Swing top vs screw top PET vs crown top

[bigj_309]

Hi guys, my first brew is going nicely and i'm starting to look at getting bottles sorted. Any suggestions on which to go for? Screw top PET are much cheaper but it swing top (grolsch style bottle) bottle worth paying 3 times as much for? Not even really looked at crown top yet

 

[Hello]

Many start with crown top. You can buy craft beer and drink it, save the bottles and reuse them. Swing tops are nice, I actually only bottled once with two of the many I have. It worked fine, as I suspected. I usually bottle from a keg and I like to use those sometimes.

Personally, I don't love plastic because there are chances for small scratches to get in the bottles and harbor things that may infect your beer. I found 12 oz brown glass bottles to be cheap. It was also something that many people seem to have, just catch them before recycling day.

I think swing tops are a bit pricey, but if you're dead set on bottling in them, look on craigslist or here. I got 12 green ones thrown in with 3 cases of bombers I bought. I paid $20 in total for everything and got some extra caps. I just had to drive for 30 minutes, which didn't suck.

 

[glenn514]

Like most of us, I started out drinking some mighty good beers...New Glarus and Boston Brewing recipes. And guess what??? The bottle was INCLUDED at no extra charge! So, I took the labels off, thoroughly cleaned the bottles, and they were basically free!

glenn514

 

[Owly055]

I use ONLY EzCap swing top bottles........... only clear bottles. I like the fact that I can see the product, and it helps for cleaning.......... The beauty of the 500ML EzCap bottles is that I can have half a beer at lunch, and finish it in the evening, and it's just as good when I open it the second time.

H.W.

 

[dkevinb]

I use 1/2-liter amber PET screw-top bottles exclusively and love them. I got a deal on 6 cases of Mr. Beer PET bottles at BevMo for half-price, plus my 10% member discount about a year ago and have never had a single problem in 25 batches or so. I just bottled one yesterday, as a matter of fact.

Pros: They're lightweight, virtually unbreakable, fast and easy to cap, and the caps are reusable. You can also tell when your beer is carbonated. They're cheap compared to swing-tops.

Cons: You can't sanitize them in the dishwasher. Probably not good for long-term storage due to potential oxygen permeability. They don't look as classy as a glass bottle. You have to pay for them.

Overall I have no plans to go to glass, though I have bottled some mead in Grolsch bottles. I wouldn't use them for beer since they're green.

 

[Owly055]

There are admittedly advantages to plastic bottles........ One being the availability of the carbonator cap. I wonder what the life expectancy of them is. I've considered buying some of them to share beer because some folks don't bring my swing tops back unless I really put pressure on them, and swing tops are as you say expensive. I just bought two cases of them the other day, at 23 dollars per case of 12. They are incredibly strong.. The EzCap is rated at over 100 PSI burst pressure, and they will vent well before they burst unlike ordinary crown cap bottles. I look at it as a one time lifetime investment. I've used most of my bottles for almost a year now, and it's about time to think about replacing the little red rubber seals.

At the moment I have a prototype carbonator in the shop which I will use to carbonate the brew that's about to go into cold crash. My brews typically yield 15 half liter bottles from a 2.5 gallon brew.... plus about half a bottle extra. My carbonator will be in units of 3 with a common head, arranged in 6 packs that I will chill and cap....... assuming it works. The same system should work for crown caps. This should yield some really nice clear beer without sediment. My current "pipeline" is about 60 bottles long which makes it a 4 weeks from bottling to glass, and 7 weeks from brew to glass....... 2 in the fermenter, one in cold crash, and 4 bottle conditioning......... though I "cheat" a bit. I've found that a longer pipeline equals a better product. My stouts age about 90 days in the bottle.

H.W.

I use 1/2-liter amber PET screw-top bottles exclusively and love them. I got a deal on 6 cases of Mr. Beer PET bottles at BevMo for half-price, plus my 10% member discount about a year ago and have never had a single problem in 25 batches or so. I just bottled one yesterday, as a matter of fact.

Pros: They're lightweight, virtually unbreakable, fast and easy to cap, and the caps are reusable. You can also tell when your beer is carbonated. They're cheap compared to swing-tops.

Cons: You can't sanitize them in the dishwasher. Probably not good for long-term storage due to potential oxygen permeability. They don't look as classy as a glass bottle. You have to pay for them.

Overall I have no plans to go to glass, though I have bottled some mead in Grolsch bottles. I wouldn't use them for beer since they're green.