Where to get bottles?

[ChefyTim]

Well, I am a beginning brewer having only brewed 2 batches and bottle none, yet.
First batch to be brewed next week. 2nd batch brewed today.

I bought 2 cases of bottles from a local store at $13 a case. I just hate buying bottles.

I live in middle tennessee and really can't find and real good bears like NewCastle or the like. I can get Guiness and Corona but at $7-8 a six pack that's killing me.

I was thinking I would try a local bar to see if I could bring them a box and see if they would save pry-off bottles for me but not sure how many pry-off beers they sell and if they would even do that for me.

I have found bottles online for 9.99 a case but shipping pretty much kills that idea.

Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

If you are careful, you can use twist off bottles. Some brands work better than others. The neck ring varies a little, making it hard for a wing capper to get a good grip. Some bottles are also thinner glass than others, thus a little more likely to break during capping. When I was using them I was breaking about 1 bottle per batch, so that's only about a 2% loss. Once I figured out which brands were breaking, I pretty much eliminated that loss.

You can pick up those "disposable" bottles just about anywhere including along the side of the road in many cases. Just think of them as something to use until you get a big enough stock of the regular bottles. If you have a recycling center around that handles glass bottles, check with them. You can often buy the bottles back from them for whatever the redemption rate is.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

 

[JimC]

Call up a local micro brewery. Ask them if they will sell you returned bottles.

 

[BierMuncher]

Ya might need to expand your taste buds. (that helps in homebrewing) Sam Adams, etc...should be readily available.

I hate to spend $ on empty bottles when for a few dollars more they can be filled.

 

[Nwcw2001]

go to any pub in your town that sells good micro by the bottle and go through their recycling, or go in and ask if you can take some empties off there hands.

That is the beauty of Seattle area, mandatory recycling, so there is a dumpster of bottles to be had in the back of just about everywhere!!

John

 

[fullstop22]

We pay 10cent deposit in Mich. I go to neighbor hood beer store he lets me take what I want for 10cents each.

 

[olllllo]

Ya don't live in Austin, do you?

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=28964

 

[Chrus]

When i needed to get my bottle collection started... I just told all my mates to come over for BBQ and beer drinking... made them all drink longnecks and collected the bottles when they were done...

Good times were had by all... and i got some empty bottles at the end of it too

 

[ahsndpro]

Yeah, the thought that you can not use a screw top is a total myth. The biggest thing to look for is the "lip" for the capper to grab on to. If you want an example, look at a Miller Lite bottle and look at a Budweiser bottle. I've had problems with Miller Lite because there isn't much for the capper to grab on to so the cap is often lopsided and leaks. I have never had a Budweiser bottle leak.

So I guess my point is that you shouldn't limit yourself to only pop tops if you are trying to build your bottle collection.

I like the idea of checking with you local bar so see if they can save some bottles for you. I'm sure a 6 pack of your homebrew will be plenty to convince them to hand over something they plan to throw away.

 

[Short Drive]

Not only check with the bars for pry offs, but see if they sell some of the beer in P.E.T. bottles. Try walking the neighborhood on recycling day. Or drive to my house. I counted this morning 23 cases of bottles and I want to start kegging.

 

[photogscott]

Do you like Indian food? Go have dinner at your local Indian restaurant and I bet they'll be glad to get those 22oz bottles off their hand.

 

[casebrew]

Take a few homebrews to a slow recycling center/booth. Trade "recycle" full for empties. Last time I did that, the girls even did the dumpster diving for me, all I had to do was hold the box. But I didn't ask them how old they were either. They seemed to place a great value on a couple bottles of beer. It's the differing values that make the economy...

 

[homebrewer_99]

Hell, I gave away 8 cases of de-labeled, clean and sanitized 12 oz a while back...(I don't use them...too small... ).

 

[Bugeaterbrewing]

Back when I was still bottling everything, I talked the brewmaster at a small local brewery into letting me help serve at a craft brew festival. At the end of the evening, I helped clean up and took home several cases of nice bottles (including a couple cases of full ones as "payment" for helping out). Tossed out all my twist offs after that.

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

 

[ChefyTim]

Well, I certainly appreciate everyone's input and help on this.

Unfortunately, I live in BFE in the lovely state of Tennessee. We don't really have many brewers around here.

I live one hour from Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga with pretty much nothing else around.

I suspect I'm either going to have to buy bottles from a homebrewing store in Nashville or see if I can get some of the local bars to save bottles for me. Also, from what you guys have said I should be able to use some types of twist-offs so I might try that too.

Our recyle centers are basically some dumpsters marked class, paper, etc...

Thanks

 

[Big Al]

Shipping shouldn't be too much of a problem if you order from www.austinhomebrew.com they only charge 5.99 if you order enough other stuff. Their kits are really good too so grab some bottles and a kit and you are good to go.

 

[Proofman]

Man! This is the perfect excuse to buy good beer! You need to buy those expensive micros to use the bottles. However, my homebrewing output is about to surpass my micro intake.

 

[Paperface]

Go to recycling/drop-off centers. They are already sorted by color. Sure you have to pick them out, but in 20 minutes I scrounged around 60 bottles, even some half liter and one gallons as well. and it's FREE

 

[Evan!]

What you really need to do is put all your beer-drinking friends on notice. At the beginning, I had to actually purchase a couple cases of new bottles. Stupid expensive. After 10 months of brewing, I'm to the point now where I have to turn down bottles from friends, because I have at least 10 or 12 cases of empties at any given time.

BTW, to the original poster, you mentioned wishing you had newcastle...and settling for corona. Both of these are bad ideas for your situation, because they're both clear bottles. Steer clear of clear bottles, as light will harm your beer. Go for brown...or green in a pinch.

 

[Houseman]

Hi Guys. On bottles, if you get a "bench" caper, you certainly can use twist off bottles. I have been for years and I can't remember breaking a single bottle. With a "winged" caper it is a whole nuther story.

 

[Pipi22]

I got many cases from a beer distributor. Here in PA, Yuengling premium comes in reusable bottles which get returned to the distributor, who is supposed to return them to Yuengling. But, some don't really care and will sell them to you. I paid $1.50 per case of bottles. I would go there every other day and buy any cases they had. Plus, the case itself is a stronger box which is great for storing the bottles and using the box over and over again. Plus, I would buy the actual beer for $15 a case and get to drink it and then use the bottles again.

I also told all my friends to save their bottles and give them to me, and since I live in a college town and all my buddies can drink like no ones business, I very quickly got an over abundance of bottles. I almost have too many now....almost.

 

[Jim Karr]

Bottles? G.W. Kent in Ypsilanti, MI has an online store with cases of 12's at $5.75 for 24. Includes case. the catch? You have to buy a pallet of 108 cases to get that price.

Or, you can dumpster dive. I've gotten hundreds of free bottles by diving the recycling dumpsters in my 'hood.

 

[Melana]

I stopped by our local package store last night and asked the guy if I could buy some of their recycled bottles and he said that sounded good and he would even start putting the good boxes to the side for me! I need a mad amount of bottles now too but hate the idea of the 12oz ones... We already have a good 22oz bottle collection and are always hunting for more bottles.