Oxygen absorbing caps

[Cody s]

I wanted to bottle up a batch or two but will probably have them hanging around for maybe 9 months or so. Are oxygen absorbing caps worth it?
When have bottled before I wasn't kegging my brew so they didn't last very long. I just wanted some for camping and hiking this summer.
Thank,
Cody

 

[Jocky]

For one thing, I'll say they work. I had a saison recently where 2 weeks after bottling I opened a swing top bottle and found it quite oxidised, but a crown cap bottle wasn't. It was the same for the whole batch - all the swing tops were oxidised, but the crown caps were fine.

The swing tops hadn't lost any pressure or carbonation, meaning there wasn't a leak at the gasket to allow oxygen ingress. That means that I oxidised the beer at bottling, and what rescued some of the bottles was the oxygen scavenging caps.

I've reviewed my bottling process to avoid this happening again (and batches in swing tops in since have been fine), but nearly all of my bottles (especially those that go to competitions) use oxygen scavenging caps now.

In your case you could probably do without them, but they're a nice insurance.

 

[DonJuan7]

I'm interested not just in the oxygen debate but also what materials are being used, their stated purpose and recycleability of beer caps, which is an important consideration for me, the planet and all living beings on it.