Wychwood Bottles

[Grealish]

I have used these without any problems but have heard they don’t always seal with a regular crown cap. I stopped using them as I had plenty of others but, after an enthusiastic spell of brewing, I’m running low and only have Wychwood bottles left. Has anyone had problems with them?

 

[Oneflewover]

They seal perfectly well in my experience. The 2 handled lever cappers don't work too well on them though. Bench capper, no problem

 

[An Ankoù]

If you've only got a lever capper then crimp the cap on, rotate the bottle 90 degrees and crimp again, repeat.
If you've got an old hammer-on capper, you could ensure the seal by using that to finish off with.

 

[MickDundee]

I’ve never had any issues getting them to Seal with my 2 handled capper.

 

[The Baron]

Hi Grealish I think you have been reading threads that have referred to people trying to use handheld cappers on the Wychwood bottles. I can assure you that Wychwood use standard caps and that they seal just as any normal bottle does. The problem with them is that some handheld cappers can not grip the top of the bottles properly as they are round at the neck (compare with a ordinary bottle and you will see). I had that problem so switched to a bench capper which has capped every bottle I have ever put in front of it. If your handheld capper is sealing them at the moment then all well and good but for long term I would invest in a bench capper which as a rule will outlast a handheld and work out no dearer in the long run if not cheaper as some people do tend to go through handhelds very quickly as they can snap the neck off some bottles as they get worn. So to summarise I would not hesitate to use the Wychwood bottles the only downside I find is that they struggle to fit in a standard modern 500ml beer crate as they are slightly wider

 

[An Ankoù]

I’ve never had any issues getting them to Seal with my 2 handled capper.

Neither have I, as I remember, but I haven't got any left. I used to like Fiddler's Elbow, but haven't seen it around for years. Can't stand Hobgoblin.

 

[Grealish]

Thanks, guys. I have a bench capper so I’ve just got an extra 24 bottles!

 

[The Baron]

Great Grealish as I said some of the bench cappers are ok generally seems to be the older types but newer ones tend to be the ones generally at fault ( they are not really at fault but struggle to grip the rounded top of the Wychwoods). Just go with what you have if it works as some do for some of the other forum members but if you do hit future problems and are doing a lot of bottling consider a bench capper for your replacement.

 

[Sandimas]

They seal perfectly well in my experience. The 2 handled lever cappers don't work too well on them though. Bench capper, no problem

+1

Think I used to hear a crunching sound when using a hand capper with those bottles. Hand cappers produce much more inconsistent results, just get a bench capper - it doesn't need to be fixed to a bench and can be stored away.

 

[Mavroz]

Bench capper seals Ex Hobgoblin Bottles for me perfectly fine. Binned a wing (2 handle capper) as it really struggled with some bottles.
Good luck.

 

[Grealish]

Thanks, guys, I already have a bench capper so all is good.

 

[Headlands]

Think they've changed the bottle shape within the last year to use less glass, so now there's no nobbly bit at the top and my 2-lever hand bottler works fine on these new ones.

 

[Benfleet Brewery]

My 2 lever capper works well on these too.