Do bottle caps go bad?

buzzno · Nov 1, 2012

I just received two boxes of bottle caps from a family member who had them in the attic. They are probably over 10 years old. Does the gasket seal go bad after some amount of time? Should I just toss them or are they OK to use?

BadNewsBrewery · Nov 1, 2012

If the gasket still feels pliable and doesn't crack it may be fine. Some bottle caps have O2 absorbing magic in the top, which would be no good anymore if the caps were in an open bag. Shouldn't be a deal breaker though. On the flip side, caps are fairly cheap so if you have doubt, may be best to toss them. The condition of the gasket is probably the defining variable.
-Kevin

leaf · Nov 1, 2012

I thought the o2 magic was activated with h2o?

If the caps were stored a cool place I wouldn't worry. Inspect the seal otherwise bottle away with those vintage suckers!!

BadNewsBrewery · Nov 1, 2012

Seems that no one really know how (if?) the absorption magic actually works so ignore that part of my diatribe and stick with worrying about the integrity of the seal.

buzzno · Nov 1, 2012

I'll check for any cracking of the seal. Might go ahead and try them on a few bottles before I use all of them. Thanks for the input.

mcspanner · Nov 1, 2012

Open a can of fizzy drink, put it in a beer bottle, cap it, shake beer bottle and check for leaks with a soap solution. Double that up with a visual inspection of the seals and you'll have a good idea if they're good to use or fit to bin.

DutchMafia · Nov 1, 2012

i did bottle a batch where i ended up using some older caps on the 22oz bottle and new caps on the 12oz bottles and the bottles with the older caps totally tasted different, i had to toss them out, but the bottles with the brand new caps were fine and tasted like it was supposed to. I will never use old caps again, and they were probably only a year old.