Score! 1L plastic bottles

[Sir Humpsalot]

They are brown, plastic. Exactly like the typical 2 liter bottles exccept they are brown and half the size with typical screw-type tops.

$0.99 cents each, filled with root beer. What do you think? Will they work for bottling? At this price, it's almost worth it to dump the root beer out if it will work. And, truth be told, the rootbeer is nothing special.

http://www.bevnet.com/reviews/filberts/

 

[gnef]

hm, root beer is known for how well it lingers in things, such as plastic or rubber. i would be very hesitant at putting my beer in bottles that used to be used for root beer.

why not collect bottles from friends? that's free, and you know that you can clean out the glass well.

or go to kegs, which can save you money in the long run... haha.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

hm, root beer is known for how well it lingers in things, such as plastic or rubber. i would be very hesitant at putting my beer in bottles that used to be used for root beer.

why not collect bottles from friends? that's free, and you know that you can clean out the glass well.

or go to kegs, which can save you money in the long run... haha.

I will not collect bottles from friends. First of all, it's becoming harder to find friends who don't drink beer with a twist off. Hell, even Summit Brewing uses twist-offs now. The bottom line is that there are few friends who are willing to select beer of a list to buy in mass quantities upon the basis of the crimp top and a brown bottle.

My girlfriend loves good beer. She drinks Spaten Optimator. That's a green bottle (I'm gonna save some anyway since they're better than nothing). Another friend likes Summit (screwtops). And most of the rest drink BMC.


So it's all on me. Every couple days I get a new 6 or 12 pack. Today I am drinking a Bell's Porter. Not at all bad. I just wish I could come up with a fast way of upping my bottle collection without going through any more work than just drinking.

Thanks for the heads up about the flavors. I will retain this single bottle and check it out as a test, but will continut to just stockpile my brown bottles in the interim.

 

[javedian]

I have used soda bottles, 2L, 1L, 20oz, and 16oz, all with good results. A little soak in bleach water or other cleaning solution will clean them up nice. I usually just rinse them well with water, and have not noticed any lingering odors. Throw them in a bag, and wait til brew day. Sanitize like any other bottle, and away you go! The 2L are great if you plan to take / host parties, and don't keg. I don't buy them unless I am drinking the soda.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I have used soda bottles, 2L, 1L, 20oz, and 16oz, all with good results. A little soak in bleach water or other cleaning solution will clean them up nice. I usually just rinse them well with water, and have not noticed any lingering odors. Throw them in a bag, and wait til brew day. Sanitize like any other bottle, and away you go! The 2L are great if you plan to take / host parties, and don't keg. I don't buy them unless I am drinking the soda.

So you can carbonate in them (carefully) without any problem?

 

[javedian]

So you can carbonate in them (carefully) without any problem?

Yes, plastic PET soda bottles actually have a higher burst strength than glass. The disadvantage is that plastic is partially gas permiable, so they are not good for long term storage - I have heard that 3-4 months max, so not good for barleywines or imperial stouts. The concern is oxygen getting in, not CO2 out. O2 molecules are much smaller and can squeeze through into your beer much easier than the CO2 going out. It will eventually go flat, but based on some old soda found in the back of the closet, that will take 1-2 yrs, and your beer will be oxidized before then. You also have to make sure they are in a box protected from light. I wouldn't trust even colored plastic to block UV like brown glass.

The other advantage is that your beer can travel with you to the lake / beach / etc where glass is a no-no.

 

[minorityofone]

I was thinking about it...

What about 40ozer bottles with screw tops. has anyone tried a bottle like that? anyone think there would be leakage. (yeah thats right, I am a cheap bastard)

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I think that if it's a 40oz PET plastic, the same would apply- temporary storage only.


Incidentally, I put my 1L bottle to GREAT use this week! It was time to take a SG reading for my apfelwine and I wanted to get a feel for how the recipe was turning out even though it wasn't completely ready yet. So.. I siphoned off enough for taking the grav reading and then I kept going. I siphoned off a liter into the PET bottle and then stuck it in the fridge.

Even though it wasn't completely fermented yet, the coldness helped to settle the yeast faster and allowed me a nice little "sneak peak". After each little sample, I was even able to squeeze the air out of the bottle to minimize spoilage. It worked VERY well and I was able to sample the goods over the course of about a week without noticeable oxidation.

I'm looking forward to trying the finished product.