WTF bottling

[jcannon46609]

Ok I have no idea what I have done wrong, but I am about to bottle my second batch of beer into some brown bottles that I have and so far every single one of them have broken when I try to cap them. At first I thought this was just me but then I tried it on some clear Corona bottles and every one was a success. I have no idea what to do from here. Any suggestions?

 

[ChshreCat]

Are they twist-off bottles and are you using a two-handed lever capper?

 

[jcannon46609]

They are not twist tops, they are regular Sam Adams bottles, and I am using a two-handed capper.

 

[Runyanka]

Haven't a clue! Are they older bottles? maybe brittle because of age?

 

[jcannon46609]

Ok I have no idea what I have done wrong, but I am about to bottle my second batch of beer into some brown bottles that I have and so far every single one of them have broken when I try to cap them. At first I thought this was just me but then I tried it on some clear Corona bottles and every one was a success. I have no idea what to do from here. Any suggestions?

 

[ChshreCat]

When you cap, are you pushing down on the handles? That could do it. Pardon me and don't be offended if I'm telling you things you already know...

When you cap with that type of a capper, the hand motion should be more like you're bending something in the air rather than a downward force. When I cap, the bottle actually comes off the floor at the end of the motion. That way, there's no force being placed on the bottle other than what's actually needed to crimp the cap on the bottle.

I'd also take a close look at the capper and make sure nothing is loose, crooked, broken, etc that might be damaging the bottles and causing them to break.

 

[PintOfBitter]

i'm guessing you have a butterfly style capper. are your brown bottles very thin, or is the collar on the neck positioned farther down than on the coronas, for instance? I broke bottles with a butterfly. got a bench capper and never broke another.

 

[ChshreCat]

Ya know, you only have to post once. Posting the same question in multiple forums is bad form and the forum gods will just combine them when they see them.

 

[jcannon46609]

I think I am using a butterfly capper, it came with the kit I bought

 

[jcannon46609]

sorry, kind of new to all this. lol

 

[Wrathbone]

Must be the style of the neck. Compare the brown ones to the clear ones, and you'll see the difference up at the top. The butterfly cappers are set to cap a certain type of bottle, and if you venture too far from that it'll break the bottle, or not cap completely.

Half of the bottles in my second brew didn't seal completely with the butterfly capper, leaving me with flat beer. Once I figured out what kind of bottle worked best, I was fine. Now, I just keg.

 

[passedpawn]

I've never had this happen. Weird.

The capper has metal inserts that grab the lip on the bottle. Look at these. They can be removed and rotated 180 degrees to grab a different sized bottle. You probably should have it set to the smaller radius.

 

[elpresidente]

I know that putting the bottles in the freezer to cool the beer sometimes weakens them...I remember when I was doing that to quickly cool some beers from the closet and when I went to open them the whole top just broke off!!! The cap was still connected to the actual piece of glass that broke off...have you put any of those bottles in the freezer?

 

[homebrewer_99]

There's NOTHING wrong with the bottles...it's the capper.

Check the two clamping plates that grab the neck of the bottle...they're the part with the arcs...

Now check the back side of the clamps...is there another set of arcs on them or are the cut straight?

If there is another set of arcs then pull the clamps out and reverse them.

Basically, you're using the smaller arc on a larger necked bottle and crushing it...it's that simple.

This only applies to the Red Baron capper, not the black one.

 

[passedpawn]

There's NOTHING wrong with the bottles...it's the capper.

Check the two clamping plates that grab the neck of the bottle...they're the part with the arcs...

Now check the back side of the clamps...is there another set of arcs on them or are the cut straight?

If there is another set of arcs then pull the clamps out and reverse them.

Basically, you're using the smaller arc on a larger necked bottle and crushing it...it's that simple.

This only applies to the Red Baron capper, not the black one.

It's what I was trying to say two posts above.

I bet that's it.

 

[jtrainer]

Try taking the capper and squeezing inwards towards the bottle then after you get a snug inward feel, rotate the handles downward while maintaining the inward preasure.

I learned this when I used to break bottle after bottle....

Bass bottle were some of the thinest ones I had.

 

[brrman]

There's NOTHING wrong with the bottles...it's the capper.

Check the two clamping plates that grab the neck of the bottle...they're the part with the arcs...

Now check the back side of the clamps...is there another set of arcs on them or are the cut straight?

If there is another set of arcs then pull the clamps out and reverse them.

Basically, you're using the smaller arc on a larger necked bottle and crushing it...it's that simple.

This only applies to the Red Baron capper, not the black one.

I have broken Sam Adams bottles with both the red and the black butterfly capper... I got so frustrated that I bought a Colonna Capper... All good now.

 

[mrk305]

Where are you in Georgia? If you are near Lilburn you can borrow my bench mounted capper.