I've been asking this question for 3 years. Not just on this forum, but other online resources. I've emailed home brew supply stores and asked in person at all of the LHBS here in town. I've received responses from one end of the spectrum to the other from just as many people who don't know the answer but felt anything was better than saying "I don't know."
Here it is:
I brew a lot of Belgian Quads and Tripels; Trappist beers are my obsession. I bottle condition all of my Belgian ales in 750ml Belgian bottles with cork and cage. Here are two Belgian corks:
The one on the left has "REF" stamped on it. The one on the right is sold by pretty much every home brew supply store online. The corks with "REF" stamped on them are used by every commercial brewery I've seen that bottles Belgian style ales. They usually have their company logo stamped on the corks, but the "REF" is always stamped in there as well. And if you check two different corks from the same beer, the "REF" is not stamped in the same place which indicates that the "REF" was not stamped on the cork at the same time as the company logo, (it was probably already stamped on the cork before hand.
I use the cheaper Portuguese floor corker which I modified to make it work. From what I understand the Italian floor corker doesn't have to be modified, but my wife found this Portuguese corker at a Goodwill for $20, so . . . .
For awhile one of the LHBS was selling small bags of 12 corks with 12 wire cages for $7.99, and they were the corks with the "REF" stamp. I used them exclusively for over a year without ANY issues whatsoever. I've tried the other corks, from a few different sources, and they're crap. They rip and tear going into the bottle and 9 times out 10 they get stuck and tear or break trying to get them out. I've NEVER had a cork with the "REF" stamped on it rip tear or break, going in or coming out of the bottle. Unfortunately, that LHBS still sells the bags of 12 for $7.99, but they switched to the crap (non-stamped) corks.
My question is (and has been), primarily, what is the difference between these corks? That there is a difference is not in question - there is. I've been trying to find out what the difference is, and more importantly, who manufactures the stamped corks and can I buy them direct? Part of the difference, (I think), is the rounded edges of the corks stamped with the "REF." But they also seem to be made of better quality material. Here are two pages from the WWW. I made a feeble attempt to hide the sources:
You can buy the crap corks all day for $22.99, (+ or -). The one source I found that sells the "REF" stamped corks sells the same quantity for more than double the price. They also make a specific point of mentioning that their corks are "REF stamped" which further indicates (to me) that there is a significant difference.
SOMEWHERE - somebody knows the answer and, eventually, I'll come in contact. Until then I'll just keep throwing it out there every now and then hoping that "someone" might see it.
Here it is:
I brew a lot of Belgian Quads and Tripels; Trappist beers are my obsession. I bottle condition all of my Belgian ales in 750ml Belgian bottles with cork and cage. Here are two Belgian corks:
The one on the left has "REF" stamped on it. The one on the right is sold by pretty much every home brew supply store online. The corks with "REF" stamped on them are used by every commercial brewery I've seen that bottles Belgian style ales. They usually have their company logo stamped on the corks, but the "REF" is always stamped in there as well. And if you check two different corks from the same beer, the "REF" is not stamped in the same place which indicates that the "REF" was not stamped on the cork at the same time as the company logo, (it was probably already stamped on the cork before hand.
I use the cheaper Portuguese floor corker which I modified to make it work. From what I understand the Italian floor corker doesn't have to be modified, but my wife found this Portuguese corker at a Goodwill for $20, so . . . .
For awhile one of the LHBS was selling small bags of 12 corks with 12 wire cages for $7.99, and they were the corks with the "REF" stamp. I used them exclusively for over a year without ANY issues whatsoever. I've tried the other corks, from a few different sources, and they're crap. They rip and tear going into the bottle and 9 times out 10 they get stuck and tear or break trying to get them out. I've NEVER had a cork with the "REF" stamped on it rip tear or break, going in or coming out of the bottle. Unfortunately, that LHBS still sells the bags of 12 for $7.99, but they switched to the crap (non-stamped) corks.
My question is (and has been), primarily, what is the difference between these corks? That there is a difference is not in question - there is. I've been trying to find out what the difference is, and more importantly, who manufactures the stamped corks and can I buy them direct? Part of the difference, (I think), is the rounded edges of the corks stamped with the "REF." But they also seem to be made of better quality material. Here are two pages from the WWW. I made a feeble attempt to hide the sources:
You can buy the crap corks all day for $22.99, (+ or -). The one source I found that sells the "REF" stamped corks sells the same quantity for more than double the price. They also make a specific point of mentioning that their corks are "REF stamped" which further indicates (to me) that there is a significant difference.
SOMEWHERE - somebody knows the answer and, eventually, I'll come in contact. Until then I'll just keep throwing it out there every now and then hoping that "someone" might see it.
