Pilsner Urquell bottles

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Andreas

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I had a wrestling match with a Pilsner Urquell bottle while capping a batch of Vienna lager today. The final result was an explosion of green shards and 12 oz of wasted beer!!! Note to self: no more Pilsner Urquell bottles.
-Andy
 
Been there -- never again!

I'm a slow learner and it took the tops breaking off 3 bottles 3 separate batches before I threw out a handful of extra Urquell bottles.

(And just to be clear on the whole "green bottle skunking" thing, I had bottled mead & cider in them.)
 
How often is it acceptable to reuse bottles. Are green bottles weaker than others. As you can tell, I'm new to brewing (two batches under my belt). Thanks for any information.
 
PU bottles are beautifully shaped IMO. I use them for apfelwein or other things that are hopped but will not go outdoors.

They cap easily with a bench capper. IIRC the greenie below is a PU:
 
How often is it acceptable to reuse bottles. Are green bottles weaker than others. As you can tell, I'm new to brewing (two batches under my belt). Thanks for any information.

Reusing bottles is perfectly fine. The problem with green and clear bottles is that they allow much more sunlight to penetrate and "skunk" the hops. If you are making something besides beer such as cider, mead, or soda, you needn't have qualms about the color of your bottle.
 
Which capper are you using?

If you have a Red Baron with the reversable plates you can switch them around and you'll have no more problems.

Right now the bottle neck has a larger diameter and you're crushing the glass before the capper pushes down.

See how one cresent is larger than the other? Chances are you have it on the smaller one right now.

I have two cappers. The one on the left screws in and the one on the right pops out. But both are reversable. If you have the black one I'm pretty sure all of them are one size.

Capper-0.jpg
 
Which capper are you using?

If you have a Red Baron with the reversable plates you can switch them around and you'll have no more problems.

Thanks, I'll check that out.
As for the questions of a previous poster, the problem had to do with the shape of the PU bottles' necks, not the green color! Green bottles only result in a problem with skunking if you expose your stored beer to light. Most of my bottles are brown and I still take care not to store my beer in areas where UV exposure will occur, i.e. they are kept in cases, with covers.
-Andy
 
I had a wrestling match with a Pilsner Urquell bottle while capping a batch of Vienna lager today. The final result was an explosion of green shards and 12 oz of wasted beer!!! Note to self: no more Pilsner Urquell bottles.
-Andy

How in the world did you break the bottle with a capper? PU bottles are a beauty to refill and cap. They are green ... but still.
 
How in the world did you break the bottle with a capper? PU bottles are a beauty to refill and cap. They are green ... but still.

I guess it depends on the capper. I used my capper in exactly the same manner as I have used it for over 250 bottles, and it crushed the top of the bottle.
-Andy
 
As you press down on the handles the metal clamps press too hard on the glass and shatter them.;)

Yep, this is exactly my experience with them. I love the look & feel of the PU bottles but won't use them for my precious homebrew anymore.
 
How in the world did you break the bottle with a capper? PU bottles are a beauty to refill and cap. They are green ... but still.

Or the plates slip off the (recessed) flange and destroy the cap on the way up.

Or the capper bangs back back down on the crown as your arms overreact to the sudden slippage.
 

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