Corks and corking...

[1971hemicuda]

I've corked a few Belgians now with some mixed results. I'm aiming for about 3.2 volumes so I know I have a ton of CO2 under the cork. But they still seem extremely hard to remove compared to commercial corks...here are what I notice

1. The reference corks seem much denser then commercial corks..
2. They seem longer than commercial corks
3. They fit much tighter than commercial corks

Is this people's normal findings? Also, last time I boiled the corks (which I've read not to do) but they seemed to open much easier than if I just use starsan and sterilize them. Should I continue to boil them)

What are people findings? Any suggestions on making the corks easier to open?? Should I be buying corks other than the reference corks?

CheerS

 

[microbusbrewery]

I've used the same ones. I've also heard not to boil them but I can't remember seeing a reason why. If I had to venture a guess I'd say it's because they're agglomerated corks and it probably breaks down the glue somewhat. I've also noticed they're hard to remove at first, but they seem to get much easier over time. I corked a Saison last spring. The first few bottles were really hard to open (had to use pliers on one) but they're pretty easy now.