Capping different types of bottles

[s4guy2000]

So I have been slowly gathering bottles for my homebrews. I have a lot of different types.

I read somewhere that champagne bottles are a decent option, has anyone else done this? Are standard caps ok for champange bottles? Or are there different types that may work better?

I have also been thinking of using PET bottles for ease.

Just wondering what everyone else has had experience with.

 

[oswiu]

I use exclusively PET bottles myself, and have never had any complaints with them, though I might consider using glass for anything that I planned to age for more than a few months.

I've never tried capping champagne bottles myself, but a local small brewery uses champagne bottles with ordinary crown seals for special releases, as does a nearby winery for their sparkling wine. Both of these producers really know their stuff so I reckon if it's good enough for them it'd be good enough for me.

 

[Malticulous]

Some champagne bottles will use standard caps, some don't. I have a few that work fine.

 

[eljefe]

You may need to buy one of these for some of the bottles you have (or throw the bottles away). Before buying. make sure your capper had plates that can be reversed to make a wider opening to accomodate the larger bottle neck. You will also have to buy larger caps as well.
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/european-bottle-capping-bell-housing-red-baron-capper.html

I also found that some bottles were smaller than the standard 12 oz bottles. I never found a good solution for those.

 

[Hooty]

So I have been slowly gathering bottles for my homebrews. I have a lot of different types.

I read somewhere that champagne bottles are a decent option, has anyone else done this? Are standard caps ok for champange bottles? Or are there different types that may work better?

I have also been thinking of using PET bottles for ease.

Just wondering what everyone else has had experience with.

What are PET bottles?

 

[JuanMoore]

PET bottles are the plastic ones that soda is commonly sold in.

Beer bottles typically have 26mm caps, and champagne bottles come in both 26mm and 29mm cap sizes. The 26mm champagne bottles will work fine with a standard wing capper, but most will require that you reverse the neck grabber plates to the larger size (assuming your capper has reversible plates). The 29mm bottles can also be used, but they will require larger caps and a larger bell for your capper, which is more trouble than it's worth for me.

 

[Malticulous]

I didn't need to reverse my plates on my red capper to use my champagne bottles. The bottles do have a larger neck.