Bottle choice

[clibit]

I tend to use 330ml brown glass bottles for stronger beers and 500ml bottles for lower strength beers, below 4.5%, generally speaking.

In my early days I used plastic pop bottles, which work well, and allow you to release some gas if the beer is too gassy. They do allow oxygen to seep through into the beer though, so you need to drink the beer within a few weeks. Brown glass bottles look after the beer well for a long time, and they are cool, too! It feels like you are respecting your carefully crafted beer by bottling in nice glass bottles. I've drunk 2 year old bottles that have been awesome after all that time conditioning inside the glass.

 

[geetee]

I think I must have about 400 x 500ml bottles, 50 x 330ml bottles and about a dozen swing tops. It is tedious sterilising and cleaning bottles but that's where the swing tops are handy, towards the end of a bottling session just fill and close dead easy. I find they are easier to keep clean as I just rinse out,close the cap and they are ready to quick sterilise just before use.

 

[Hoppyland]

It is tedious sterilising and cleaning bottles but that's where the swing tops are handy, towards the end of a bottling session just fill and close dead easy. I find they are easier to keep clean as I just rinse out,close the cap and they are ready to quick sterilise just before use.

What a good idea! If there's one thing I dislike more than cleaning & sterilising bottles, it's doing it twice cos I didn't use the beggars first time around! :thumb:

 

[Wilfy]

550ml Double Maxim bottles (clear) which I have a never ending supply of.

 

[Notlaw]

550ml Double Maxim bottles (clear) which I have a never ending supply of.

You an ex Vaux employee maybe? I was living in Sunderland until I moved down to the north west 2 years ago. I still have a house that I rent out up there.

 

[wheazy_joe]

I've lost count of the bottles I have now, but reckon I have about 50-60 swing tops (either 440ml grolsch but mostly 500ml brown ones), good 200 x 500ml crown cap, a spattering of Coopers PET bottles, maybe 50 x 330ml brown crown cap and now three 5l mini kegs & party star tap.

My plan is to work towards using mini kegs and swing top bottles only so will be phasing out the others over a bit of time. Will keep some PETs to use one each brew to keep an eye on carbonation.

Amazing to see the bottle stock I have given I started brewing less than a year ago with just the coopers starter kit.

 

[Wilfy]

You an ex Vaux employee maybe? I was living in Sunderland until I moved down to the north west 2 years ago. I still have a house that I rent out up there.

No, I used to live in the flat above an old Vaux pub so the landlady gives me the bottles if I ask. Saves her taking them to the bottle bank.

 

[Motorhomebrew]

and now three 5l mini kegs & party star tap.
My plan is to work towards using mini kegs.

Yehhhhh. Mini keg and party star tap all the way. Have you used it yet?

 

[wheazy_joe]

Yehhhhh. Mini keg and party star tap all the way. Have you used it yet?

Rob you will have us all converted soon enough! Beer only been in the kegs since Saturday so will be a wee while before I get the chance to use the tap. What a difference to 'bottling day' though; took absolutely no time at all!

Have you done a piece on cleaning and sanitising the mini kegs yet? Am wondering how you get all the yeast sediment out the small hole at the top? Do I need any special kit (like a keg brush or something?) Perhaps a question for the mini keg thread?

 

[Wicks]

Bottles all the way here at the moment. I don't soak my labels off and I've noticed that some of the bottles have larger neck labels than others which makes filling a little tricky to see where your level is as it's obscured by the label. Theakston seem to be my main culprits, they get sent to the back of the queue.

My favourites are the Guinness bottles as they are more dumpy than others, making storing easier in my smaller plastic bins. Also I'm rather fond of the West Indies Porter.

 

[Motorhomebrew]

Rob you will have us all converted soon enough! Beer only been in the kegs since Saturday so will be a wee while before I get the chance to use the tap. What a difference to 'bottling day' though; took absolutely no time at all!

Have you done a piece on cleaning and sanitising the mini kegs yet? Am wondering how you get all the yeast sediment out the small hole at the top? Do I need any special kit (like a keg brush or something?) Perhaps a question for the mini keg thread?

Well I look forward to hearing your thoughts on tapping into and pouring your first pint. Do you know what ill do a thread later on cleaning and sanitising a mini keg. Full of pictures. You got to love pics. And no need to worry about cleaning and yeast sediment. It so easy. I'll also include how to maintain the kegs and how to keep the kegs lubed. Keep and eye out ill have I done by tonight. A full run.

 

[wheazy_joe]

Well I look forward to hearing your thoughts on tapping into and pouring your first pint. Do you know what ill do a thread later on cleaning and sanitising a mini keg. Full of pictures. You got to love pics. And no need to worry about cleaning and yeast sediment. It so easy. I'll also include how to maintain the kegs and how to keep the kegs lubed. Keep and eye out ill have I done by tonight. A full run.

Cheers Rob that sounds fantastic! Plan on getting a few more kegs so will want to look after them well.

 

[Notlaw]

how to keep the kegs lubed.

Puerility overwhelmed me when I read that. Jesus... I really need to grow up!

Anyway, I've got my mate's missus keeping me some bottles and a couple of crates from the pub she runs to get me going. Probably going to get some PET ones too as my missus is nervous about exploding bottles and I reckon Rob has convinced me to give mini kegs a go asap .

 

[Rocksaga]

I´ve split my first brew to a barrel and a dozen bottles (gonna pass a few bottles around the family to see what they think).

My future son in law owns a snooker club and has an endless supply of 1 pint bottles, clear and brown, from a well known cider maker. Just have all the paraphernalia that's needed for cleaning and filling to purchase now.

 

[Rincon]

I have so many bottles its crazy, lots of brown 500ml glass, some green and a few clear. I find the labels on Timothy Taylors and some Admans just drop off in water which is good.

Im a sucker for odd or different bottles so i will collect then and spend a bit more time getting the labels off if i like the bottles, but if Im not bothered about the bottle and the label is hard work I get rid of it

I have lots of swing tops in different sizes (500ml - 750ml) that ive mostly collected of freecycle/gumtree etc

I will sometimes use 1 clear bottle in every batch to give me an idea of how the beer is clearing.

Not beer related but I also have boxes of bottles (single malts, gins etc) that look nice when filled with different infusions.

 

[Chessy]

I use, exclusively, 500ml clear glass bottles. My favourites are the ones from Morland brewery at Bury St Edmunds; they cap easily, look good and store tidily. Clear glass because I like to see when the sediment is on its way and I've never noticed any deteriation with the brew - despite everyone telling me brown glass is best. I dislike the squat 'Spitfire' type bottles, they just look rubbish.

 

[Motorhomebrew]

Cheers Rob that sounds fantastic! Plan on getting a few more kegs so will want to look after them well.

I'll include a how to on the party star deluxe tap too

 

[Motorhomebrew]

Puerility overwhelmed me when I read that. Jesus... I really need to grow up!

Anyway, I've got my mate's missus keeping me some bottles and a couple of crates from the pub she runs to get me going. Probably going to get some PET ones too as my missus is nervous about exploding bottles and I reckon Rob has convinced me to give mini kegs a go asap .

You'd be silly not too mini keg. I think from now on what ever I write im going to signature each comment and thread with Mini Keg. A kind of subliminal message.

Mini Keg!

 

[Notlaw]

You'd be silly not too mini keg. I think from now on what ever I write im going to signature each comment and thread with Mini Keg. A kind of subliminal message.

Mini Keg!

Here's a signature gif for you

 

[Motorhomebrew]

Here's a signature gif for you

Lmao that's great. If I may add a little suggestion. You should turn my head into a mini keg