Reusing 12 oz bottle caps - Yes caps. Pry off caps.

[Jokester]

I reuse bottles, there's no shame in admitting that now a days.
However I recently reused a cap to test and I used boiling water, which causes negative pressure as it cools, so bottle will have a vacuum. Not high pressure, low pressure.
The bottle and cap made through just fine and the pop when opening it was a "negative" pop, which also is expected.

So I dont have pics etc, but the key to this working is if you have an "opener" that pry's off the whole cap without bending it. I have a "jar-key" plastic opener thing that is the best at it, however the old technique of prying off with a lighter or a plastic object is just as good.
The cap comes off intact without bending. I also reuse the cap a few times while drinking by "snapping" it back on.
To cap the bottle with the capper - Just snap it back on the bottle before putting the capper on it.

 

[Grizwold1]

Homebrewers have a long standing history of frugality. This seems to push the envelope though. (Intended in a non-judgmental, lighthearted vein)

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I agree with @Grizwold1. Bottle caps are cheap, and it's not worth (to me) the risk of a reused cap not sealing.

 

[InspectorJon]

I tell my kids, just because you can does not mean you should.

 

[tld6008]

Using vacuum (neg. pressure) to seal the cap is different than relying on the cap being able to resist internal pressure.

 

[RM-MN]

I buy bottle caps for less than 3 cents each. Should I risk a bottle of beer to save that?

 

[jrgtr42]

I had to reuse a cap once in an emergency. It didn't work well.
I have bottles I've reused dozens of times - I think there's a couple that have had almost every batch I bottled in them - and with proper rinsing and sanitizing, there's not issues, but I wouldn't reuse a cap.
Yes, I'll snap one back on while I drink the first half of the bomber, but that's less about keeping pressure in than anything I don't want, out.

 

[Sam_92]

If you never want to buy bottle caps again, you could buy swingtop bottles. I primarily re-use bottles and buy bottle caps because i like the frugality and true recycling nature of it. But I really do like my swingtops and I might convert over some day.

I have re-used caps one time, when I forgot to add my priming sugar to a batch. I got carbonation drops the next day and uncapped the entire batch, added a carbonation drop and then recapped. For most of the batch I used new caps but for 6-10 I re-used the cap. That batch never did really carbonate very well but all the bottles were consistent at least.

 

[SeeMont]

If you are going to this extreme, Just recycle one and two liter soft drink plastic bottles. I have been doing this for decades with not one problem. They don't break, they hold more pressure than glass, they are free for the picking. Also Easy to check carbonation.

 

[bobeer]

+1 on the swing-top bottles if you want to reuse caps. I'm pretty darn good and popping a beer with a lighter, or any other object that you can get leverage with, but I'm not sure if it's worth the risks unless caps are now getting hard to come by. I reuse all the bottes from store bought beer but maybe I'll have to double down and just buy some nice, new, swing tops. Only issue with those is making sure you get them all back from friends and family... don't care as much with reused bottles.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

+1 on the swing-top bottles if you want to reuse caps. I'm pretty darn good and popping a beer with a lighter, or any other object that you can get leverage with, but I'm not sure if it's worth the risks unless caps are now getting hard to come by. I reuse all the bottes from store bought beer but maybe I'll have to double down and just buy some nice, new, swing tops. Only issue with those is making sure you get them all back from friends and family... don't care as much with reused bottles.

buy Grolsch beer in swing top bottles. Then they not only come prefilled for you theyWILL be reused bottles so return issues not as costly.

 

[davidabcd]

Edit: Portioned deleted for being inappropriate and I apologize.

1. If a beer is being bottle carbonated, how can there be any negative pressure?
2. If you heat up a bottle of beer enough to get a canning-type action, wouldn't the yeast be dead?
3. When was there shame in reusing a botte? Reusing them is kind of the point except for some giveaways. Even with a steady supply of bottles from a bar or wherever, what reason would there be to go out of the way?

 

[Jokester]

My test case was a guinness bottle with boiling water and its original cap put on and I shook it when it was still boiling. The seal seemed to hold. Then I sat it outside (in case it blows clean up is easier) and as the temp dropped to 40's the bottle developed negative pressure, and it held, making the pop when you open it. OK I'll locate bottle caps if they're 3c but I'll bet they're going to be a bundle to ship, unless I buy a million of em. Let me check.

 

[Jokester]

OK I am not finding caps for anything near 3c, seems to be closer to 15 even buying 1000.
However cam lock bottles are $85 for 12. Since I have enough cam lock already to cover 3gal worth, another 12 will do with capacity to spare.
However, I may only drink this 1 12oz at a time, so 32's are a bit much. I'm still looking for the caps for 12's. I guess I should visit the brew shop. I do have 20+ new caps so I am fine for the next bottling.

 

[InspectorJon]

https://www.amazon.com/Oxygen-Absor...7278256&s=kitchen&sprefix=,kitchen,162&sr=1-3

 

[Jokester]

Amazon Crime. Man, why does good crap always be over there - anyway I found fleabay has this -
1000 NEW BLANK UNUSED UNCRIMPED CROWN BOTTLE CAPS. FREE SHIPPING | eBay

Yea 1000 - Like I said, life time supply if you dont lose it after the first couple of bottlings. OK Let me work on that. Also the white ones look like they're better, the gold is like bare metal, so it looks like it will rust soon.

 

[MaxStout]

Amazon Crime. Man, why does good crap always be over there - anyway I found fleabay has this -
1000 NEW BLANK UNUSED UNCRIMPED CROWN BOTTLE CAPS. FREE SHIPPING | eBay

Yea 1000 - Like I said, life time supply if you dont lose it after the first couple of bottlings. OK Let me work on that. Also the white ones look like they're better, the gold is like bare metal, so it looks like it will rust soon.

They're all lined the same on the inside. The color is on the outside where there is no contact with beer. How would one be more prone to rusting than the other?

 

[Jokester]

The paint on the outside makes me feel a bit better that it wont rust from the outside, but I am keeping it in a dry place inside boxes with plastic bags over it etc, in case of bottle bombings. So should be OK, BTW a test case has been handed out to a friend and instructions are to keep it to the weekend before putting in the fridge a day or more before opening it. Lets see what it does.

 

[PCABrewing]

The paint on the outside makes me feel a bit better that it wont rust from the outside, but I am keeping it in a dry place inside boxes with plastic bags over it etc, in case of bottle bombings. So should be OK, BTW a test case has been handed out to a friend and instructions are to keep it to the weekend before putting in the fridge a day or more before opening it. Lets see what it does.

If you do reuse caps, just remember that if they were oxygen scavenging when new they no longer are once they have been wet (exposed to beer). So you lose the -O2 benefit.

 

[Jokester]

Oh, that's probably enough reason to buy the 1000 pack. BTW do they have to be sealed to retain that O2 removal benefit ? cos you open a sealed pack and of course there's moisture in the air.

 

[MaxStout]

The paint on the outside makes me feel a bit better that it wont rust from the outside, but I am keeping it in a dry place inside boxes with plastic bags over it etc, in case of bottle bombings. So should be OK, BTW a test case has been handed out to a friend and instructions are to keep it to the weekend before putting in the fridge a day or more before opening it. Lets see what it does.

Those "gold" caps are covered in enamel, just a different color. I doubt they will rust any faster than any other color. Get what's cheapest--they're all basically the same.

 

[camonick]

OK I am not finding caps for anything near 3c, seems to be closer to 15 even buying 1000…..
….However, I may only drink this 1 12oz at a time, so 32's are a bit much. I'm still looking for the caps for 12's. I guess I should visit the brew shop. I do have 20+ new caps so I am fine for the next bottling.

That would be my suggestion… add them to your next ingredients order wherever you get those. Seriously, they’re 3-5¢ each. You can get just about any color you like, they are all the same.
For example, even MoreBeer’s smallest quantity at 50 pieces is 5¢ each.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/gold-oxygen-absorbing-bottle-caps.html

 

[Jokester]

I found em, thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'll get em in gold if that's all the $20 for 1000 will be. Truth is, I make very few supplies orders. I ferment honey, locally bought, I have been putting them on top of the yeast cake, and yea TOSNA schedule meant I have to get DAP, which I did at the start in Dec, and all the rest is just local. Tea, I make, raisins I get locally and that's about it. Bottling was a first for me. So the questions. Besides I drink enough store bought beer to make bottles a household commodity, so that left the caps. I buy a 1000 and I may be set for life.

 

[Protos]

I like the idea of reusing caps. I've been thinking over it too. And I believe it's technically possible even without a vacuum seal or a special opener. I managed to remove caps with no bending and put them back tightly enough.
But there's another caveat that comes into play: sanitation. Since the polymer underside of the cap is porous, there's no way to disinfect it effectively with sanitizers or heat-sterilize it. Realizing that, I abandoned the experiments.

 

[MaxStout]

If you can find an opener like this, they don't deform the caps so much, since it lifts on 2 points of contact.

 

[Jokester]

My jar-Key is more like this -
Brix JarKey Jar Opener in Red | Bed Bath & Beyond (bedbathandbeyond.com)

WTF its for opening big jars ? Never mind that, try it on a beer bottle.
Its works like a charm, though it is higher effort than the ones that bend the cap. The cap will come out flat and intact.
That may be the key to snapping it back on while drinking as well as cranking it on when sealing a new bottle.
I have no issue with cleaning it in boiling water, then star-san, then boiling water again. No please dont start the lecture again, I can absolutely taste star-san. Lets just call me stupid and move on.

 

[bracconiere]

I buy bottle caps for less than 3 cents each.

see a penny pick a penny up! i brew $8 10 gallon batches which is why i even put $5 bills in the piggy bank! i admire the tanacity of @Jokester but at this point buying plastic bottles with reusable screw tops would be more practical.....

@Sammy86 where did you source those you sent me?

 

[bracconiere]

Lets just call me stupid and move on.

stupid!

 

[Jokester]

I am good with the 1000 caps I just bought. Just as long as I dont lose them, but if I do, I am out 2.1 cents a bottle.
Better yet, if its sealed up solid with O2 eating caps I'll get better shelf life from the brew and I may expand brewing to more exotic brews.
Think along the lines of a few lb of palm jaggery (called karipatti in tamil and cheaply available back home) fermented with voss kveik.
Necessity may be the mother of invention, but I am sure availability is the father.
Have a 1000, will concoct a few innovative ways to make a drink.

 

[bracconiere]

will concoct a few innovative ways to make a drink.

have been doing that myself recently....not new to me but, dissapointing. on a serious note on re capping, the caps will break over time wouldn't they from the continued bending back and forth?


if you don't like screw top plastic bottles, what about swing tops?

 

[Jokester]

re capping, the caps will break over time wouldn't they from the continued bending back and forth?

That's where that jar-key - intended for huge a$$ bottles comes into the picture, it will lift the cap off without bending it - to the extent you can "snap" it back on the bottle.
Well, if its as good as a fresh new uncrimped on cap ??? I'll know when I open my freshly bottled batch.
However the cap comes off unbent to the naked eye with a jar-key used to open the bottle.

 

[bracconiere]

https://www.morebeer.com/products/p...LvPyyGBexhqwvT2_GlE3huMwoc_J1S-EaAmUmEALw_wcB
i'm saying these are what you're looking for....and the screw caps....

 

[PCABrewing]

If you can find an opener like this, they don't deform the caps so much, since it lifts on 2 points of contact.
View attachment 762785

Simplicity at its finest!

 

[Jokester]

Simplicity at its finest!

Actually no, simplicity is to pry the cap off with a lighter or other plastic object like a knife handle.
The "lift" the cap off vs bend the cap off is what's the question here. Lift off = reuse ability is high. Bend = low to 0.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I see your swing-top bottles and raise you a swing-top adapter so you can put swing tops on regular bottles - screw off or not.

The file is available on thingiverse for those with a printer.

 

[PCABrewing]

Actually no, simplicity is to pry the cap off with a lighter or other plastic object like a knife handle.
The "lift" the cap off vs bend the cap off is what's the question here. Lift off = reuse ability is high. Bend = low to 0.

Well I was commenting on the device, but if you want to get technical, the lighter is a much more complicated device than the opener above and a less effective opener too . More hit and miss.
And for me, simplicity is to rack it to a keg and be done with it.
That way I can drink it in any quantity I feel like.

 

[passedpawn]

I've got a couple of cases of grolsch swing-tops. If anyone is in the Clearwater FL area, come by and grab them, they are in the attic and likely headed to the recycle bin when I get the energy.

 

[bwible]

My test case was a guinness bottle with boiling water and its original cap put on and I shook it when it was still boiling. The seal seemed to hold. Then I sat it outside (in case it blows clean up is easier) and as the temp dropped to 40's the bottle developed negative pressure, and it held, making the pop when you open it. OK I'll locate bottle caps if they're 3c but I'll bet they're going to be a bundle to ship, unless I buy a million of em. Let me check.

We have people from all over the world, so Its always tough to know where someone is posting from. In the US, MoreBeer sells 144 oxygen absorbing bottle caps for $5.49. 3.8 cents each. Other online places and local shops are probably similar. I like buying them that way so I have several different colors to differentiate batches.

 

[Jokester]

Well I was commenting on the device, but if you want to get technical, the lighter is a much more complicated device than the opener above and a less effective opener too . More hit and miss.
And for me, simplicity is to rack it to a keg and be done with it.
That way I can drink it in any quantity I feel like.

Yeesh, a piece of plastic will do the same thing. So will a plastic knife handle. Or any other piece of wood or plastic you got about the size of a lighter. Spatula handle, fork handle, matter of fact butter knife etc have all been used.
Man, haven't you seen 12 yr old kids pry off bottle caps with a random object from their pockets. The thing goes "pop" and the cap goes flying - well, dont let it fly away - I'm sure some complicated reason will be used to keep it from "flying".
I'm going to let it bottle carbonate, 12oz of 10% abv is plenty plenty for me for an evening, thank you very much. If I'm having company I'll crack the 1 32 I have for this batch, but I'll have to do 50-50 between the 32's and the 12's if it seems to be more popular.

 

[Jokester]

We have people from all over the world, so Its always tough to know where someone is posting from. In the US, MoreBeer sells 144 oxygen absorbing bottle caps for $5.49. 3.8 cents each. Other online places and local shops are probably similar.

Naa I am in the US right now. I was in India till 2 weeks ago. Anyway the caps have been bought and after a hefty $20 bill exchanged hands electronically they're on the way.
And having bottles and caps gives me ideas to start a fermented palm sugar drink as well as other stuff.