Re-using commercial bottles, are some better than others?

[Treon]

I have been using whatever pop top bottles I can get my hands on, but have read that some brands are better to use than others. In particular I have taken to getting Fat Tire, which is a product of New Belgium Brewing co., which have been working fine, but I noticed a couple bottles have flaws in them, and don't want to risk using them. What I am wondering are what are you guys' thoughts on re-using commercial bottles? Are Some better than others?

 

[Thunder_Chicken]

If you use a wing capper, you definitely want a bottle with a good lip, and a shoulder is always a good idea to keep yeast out of your pours. If you have a bench capper it may make less of a difference what the lip looks like.

For some bottle terminology go here:
http://www.sha.org/bottle/morphology.htm

When I first started collecting bottles I liked Guinness and Anchor Steam bottles, and they worked well at first. But I got a new batch of stiffer crown caps and I have had major troubles with cracking their necks. I didn't get any bottle bombs, but a few times when I went to open the bottles, the cap would remain attached and would come away with a piece of the small lip on these bottles. Even with good technique with the wing capper (not pushing down on the bottle but working the wing capper arms like you are breaking a pencil, lifting the bottle) I still heard cracking on some bottles.

Bottles with a good lip are easier to grab and the wing capper "pops through" much more resolutely. I haven't had any trouble with them. I bought several cases of bottles from the LHBS and am tossing the older bottles. Several brands, like our local Cisco, and Smithwicks, have very good bottles with strong lips. Smithwicks are awesome as the bottles are very good and the labels come off easily after a brief soak. I just bought a lot of LHBS bottles as I really couldn't get through drinking that much commercial beer before my brews were ready, and I'd rather be drinking my homebrew.

If by "flaws" you mean "little bubbles and imperfections in the glass", don't worry about those so much. Glass is very strong and if it handled the original beer without problem it will probably handle your homebrew just fine. If you are seeing out-n-out cracks, toss them.

 

[Ryush806]

I've always found that the Sam Adam's labels seem to come off the easiest. That's really the only difference I have noticed between botteles. I have to work a little harder to get other labels off. I just wish they didn't have Sam Adam's on the actual glass...

 

[bennie1986]

I have had trouble with red hook bottles. They seem a little thinner and I have busted the neck of at least two.

 

[hyperboarder]

I've never had good luck with the short bottles (Sierra Nevada specifically), I'd get chips in the lip when cleaning them. I did fine with New Belgium, Odell, and a handful of the other long neck ones. Bombers are typically nice and stout as well.

 

[wickman6]

The best bottles by far are Singha bottles, a Thai beer. They are as thick as a champagne bottle!

Drawback is, not available everywhere and when it is, expect to pay $9 a sixer.

 

[amandabab]

the only bottle failures Ive ever had were Anchor Steam bottles.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I bought a case of grolsch 16oz swing tops just for the bottles and they came filled. (Which was cheaper than the one LHBS for the same type bottles. )

 

[mh-brews]

i think the grolsch bottles are the best. I don't like the beer though. Several month ago the LHBS had a few cases of grolsch bottles in the nice plastic cases for sale. I wish i would have pick them up.

ive found it is nice to have all the same sizes of bottles when using a bench capper. it sorta sucks readjusting the hieght going from one to the next.

 

[RatchetBrews]

I usually use plain bottles with no raised lettering. So I usually skip on the Sam Adam, New Belgium, Green Flash, etc. When I first started years ago I loved Grolsch bottles, but realized that green bottles don't protect from light the way brown ones do. I soak my bottles in hot PBW and the labels melt right off. The ones stick our are difficult, I make a note not to use those again.

 

[progmac]

Imported German beer always comes in awesome, thick bottles.

 

[Treon]

The flaws I found in the New Belgium looked more like cracks, and you can feel them on the outside, but surprisingly not on the inside. They were up in the neck otherwise I wouldn't have been able to tell. One actually went from one side of the neck, down under the bottom, and up the other side, I almost thought it was the seam, but then I realized it wasn't. I was just wondering what you guys' take on commercial bottles were, or if there were any bottles I should simply avoid. Also, I have noticed corona bottles don't seem to seal as well, but being clear i understand that they will not protect the beer from being light struck. I only ever use clear bottles (usually New Castle Brown Ale bottles, they seem to seal just fine) for sight glass bottles. By this I mean I use one clear bottle for each batch, so that I can peek at it from time to time to see how the beer is clearing. I got into this habit when I started brewing to give me a better idea of how the beer looked without having to open one each time, and it just kinda stuck.

 

[Jayhem]

#1: Guinness Draught bottles are by far the easiest to clean since the labels are plastic and just takes 2 seconds and a razor knife to remove them. Also Guinness makes some of the strongest bottles I've reused, never broken one the Guinness Draught bottles yet. On top all all this they have a sexy shape, distinguishes them from other long necks.

Withstanding these my other favorites are
#2: Sam Adams (labels come off easily with an overnight soak and if you ask people to save you bottles they are more likely to save these than any other because Sam Adams are available everywhere)
#3: Sierra Nevada (Labels come off easy and they have a nice shape)

 

[unionrdr]

When I was still using my Red Baron wing capper,I had to avoid Smithwicks,Sapporo,Sierra Nevada & all other short neck bottles like the plague. Especially the ones that had necks just a little shorter than regular "pony bottles" as we used to call them. Then the bell streched out a little bit,& the caps wouldn't stay sealed as co2 pressure built up. I kept the boxes of filled bottles in the MB where it's the warmest in winter. In the evening sometimes,I'd get a wiff of malt & finally reasoned it out.
I now have 3 ferrari's! The bottle tree,the vinator,& the Super Agata bench capper. Now the only thing I have to worry about is the height of the bottle,as mh-brews mentioned. A reasonable trade-off,to be sure.
The best bottles for label removal & repeated use are Paulaner,Sam Adams,Thirsty Dog,Great Lakes,Franziskaner,Wernesgruner,Micelobe & that Kentucky bourbon barrel beer,to name a few. Some of these for the coolness factor; Paulaner Salvator Doppel Bock,with the bearded monks around the shoulder,Micelobe,with the fused neck bottle look,Wernesgruner for the crest with hop bines on the neck. Paulaner,wernesgruner,& franziskaner for the amber with a touch of green glass color. It lets me see the color a bit more.
And Leinenkugel's,for the thick 12 pack boxes with seperators.

 

[Treon]

Wait, Michelob? Aren't those all twist off caps? I was under the impression I couldn't re-cap those. Or is that another advantage to having a bench capper? I am still using the red baron capper myself.

 

[TNGabe]

New Belgium and Sam Adams bottles are both thinner than some others. I don't have any of those two to weigh, but 'standard longnecks' weigh around 200g and Sierra Nevada are about 195g.