Mead Bottling - Simple Question?

[HaliMeadMaker]

New to the site, but I visited here a few months back, figured if I can get this question answered, this would likely be the place.

I have approximately 2 dozen glass soda bottles (the capable kind, not screw-tops). The bottles have the same size opening in the neck as wine bottles, but are not 'reinforced' like wine bottles normally are for corking.

As a preference, I'm not a fan of how the 'capped' bottles look, especially for gift-giving purposes. I'm intending to give these smaller bottles as gifts over the holidays, being only about 11oz/300ml bottles, they work beautifully. The bottle accepts a cork with little/no resistance and holds the cork as firmly as any wine bottle, but my local wine shop did voice a minor concern as to whether or not the bottle would be safe to use or not. They, like myself, would assume it will be fine, especially as it corks and uncorks fine empty, and where the bottle originally held soda pop with a metal cap, it's obviously safe for pressure.

Anyone have any experience, warnings, concerns, etc. to voice to me about this. As I'm intending to begin bottling on Saturday of this week, I'm in need of figuring out a viable option if these won't work, and the local shop is fully sold out of corkable similar size bottles at the moment. I suppose I could cap them, but I'd much rather avoid this if it's possible. I'd rather cork for the look, and so that I can also wax-dip the neck as well.

On my first cup of coffee today, so I hope my post didn't confuse too many people.

 

[kevin9167]

What was the safety concern? Bottles breaking while corking? I think that is something you'll have to decide on yourself, whether or not you can safely cork them. Soda bottles are meant to hold pressure (soda is carbed to something like 30psi), so a still mead won't be a problem.

If you can safely cork them and they don't leak, I say use them!

 

[HaliMeadMaker]

I kinda figured they wouldn't be a problem as long as I can safely get the cork inside. The soda bottle 'held' a little more than 11oz, (311ml) so I figure filling it 300ml of mead and corking it shouldn't build enough pressure between the cork, glass, and mead that it'd snap anything. I have an empty bottle corked to 'stress test' it, been chilling it, heating it (hot water), rolling, clinking it, etc, as you'd expect a bottle to normally endure and so far no cracks, so sounds like I have the right idea! Thanks for the post, and if anyone else has any words of warning beyond all this, feel free to post

Thanks again

EDIT:
Yes the concern was the bottle breaking, either from corking, or around the neck as the bottles aren't designed the same way with a reinforced neck-line.

 

[half_full]

my only concern would be that you mention giving them away. I think it's really sad how everything (including a McDonalds cup of coffee) has to be soooo idiot proof that nobody could hurt themself. Please, I'm not saying anyone here is an idiot. Just stating my only minor concern.

 

[HaliMeadMaker]

lol if friends/family lose a finger due to being a moron while opening a bottle, they'd probably have done it without the concern over these bottles.

That being said, I agree with you on how idiot-proof things seem to have to be now-a-days. My only concern while giving lies in the shellfish extract that was in the clearing agent... too bad I didn't notice that before putting stage 1 in the mix the other day. I take no responsibility in them trying to open the bottle lol

 

[Jmac00]

caps are cheaper than corks.......i'm cheap, so i'd use caps and then there wouldn't be any worries....