Bottling!!

[Bannerman]

Hi all.
I'm pretty new to this. I have some nettle ale on the go in a keg. I've tried to find somewhere to buy cheap bottles (plastic or glass) but can't seem to find any. Where do people buy them from? And if I don't bottle, how long might my beer last in the keg?

 

[geoffm33]

Hi all.
I'm pretty new to this. I have some nettle ale on the go in a keg. I've tried to find somewhere to buy cheap bottles (plastic or glass) but can't seem to find any. Where do people buy them from? And if I don't bottle, how long might my beer last in the keg?

I buy my bottles at my local beer and wine store. The bottles are expensive, but they come with free beer

I get mine from friends, let them know what type you want (amber color, non-screw top, whatever). I save mine from beers I buy, and I make sure to buy beer that comes in the bottles I want to reuse.

Some have had luck posting on craigslist, depends on where you live if that's an option.

My LHBS sells them for about $15 a case of clean bottles.

 

[beergolf]

I buy my bottles at my local beer and wine store. The bottles are expensive, but they come with free beer

This works. Come on man up and get drinking.

Or there are other ways to get bottles.

Have a craft brew party and tell all of your friends to bring craft brew. This works to get a lot of bottles fast.

Or you could go around your neighborhood on trash day and go through everyone's recycling bin.

Or go dumpster diving behind the local bar.

Lots of ways to get bottles.

 

[meltroha]

I never seem to have a problem finding empty bottles, it's the full ones that are rare, lol

 

[Felixio]

Also, there is a thread for posting free bottles, check it out and see if someone is in your area.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f16/got-free-bottles-give-away-post-em-here-157575/index79.html

 

[meltroha]

Seriously, once you get going it will be fine, just need to save all your bottles. If you have a friend who likes to drink (to say it politely) get him into low end craft beer, any pop top bottles will do. Labels come off easily with a little oxy clean.

 

[geoffm33]

Have a poker night at the house. You buy the pizzas, they bring the beer (in pop top amber bottles of course).

 

[solbes]

Yup, buying empty bottles is pretty sacrilegious in this hobby. Consider buying commecial beer a good use of R&D dollars. Buy 12 packs of your favorite beer. And see if you can find a place that does mixed 6 packs of craft beer, which allows you to try some of the higher quality stuff without buying a whole sixer.

You might start out with similar looking bottles, but by 6 months in you will have all different sorts. I now have enough bottles to store 8 batches, but it still isn't enough. And I keg half of my brews

A 3 hr hot water soak in oxyclean in the sink will allow for good label removal for most beers.