waxing beer bottle caps?

[Orangevango]

A good trick for waxing bottles to make opening them easier is this.

Take a peice of cotton string, (waxed is best because it sticks to itself) and cut it into foot-long (maybe a bit less, figure out what works for you) peices.

Wrap the string around the neck of the bottle in the crack between the glass and the cap a couple times.

leave a bit of a tail sticking out that you can grab onto

dip in wax and allow to cool.

When you want to open the bottle, just pull the string and open as normal, it cuts the wax for you.

 

[FailureDrill]

Are the beads at the LHBS able to be heated up, applied and then reheated later after cooling to make a second run? Or do you have to use it all at once?

 

[cellardoor]

Are the beads at the LHBS able to be heated up, applied and then reheated later after cooling to make a second run? Or do you have to use it all at once?

They can be reused. I believe it is recommended to heat them up in a soup can or something similar. That way it is a self contained mess and can be stored away and heated up again for future use.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

I decided to mess around with some of the bottle sealing wax my LHBS owner gave me a couple weeks ago. Figured if it was free I might as well try it out. I read a couple wine making websites about sealing bottles and watched a short video and decided to just dive in and try it out.

I started by heating about a quart of water in a 2qt pot, taking a chicken broth can out of the recycling bin and cutting the top off and created a double boiler type of contraption. Then I added in some of the blocks of wax that I broke up. It didn't take long for the wax to start melting but there seemed to always be a clump of partially melted wax at the very bottom of the can.

It took a few bottles to get the hang of it. In the video I watched the guy would spin his bottles to get the wax to drip off neatly so I started trying that out and noticed I was getting cool little artsy-farsty spirals. The shape and tightness of the spiral depended on how fast I spun the bottle and the angle that I held the bottle as I pulled it out of the wax and started spinning.

A single dip in the wax left the crimps on the caps showing so I decided to go with a double dip. I didn't do all the bottles though as I was just experimenting. Maybe I'll do the rest of them or save the wax when I bottle my RIS. Here's what they all looked like when I was done. Not the best but I think they look pretty cool.

 

[WorryWort]

That is some cool sh!t!

 

[FailureDrill]

Do you have a link for the video you watched?

 

[Christoph]

i think it makes a difference in long term storage, or maybe it just gives me peace of mind.. plus it makes it easier to resist temptation of cracking open something you don't have a lot of.

That's a good point.

 

[Sigafoos]

As I understand it, waxing completely blocks out o2. Even if you cap properly, some will still seep in. I plan on waxing some of my 08 mead (finally going to bottle it tonight) and what I don't give away in the Westy swap, ie bottles I want to save for years.

As one of the science guys in my club pointed out, there will always be some oxidation as the oxygen in the water changes (I zoned out a bit but I trust the guy ). Plus, yeah, it looks cool. I want to get a stamp to press into the top of the caps, or maybe to the front. I think it's pretty easy to make your own.

 

[chumprock]

Hey Sig... can we get some cat for lunch??


Anyway, I just put together a RIS to brew this weekend as a wedding gift for a friend and I plan on waxing/labeling.

Anyone know what colors are available? My LHBS only has red and gold.

 

[camiller]

Hey Sig... can we get some cat for lunch??


Anyway, I just put together a RIS to brew this weekend as a wedding gift for a friend and I plan on waxing/labeling.

Anyone know what colors are available? My LHBS only has red and gold.

Depends on the wholesaler the LHBS buys from. One of the ones I'm familiar with (Crosby & Baker) lists the following in their public(without price information) catalog: black, blue, gold, burgundy red, holiday red. If that is who your LHBS orders from they could get any of those.

Edit: Another wholesaler(brewmasterinc.com) with a public (again no prices) catalog lists: Black, Blue, Burgundy, Gold, Green, Purple, Holiday Red, and Silver.

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

Do you have a link for the video you watched?

I don't recall the website off hand. I think I just googled "wax sealing wine bottles" and it was one of the links on the first page of results. It wasn't the most informative video but I just wanted to see someone do it before I tried it myself.

 

[chumprock]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH2tfko-iU0&feature=fvw]YouTube - Wax seal the corks on your Mead Bottles[/ame]

 

[DrinksWellWithOthers]

^^^That's the one I watched.

 

[chumprock]

I'm Pslychic.

 

[FailureDrill]

Thanks for the link. I just picked up some of the black wax pellets from my LHBS and will try it soon on my Darklord RIS Clone.

 

[magnj]

So I took some of the tips from here and waxed a batch of barleywine a few days ago.
I used "creamy" DIY candle wax(1/2lb) + a red candle wax dye block and 8 glue sticks.
What I got was a mixture that didn't blend very well and took quite a while under heat to get any kind of consistent color. Unfortunately the consistent color I got was a pasty pink. Here are some pictures.

 

[rodimus80]

i waxed my mead bottles and some seemed to not seal could i have had the wax to hot that it melted the seal in the cap

 

[rico567]

If crown caps needed to be waxed, they'd have come with wax right along. It's one of those technologies that doesn't really need any help. By the time anything significant makes it in past that seal, any beer in there is probably gone for reasons other than oxygenation.

OTOH, if you just want it to look cool, wax away....... love pulling the wax top off a bottle of Knob Creek.

 

[Moratorium]

I did this today and melted 3 blood red candles down using the soup can/boiling water method. It worked great but it doesn't give the trailing wax down the bottle look I was going for. Still, I definitely think it is more about the look than the functionality. These are gifts for Christmas and I was adding just a tad more touch to them. It will make for a great gift none-the-less.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

The wax used to seal bottles, and candle wax or other waxes are NOT The same thing I do not think. I have waxed 3 batches of beer and when you remove the wax it is more brittle than candle wax almost plasic feeling. It is easy to do...quick...not expensive and it does look cool. Just buy the wax pellets from the LHBS and melt em in something you don't wanna keep. Dip the bottle in and take it out holding it upside down to let the excess drip off. spin the bottle and set upright. I have used the same wax on all 3 batches just remelting what was left in the metal bowl I used. ALSO when cleaning the wax off. it will basically "pop" right off, especially if you rinse the bottle with hot water THEN pop it off.

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

OH YEAH.. use a deeper rather than a wider pan or whatever to melt the wax in. The look is much better if you get the wax further down the neck of the bottle rather than just barely covering the cap.

 

[Moratorium]

I would agree that the LHBS wax is better and far more efficient for the purpose of functional waxing. I was toying with the idea of not doing this at all but thought I would "play" with it. Worked out well and looks great. Maybe the next time I will do this the right way but this suited my purposes this time. Either way, good practice. Thanks for the tips!

 

[bhaff]

Other than dressing up the presentation there isn't any reason to do it. I also agree with just using the wax from your LHBS since it is really easy to clean and peel off the bottle. I also suggest to dipping too soon or too hot. On my first attempt bottles I dipped before everything was nice and melted have lots of air bubbles in the final product and bottles dipped once the wax was really hot didn't coat will and needed several dips.

 

[Moratorium]

These turned our great for Christmas presents this year. A favorite for the family.

 

[jesse55lv]

I've been waxing the tops of my beers for the last 6 batches now. I wouldn't say that it neccesarily serves any functional purpose (though it certainly makes sure there is a great seal).

I do it for several reasons.

1 - I haven't gotten around to making labels for my beers, because I don't like the idea of having to peel them off again. Using different colors of wax allows me to know which beer is which.

2 - It makes getting the beer open take a little bit longer, and requires a certain skill due to the wax formula I use. Some might say this is idiocy, but nothing irks me more than someone drinking a brew I've spent time and energy on without even realizing it's homemade.

3 - I enjoy artsy stuff. So, yeah, dipping things in hot wax is right up my alley.

When I decided to do this I scoured the interwebs for advice, and there isn't much out there. Buying wax for dipping is probably the easy thing to do, but I like to make things myself so I can up with my own recipe. Here is what I came up with that works well for me.

I use a large tin (one for whole peeled tomatos) and melt 10 crayons in it, a quarter lb of parafin wax, and a whole bunch of hot glue sticks. This gives me great color, a nice shine, and tough so that it is difficult, but not impossible to get off the beer cap. Get the mixture good and hot on the stove at medium heat. Take the capped bottle, dip it in, give it a quarter turn while in the wax, lift it out and spin it so it doesn't drip, and finally bang it on the counter a few times (you'll need some padding so you don't smash your bottle). The banging on the counter helps to get really dramatic drips of wax.

If you let the mixture heat up sufficiently, it runs thin enough that the bottle cap can be popped off with a opener.

Best of luck.

 

[jesse55lv]

Also, because I want to do minimal work, I leave the old wax on the bottles unless it peels off easily. This leads to some interesting color combinations.

 

[JoesInBoston]

Waxed my bottles yesterday. I tilted the can of wax while dipping the bottom in and it gives a nice slant to the wax on the bottle.

Oh, and since it was a pumpkin ale, I added some cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to the wax to scent it. Wax smells pretty good!

 

[cbehr]

I use a large tin (one for whole peeled tomatos) and melt 10 crayons in it, a quarter lb of parafin wax, and a whole bunch of hot glue sticks.

Where can you buy a bunch of the same colored crayons, I always see them in assorted boxes?

When you say a whole bunch of glue sticks...about how many is that to this ratio of crayons/wax?

 

[camiller]

Where can you buy a bunch of the same colored crayons, I always see them in assorted boxes?

When you say a whole bunch of glue sticks...about how many is that to this ratio of crayons/wax?

To answer your first question: http://www.crayolastore.com/custom_box.do#back

 

[jesse55lv]

Where can you buy a bunch of the same colored crayons, I always see them in assorted boxes?

When you say a whole bunch of glue sticks...about how many is that to this ratio of crayons/wax?

So I ordered a huge box of crayons for Dick Blick arts supplies. It was a box of 800 crayons, 100 each of 8 basic colors. I will admit this was overkill, and I now have more crayons than I'll ever need (especially since I re-use the caps).

In terms of glue sticks, I keep adding them until the can is about 3/4 full. I'd guess it is 10 or so large glue sticks (the 10 inch variety). This is a judgement call, and of the many times I've done it I usually just top off what I have with some more glue sticks (since I'm often re-melting previous batches).

Another pro-tip, get a piece of twine about 8-10 inches long, wrap it around the underside of the cap so that it goes over itself and then dip the bottle while holding the end of the twine to the bottle. This way when it hardens, you can get the wax off easily without wielding a knife. I'll post some photos of the procedure when I get home. This was a MAJOR improvement since it both looks awesome and makes the bottles easy to open.