Belgians corks - are they really needed

Hello,

I found a nice portugese floor corker. Along with it I got a bunch of #7 (I think) wine corks. I tried one with the least deep setting on the corker and it turned out nice. a very small mushroom and I was wondering why is that the "belgian corkers" are used when #7 does it. Is it just for the looks ?

I might take a picture to share it. If put on the hood will look pretty nice.

Just curious,
Q

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/carbonating-8-cork-351313/

This is another HBT member who used #8 corks for his Belgian bottles.

I knew I am not alone on these forums thanks for pointing me to the right direction.

While that guy is using cages on his #8s, it sounds like he's losing a bit of carbonation? That would be from a poor fit (cork too small and not a good seal on the 'mushroom') and gas escaping out the sides. I'd go Belgian corks for Belgian Bottles, personally. They're not super expensive and typically have cages that are designed to fit them.

#9 seems a better fit