Corona bottles for cider

[agent44]

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has used corona bottles for bottling their home brew cider, will the clear glass affect it, and can you re cap a corona bottle. I've only used swing tops for home brew cause I'm a newbie, but my swing tops are all one liter and I want to bottle my next cider in smaller bottles. Thanks

 

[Unferth]

You can definitely re-cap corona bottles; I've done it many times. I'm not totally up to speed on all the ins and outs of bottling cider, but I don't see why you couldn't use them. The clear glass lets more light in, which I've used in some pilsners to give a slight skunky taste (think corona, Stella), and I *think* this is from the effects of UV on the hops, which wouldn't be an issue for you unless you hop your cider. If I'm wrong, I'm sure someone will come by and enlighten us!

 

[MarkKF]

If your like me and put bottled cider in a case in the basement until your thirsty then put it in a cooler or the frig then light doesn't matter at all

 

[LeBreton]

Unferth is correct, can't 'skunk' a cider, but excessive light will alter flavor profiles given enough time/light. Clear bottles should be fine, assuming you don't store it in direct sunlight for months.

 

[agent44]

Awesome thanks for your help. All of my bottled brew gets stored in the dark in my basement and is only subjected to a 60 watt light bulb from time to time. I need to find new friends who like to drink grolsh beer so I can get some more smaller swing tops lol. Thanks again,

 

[Unferth]

You are in the right area to get those nice Howe Sound swing tops too. They are a bit bigger, 1L, but that just means less cleaning for you!

 

[DoctorWho]

I use corona bottles all the time, but mostly for hard lemonades. I have bottled a few ciders in them and like everyone said, it's the oils in the hops that break down due to UV exposure. I have some that have had cider in a them for over 4 months (in my closet) and they taste fine.

An easy trick to get the painted labels off is to fill a glass jar that is slightly bigger then the bottle with a little undiluted CLR and then fill the corona bottle with water and submerge in the CLR. Only takes about 20 min and the label just drips off with a water rinse.

Cheers!

 

[agent44]

Awesome thanks for the tip! And yes I have about five dozen of those swing tops and they are awesome, I just want to bottle a couple dozen cider in smaller bottles.

 

[wooda2008]

I use corona bottles all the time, but mostly for hard lemonades. I have bottled a few ciders in them and like everyone said, it's the oils in the hops that break down due to UV exposure. I have some that have had cider in a them for over 4 months (in my closet) and they taste fine.

An easy trick to get the painted labels off is to fill a glass jar that is slightly bigger then the bottle with a little undiluted CLR and then fill the corona bottle with water and submerge in the CLR. Only takes about 20 min and the label just drips off with a water rinse.

Cheers!

^^
this.

I bottle all my cider in Corona bottles, unless they are being gifted (then it's guinness bottles)
I gave up on removing the labels after the first 25. Just not worth the effort or stress.

 

[DoctorWho]

I gave up on removing the labels after the first 25. Just not worth the effort or stress.

I'm not going to say it didn't take some time, but it was stress free for me. Just soak and rinse. Then repeat 50 times!

Now I have perfectly clear reusable bottles and you'd better believe I don't give those away. :rockin:

 

[dr_al]

soak them in star san, regular strength and take a scrubber to them after an overnight soak.

 

[agent44]

Just got some more one liter swing tops, I have a deal with the local bottle depot, I pay them twice the deposit for their trouble... Pretty sweet deal, I think I have around fifty bottles now.

 

[WhoZiT]

After seeing so many people post on successfully using Corona bottles, I had to look this up myself. When I tried to bottle with them (most of my bottles are 500ml), first one was OK, second and third actually cracked when I couldn't get a good seal. I ended up throwing the bottles, but found on another thread that a bench-top capper may be necessary. I use a wing capper and that was probably why I couldn't get a good seal and eventually chipped the necks.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/corona-bottles-118301/
post #2

 

[agent44]

That's good to know, has anyone else had this problem? I am going to try and get some grolsh bottles in the meantime, I was thinking I want to invest in a bench capper but I'm going to have to wait till the cash reserves fill up a bit more happy brewing! :rockin:

 

[WhoZiT]

I hear ya. I wish I would have kept the bottles now. Like someone else mentioned, I planned on keeping 1-2 bottles for each batch because they are clear and you can really see things. BTW, the batch in question was a Belgian Tripel so a smaller bottle would have been ideal. I still have that first bottle sitting in a closet, how it lasted a year I don't know.

I guess the purchase of Grolsch bottles vs a bench capper would be dependent on your cash flow and amount that you brew. Personally, I'd love to brew with flip top bottles but I live in Japan and they're hard to come by. By contrast I get 20 Asahi bottles with a crate case for about ＄4 so I stick with the capping. Reason I tried the Corona bottles was they were a smaller size and I had about 80 of them.

 

[DoctorWho]

After seeing so many people post on successfully using Corona bottles, I had to look this up myself. When I tried to bottle with them (most of my bottles are 500ml), first one was OK, second and third actually cracked when I couldn't get a good seal. I ended up throwing the bottles, but found on another thread that a bench-top capper may be necessary. I use a wing capper and that was probably why I couldn't get a good seal and eventually chipped the necks.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/corona-bottles-118301/
post #2

During my long tour of bottling in corona bottles, I have used both a wing capper (until I broke it. It was the red plastic variety) and a bench capper (Ferrari Super Agata Bench Capper.) I never had any problems with both, but the wing capper is harder to judge how much pressure to use. I did break one bottle once, but it was a regular brown beer type.

The corona bottles were fully capped and sealed with both types of cappers for me.

Cheers!

 

[WhoZiT]

I suppose I have a crappy capper or just bad luck (or technique). Any way, I wish I kept my bottles.

 

[Unferth]

Just got some more one liter swing tops, I have a deal with the local bottle depot, I pay them twice the deposit for their trouble... Pretty sweet deal, I think I have around fifty bottles now.

If you happen to be on this side of the ferry any time soon, I know a guy who is selling the Howe Sound swingers for a 1.50 each. There is also a guy in Gastown selling smaller swingers, but they are on the pricey side

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/van/for/3217954812.html

Still better than twice the deposit

 

[agent44]

Still better than twice the deposit[/QUOTE]

When the one liter swings are brought in, they pay ten cents to the returner, I pay them twenty cents for setting them aside for me, yesterday I got seventeen of them for under four bucks, I felt bad so I think I gave her five lol.

 

[Unferth]

haha, never mind, I thought the deposit was like 2.50 that's a pretty sweet deal.

 

[MarkKF]

San Pellegrino water bottles I say!

 

[UpstateMike]

After seeing so many people post on successfully using Corona bottles, I had to look this up myself. When I tried to bottle with them (most of my bottles are 500ml), first one was OK, second and third actually cracked when I couldn't get a good seal. I ended up throwing the bottles, but found on another thread that a bench-top capper may be necessary. I use a wing capper and that was probably why I couldn't get a good seal and eventually chipped the necks.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/corona-bottles-118301/
post #2

I crushed at least 4 Corona bottles using a wing caper, cracked at least a half dozen more.. Switched to a bench caper and never broke another one.

 

[agent44]

Good to know, I guess I'm going to wait for my bench capper before I make the switch over just to be on the safe side, don't want to waste cider thanks for your responses guys