Reusing Bottle - Unibroue

[MaximumTrainer]

I finally decided to use standard cap over flip cap since I don't want to have to think of replacing bad flip cap or loosing beer.

Here in Québec, we have a lot of this bottle in commercial store:
http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/55/product
It is a big 750ml format and would be perfect for my homebrew as I like the style and they are robust.

So my question is:
How do I make sure that the cap will fit the top?
The cap they use is actually a wood stuff (see picture on the link above)

Capping machine:
http://hopdawgs.ca/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=253
Caps:
http://hopdawgs.ca/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=776

Thanks!

 

[BrewerBrad82]

Those bottles are cork finish, they will not accept a crown cap. You would have to get more corks, wire hoods, and the proper corker to reuse those bottles.

 

[phug]

can anyone confirm if this would take a 29 mm cap, using a 29 mm bell. (most North american bottles are 26 MM)

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Those bottles are cork finish, they will not accept a crown cap. You would have to get more corks, wire hoods, and the proper corker to reuse those bottles.

Ah too bad I really like these bottles but I'm not sure on all the work involved here.
We don't have a lot of good bottles, the rest are all twist cap (Budweiser, etc.).

 

[orangehero]

It depends what bottles you have. The vast majority of commercial Belgian style bottles I've seen are cork finish, not crown finish. They need to be corked, there is no lip for a crown.

https://www.saxcodirect.com/750-ml-belgian-bottles-in-cases-cork-finish.html

You can sometimes find ones with a 26mm crown finish. The only 29mm crown finish bottles I've seen are a very few Belgian styles (in green bottles) and European champagne bottles.

https://www.saxcodirect.com/750-ml-belgian-bottles-in-cases.html

Our homebrew store can get really nice 26mm crown finish punted amber champagne bottles. They are heavy glass and in my opinion perfection when it comes to bottles.

https://www.saxcodirect.com/750-ml-champagne-style-bottles-in-cases-26-mm.html

Many of those Belgian style bottles are actually made in Quebec. I'm not sure they directly sell anything less than a pallet load, though.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Thanks for all the explanation guys.

Yes the bottle I have here are for corks unfortunately.

I'm currently debating whether or not trying to do this at home:
Will be a bit harder and need to invest more in equipment, but the look and finish is really nice.
Not sure it is worth it since I will not be brewing Belgians in the close future (i'm a beginner)
http://byo.com/yeast/item/1886-corking-belgians

Also Looking for an alternative cheep way to bottle my beer if you have any idea..
Can't find anything else than twist-cap and would like to avoid buying bottles without beer in it.

My other option will be to buy swing-top bottles with replacements top in case.
Can't find much of theses so I would have to buy empty bottles.

 

[JimRausch]

I've used those bottles for my 'La Fin du Monde' clone. I saved wine bottle corks, soaked them in diluted bleach to clean and leach out any wine dregs after use, then stored dry. Before use I soaked them in starsan. I did have to get a wine bottle corker, but I found a pretty cheap one that worked. After priming and bottling, I corked them then waxed the tops before putting on the wire cage. They carbonated up normally. A couple of the corks did get a little pushed out of the bottle, but only about 1/2 inch or so. I still have about 1/2 dozen bottles left after almost 2 years. Time to crack another one open............

 

[The10mmKid]

Thanks for all the explanation guys.

Yes the bottle I have here are for corks unfortunately.

I'm currently debating whether or not trying to do this at home:
Will be a bit harder and need to invest more in equipment, but the look and finish is really nice.
Not sure it is worth it since I will not be brewing Belgians in the close future (i'm a beginner)
http://byo.com/yeast/item/1886-corking-belgians

Also Looking for an alternative cheep way to bottle my beer if you have any idea..
Can't find anything else than twist-cap and would like to avoid buying bottles without beer in it.

My other option will be to buy swing-top bottles with replacements top in case.
Can't find much of theses so I would have to buy empty bottles.

Give these a thought:

Read up on reusing them before discounting the idea.

I've used these a bunch.

'da Kid

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Hey The10mmKid, what kind of bottle is that?

I could buy some 'cheaper looking' for my personal use like theses (are they PET?) and just give away the swing-cap ones.

 

[AkTom]

Do your local bars have crown top bottles? Lots of people get their bottles from bars.

 

[The10mmKid]

Hey The10mmKid, what kind of bottle is that?

I could buy some 'cheaper looking' for my personal use like theses (are they PET?) and just give away the swing-cap ones.

These are screw cap aluminum cans. A few coworkers save them for me.
I'll bottle a dozen or so for camping, rafting, etc.
I've also reused them more than once.

They're a real 'hoot' when you pour a Black IPA from one.

They are GREAT for checking carbonation. They stiffen up real nice.

'da Kid

http://traffic.libsyn.com/basicbrewing/bbv08-08-14creamale.m4v

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Hmm sounds good.

Do you think theses could work?
https://www.iga.net/fr/produit/soda-italiena-l-orange-sanguine/00000_000000062368211097

They are lemonade soda bottle, made in glass with a screw cap. I could probably twist the cap hard enough. Gf use theses for Kombucha brewing.
This will be my plan B if I need more bottle

 

[The10mmKid]

Hmm sounds good.

Do you think theses could work?
https://www.iga.net/fr/produit/soda-italiena-l-orange-sanguine/00000_000000062368211097

They are lemonade soda bottle, made in glass with a screw cap. I could probably twist the cap hard enough. Gf use theses for Kombucha brewing.
This will be my plan B if I need more bottle

Better go with Plan "C" MT

Clear glass is very bad for beer with hops; berry berry bad.
They will need to stay away from light at all times.

Can you get these up your way?
https://homebrewsupplies.ca/product/1688-coopers-pet-bottles-15-pk/


'da Kid

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Better go with Plan "C" MT

Clear glass is very bad for beer with hops; berry berry bad.
They will need to stay away from light at all times.

Can you get these up your way?
https://homebrewsupplies.ca/product/1688-coopers-pet-bottles-15-pk/


'da Kid

Yes I am thinking going with PET.
Trying to find any negative stuff on PET except the look but can't find much.
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00428AXYY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

You site price is better but shipping is 16$

 

[The10mmKid]

I picked Cooper for you as they seem to have a stronger presence in Canada.

MT, we will sanitize out glass bottles using the steam cycle in our dishwasher.

Might want to read up on how heat affects the PET bottles before trying this.

This fellow Canuck likes them:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-RuqiZdpuI[/ame]

'da Kid

 

[MaximumTrainer]

Really nice, thanks for sharing.

Never heard of carbonation drop before.
Could be a good solution for me as I don't have a bottling bucket, I was thinking to use the kettle as a bottling bucket, but it's one more thing to clean.

 

[slym2none]

Give these a thought:

Read up on reusing them before discounting the idea.

I've used these a bunch.

'da Kid

I've used them a handful of times, and am about 50% on success rate.

 

[MaximumTrainer]

I've used those bottles for my 'La Fin du Monde' clone. I saved wine bottle corks, soaked them in diluted bleach to clean and leach out any wine dregs after use, then stored dry. Before use I soaked them in starsan. I did have to get a wine bottle corker, but I found a pretty cheap one that worked. After priming and bottling, I corked them then waxed the tops before putting on the wire cage. They carbonated up normally. A couple of the corks did get a little pushed out of the bottle, but only about 1/2 inch or so. I still have about 1/2 dozen bottles left after almost 2 years. Time to crack another one open............

Yeah "La fin du monde" is pretty good, the beer, of course
My favorite is "Don de dieu". Let me know if you have the recipe somewhere, could be cool to try! Not sure I would be able to do 9%+ beer but could be fun
Do you need that kind of bottle for stronger beer (the bottle is thicker it seems) or can I just use standard bottle? There is a big pop sound when you open the bottle, +1 for the fun factor.

 

[JimRausch]

Hi, sorry for the delay answering.
I have not seen the Don de dieu down here. My pretty decent packie store only carries the La Fin du Monde, and Maudite.
My Fin du Monde clone was an experiment. The recipe was pretty standard, but I decided to try and grow the yeast from the dregs of a bottle. The 1st time was a failure- bacterial contamination, but I was successful 2nd time around.
Regular bottles are absolutely fine for whatever ABV you brew. The only need for a thicker bottle might be if you overcarbonate the result. I happened to have a dozen Belgian type bottles and wanted to experiment there as well.
Good Luck!

 

[m00ps]

Yeah "La fin du monde" is pretty good, the beer, of course
My favorite is "Don de dieu". Let me know if you have the recipe somewhere, could be cool to try! Not sure I would be able to do 9%+ beer but could be fun
Do you need that kind of bottle for stronger beer (the bottle is thicker it seems) or can I just use standard bottle? There is a big pop sound when you open the bottle, +1 for the fun factor.

I made a beer that is very close in flavor profile to Don de Dieu. Easily my favorite offering from them.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=511103

arent unibroues 12oz bottles screw offs?

 

[MaximumTrainer]

I made a beer that is very close in flavor profile to Don de Dieu. Easily my favorite offering from them.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=511103

arent unibroues 12oz bottles screw offs?

Great thanks for sharing! Yes they make the same brands in smaller screw off bottles. I sometimes buy a 15pack with mixed Don de dieu, maudite, fin du monde and Ephemere for 18$ it's a good deal. I don't know why I prefer the bigger bottle, taste seems different but it may just be a placebo effect..