Swing top bottles

[stephen1546]

Have had a few misses using my beer capper, the wing capper. The odd bottle has not carbonated properly due to caps being crooked etc. Anyhow, bought a dozen Grolsch that have a swing top cap, rubber seal looks decent, My local homebrew shop have these bottles for 2 quid each however i prefer to have bought bottles with beer in them. Are the Grolsch bottles decent for my homebrew and do they last a decent amount of time after repeated use. They were 50p cheaper than buying empty swing tops so i thought what the hell..

 

[Leon103]

I was given over 70 grolsch bottles and they serve me well.

 

[Cwrw666]

My mrs. worked in a pub in the late 80s and brought me home crates of them. Still using them though I have had to replace a few seals recently.

 

[Mungri]

I’ve used my Grolsch bottles 8-10 times each and never had any problems .

 

[stephen1546]

Thanks for the feedback, will buy some more¬¬

 

[DavidDetroit]

Mine have been used for over twenty years. Of course, the rubber seals have to be replaced as needed. I have not had to change out any of the hardware (stoppers/metal swing parts). I was given 200+ so I never had the chance to use a capper.
I have also found no noticeable difference between the stoppers that are plastic and the ceramic ones.
A bonus of the swing top method is being able to hold the bottling wand with one hand and then immediately lock the bottle closed with the other.

 

[raymondo]

My oldest swing top bottles - Newquay Steam Beer - so must be at least 20 years old. All work fine, just replace seals when needed.
Raymondo

 

[stephen1546]

Mine have been used for over twenty years. Of course, the rubber seals have to be replaced as needed. I have not had to change out any of the hardware (stoppers/metal swing parts). I was given 200+ so I never had the chance to use a capper.
I have also found no noticeable difference between the stoppers that are plastic and the ceramic ones.
A bonus of the swing top method is being able to hold the bottling wand with one hand and then immediately lock the bottle closed with the other.

Swing tops seems to be the way forward..

 

[VW911]

If they're the green ones, keep them out of the light (both natural and artificial) as this can affect the beer...

 

[Ghillie]

I would opt for a bench capper over swing-tops any day. I did a local beer swap recently and put the received swing top bottles in the back of my van. When I got home the bag had tipped over, not violently like. And one of the beers had already began to leak.

If that had happened with a properly capped bottle (wing type or bench capper). It would have been fine.

Horses for courses, but that's my preference.

 

[An Ankoù]

I've used a wing capper for as long as I can remember, in fact I've worn out two and thrown them away. Before that, in the Dark Ages, I used the kind that you had to hit with a hammer. In all that time I have only had one (a 29 mm diameter one) that didn't seal properly. If you prime your bottle with sugar, wipe all the sugar off the opening as a grain might stop the seal forming properly. I also apply the tool twice, the second time after rotating the bottle through 90 degrees. Not all bottles are equal! Sometimes you can still twist the lid after it has been applied.
I'd happily pay £2 for the old 1.5 litre Grolsch bottles as I've only got a dozen of them, but as for the 44 cl ones, it seems a bit pricey.

 

[GerritT]

Not using anything else, but not the grolsch branded, but proper brown bottles with swing tops. Green bottles are not as good.

 

[phildo79]

Grolsch bottles are great. Really chunky, solid glass and it cuts down on bottling time. You may find the odd bottle is flat. This has happened to me a few times. Could never quite work it out as I always batch prime. I would pour in a 1/2 tsp of sugar, shake it up and put it to the back of the pile. By the time I got to it again, it would be just fine. Bit of a head scratcher but then someone here said that it might have been a tiny piece of debris on the seal. Makes sense.

 

[stephen1546]

If they're the green ones, keep them out of the light (both natural and artificial) as this can affect the beer...

Yeah, green. Will keep them under the stairs in the dark

 

[stephen1546]

Grolsch bottles are great. Really chunky, solid glass and it cuts down on bottling time. You may find the odd bottle is flat. This has happened to me a few times. Could never quite work it out as I always batch prime. I would pour in a 1/2 tsp of sugar, shake it up and put it to the back of the pile. By the time I got to it again, it would be just fine. Bit of a head scratcher but then someone here said that it might have been a tiny piece of debris on the seal. Makes sense.

I should have put sugar in the flat ones instead of pouring down the sink. Will do that in future

 

[stephen1546]

Mine have been used for over twenty years. Of course, the rubber seals have to be replaced as needed. I have not had to change out any of the hardware (stoppers/metal swing parts). I was given 200+ so I never had the chance to use a capper.
I have also found no noticeable difference between the stoppers that are plastic and the ceramic ones.
A bonus of the swing top method is being able to hold the bottling wand with one hand and then immediately lock the bottle closed with the other.

A capper for 38 bottles takes too long!!

 

[MagnusTS]

I bottled using swing tops for the first time a few weeks ago.
I was amazed at the difference it made to bottling time.
I think I'm going to phase out my capper and just use swing tops.

 

[skulltat280]

It must just be me but I can't see how swing tops can cut so much time off bottling

It takes 2 seconds to put a cap on, I'm guessing the same for swing tops?

 

[dan125]

I have 2 or 3 dozen swing tops that anyone in or around Medway is welcome to if they want to pick them up.
Pretty much all 500ml brown types, many with original labels on. I don't use them anymore as they are too tall for the shelf in my keezer.

 

[Leon103]

It must just be me but I can't see how swing tops can cut so much time off bottling

It takes 2 seconds to put a cap on, I'm guessing the same for swing tops?

You must have a super capper to do It in 2 seconds. It takes that long to put a cap in my bench capper.

I put my bottle a in a bottle crate. With swing tops I am closing the gap whilst filling the next bottle.