions, if thats something you might want to do.

Sierra Nevada - I have a couple cases. The bottles are shorter and fatter, might not fit in a regular beer box.

Some bottles like the ones used by Lagunitas are pry off but they have a different top that might not work well with a handcapper. Might work better with a bench capper.

The picture with the messy label is the Lagunitas bottle. Compare it to the second picture which is a Sierra Nevada bottle. See how much more “lip” the Sierra Nevada bottle has for the capper to grip. I like Lagunitas but I throw those bottles away. They don’t cap well with my hand capper. I’ve seen several German and European beers also using bottles with this type of lip.

My favorite bottles that I have are Fuller’s bottles.