Re-Using the BMC Aluminum Bottles?

[binaryc0de]

I've been thinking about this for taking homebrew on float trips in the place of buying small portable kegs and a jockey box (if you get caught with glass bottles you get a fine). True... you do have to endure drinking the beer that's inside (and I can't recall if those are twist tops or not) but some BMC drinking friends could just drink it for you. I have to keep some around for BMC drinkers anyways. Has anyone tried this? Even if it is twist top I would think that as long as you're bottling from the keg and drinking them quickly it might work.

 

[Howie]

How about buying some of the 16oz plastic bottles the homebrew shops sell?

 

[Cambone]

I heard that a they can be reused if you have a bench capper. I guess the wing cappers destroy the bottle or something.

 

[audger]

im pretty sure people have done this before. they are twist off if i remember correctly, so you have to do it carefully, but it can work. though some people have major issues capping twist offs and just avoid it. it might depend on your caps or capper.

How about buying some of the 16oz plastic bottles the homebrew shops sell?

if we are completely ignoring what the OP is looking for, then why not skip bottling all together and buy a whole kegging setup?

 

[klnosaj]

How about buying some of the 16oz plastic bottles the homebrew shops sell?

I bottle at least a 6-pack of everything in these. They're 1000% easier to ship and transport, they're not at all expensive, and they're reusable. (note that they're actually 500ML which 16.9oz, not 16 oz. And don't forget to buy the threaded caps (which also fit lots of other things, like coke bottles which, when filled with a porter or schwarzbier, or ginger ale bottles which, when filled with ambers, bocks, and lagers, get right through security at the ballpark...but shhhhh: don't tell anyone!)

 

[bruin_ale]

if we are completely ignoring what the OP is looking for, then why not skip bottling all together and buy a whole kegging setup?

re-read the first post.. he's looking to avoid glass because of a fine. Seems to me that the suggestion to use the plastic bottles a good one.

 

[broadbill]

Why not filling empty soda bottles off of the keg?

 

[JeepDiver]

re-read the first post.. he's looking to avoid glass because of a fine. Seems to me that the suggestion to use the plastic bottles a good one.

And he was looking to avoid a Keg, so the plastic suggestion fits what he wants, and the keg doesn't

 

[binaryc0de]

I haven't tried the bottling with the plastic bottles from the keg... I have a lot of old Mr. Beer plastic bottles that I could use. I used to use them a lot when I bottle conditioned as an indication of carbonation (could feel the pressure build up). I thought about it before but I thought the beer might go flat unless you pressurized the bottle. I guess as long as I cap on foam it would be the same as glass? I use the Bowie bottler method of bottling from my keg.

 

[Fastmetal]

My local grocery store sells their house brand of tonic and club soda for 49 cents in sale. I buy a bunch of them and save the empties for putting homebrew in to take to the pool or lake. If you cap on foam they will last a few days before they start to lose carbonation which is perfect for a weekend trip.

 

[Raenon]

I had thought that the Bowie bottler was more for growler filling, versus things like counter pressure fillers and beer guns which also purge with CO2. Not sure how much of a difference it would really make so long as you're planning to consume within a few days, or perhaps even weeks, but I'd be leery of trying to use the Bowie for much longer.

Other than that, I'd suggest the plastic bottles, or perhaps those aluminum mini party kegs with the partystar tap.

 

[bruin_ale]

I had thought that the Bowie bottler was more for growler filling, versus things like counter pressure fillers and beer guns which also purge with CO2. Not sure how much of a difference it would really make so long as you're planning to consume within a few days, or perhaps even weeks, but I'd be leery of trying to use the Bowie for much longer.

Alot of us are using the Bowie or similar to bottle beers for long term storage. I've got bottles from last summer that are as good as the day I bottled them - no oxidation and the carbonation is perfect.

 

[Fastmetal]

I opened a beer last night that a bottled withe the Bowie Bottler over a year ago and it was perfectly carbed.

 

[binaryc0de]

Yeah I've not had problems with bottling with Bowie method. The beer is only briefly exposed to oxygen and if you cap on foam the you've pushed out all the oxygen left in the bottle anyways, but I also use O2 barrier caps.

 

[Raenon]

That's good news on the Bowie bottler then- looks like I've got something else to pick up

 

[Howie]

re-read the first post.. he's looking to avoid glass because of a fine. Seems to me that the suggestion to use the plastic bottles a good one.

And he was looking to avoid a Keg, so the plastic suggestion fits what he wants, and the keg doesn't

Thanks for the backup, fellas. Not sure what that other guy's problem was.

I suggested the plastic bottles because I had also thought about re-using the aluminum bottles at one point. After giving it some thought, the plastic bottles made far more sense. There were a lot of negatives to the aluminum bottles. I was just pointing out another option for the OP to investigate.

 

[broadbill]

There were a lot of negatives to the aluminum bottles.

There are? I only negative I see is that you need to drink the beer that comes in them.

The reason I (and perhaps others) suggested plastic is that people tend to already have them around already).

 

[Howie]

There are? I only negative I see is that you need to drink the beer that comes in them.

Well, I'd say that's a big one. Since you are paying for beer in them, they are kinda expensive for the sole purpose of buying the bottles.

A few other potential negatives that come to mind:
-They say "Bud Light" or whatever on them
-How durable are the liners? Will cleaning/sanitizing erode them?
-Will my capper cap them properly? Will it bend them?
-Will recapping scratch the lip, leading to potential metallic flavors when pouring?

 

[ColumbusAmongus]

Well, I'd say that's a big one. Since you are paying for beer in them, they are kinda expensive for the sole purpose of buying the bottles.

A few other potential negatives that come to mind:
-They say "Bud Light" or whatever on them
-How durable are the liners? Will cleaning/sanitizing erode them?
-Will my capper cap them properly? Will it bend them?
-Will recapping scratch the lip, leading to potential metallic flavors when pouring?

Dude...give it a rest. That was the most bottom of the barrel scrapings to come up with a list of cons that I have seen in a long time.

The only real issue that I found is that the typical two handed capper that most home brewers have doesn't work. Like others have said, you would need a bench capper to get a cap on with a reliable seal.

 

[Raenon]

Dude...give it a rest. That was the most bottom of the barrel scrapings to come up with a list of cons that I have seen in a long time.

The only real issue that I found is that the typical two handed capper that most home brewers have doesn't work. Like others have said, you would need a bench capper to get a cap on with a reliable seal.

Speaking of giving it a rest... bumping 5 months later?

That list of cons looks pretty reasonable to me- if anything goes wrong with the bottles, and spoils or otherwise befouls the beer inside, you've lost beer. That's a terrible waste.

Seems a significant risk when there are several other decent options to be had with proven track records.