# Can I force carbonate THEN bottle?



## RotGut76 (Jun 30, 2014)

I experimented with a batch of DBSP by putting it in my kegerator and force carbonating it. It was very very good!!!

I was going to the beach with some friends and wanted to bring some to give out to a few people. So instead of putting it in growler type bottles I filled a few wine bottles from the tap then just corked them as usual.

I was skeptical at first. I thought maybe the corks would pop out. When I got to the beach everything was fine and they opened perfectly without any issue. No bubbling over or anything.

My question is how long would the bubbles last if I bottled and corked this way?

Would the wine become still over time?


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## djrockinsteve (Jun 30, 2014)

First. Never referment or force carbonate and bottle in anything but champagne bottles with plastic plugs. 

Second. Never exceed the recommended amount of sugar (if secondary refermenting) above safe amounts. These will become bombs. 

Third. Never transport alcohol across state lines without proper license. Jail time and heavy fines can be expected if caught. 

Forth. To answer your question unless their is cork/cap leakage the carbonation will remain in tact. 

Fifth. Consider atmospheric pressures and temperature changes along with shaking can increase the pressure in the bottle and possible burst.


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## JohnT (Jul 1, 2014)

+1 on what DJ said... 

Standard wine bottles were never designed to hold any kind of pressure. I would advise that you do not do this. I am speaking as a man that had a standard champagne bottle explode in my hands once... ouch!

My advise is to get some of those "grolsch" type bottles (beer bottles with a clamp down stopper). These are meant to hold pressure and can be resealed/reused many, many times. This is what I do when I want to make anything that sparkles portable. 

Also, Try to keep your wine as cold as possible when transferring from your kegerator to a bottle. This will help keep the carbonation in tact.


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## Boatboy24 (Jul 1, 2014)

For short term storage (ie bottling a few and taking them to the beach), beer caps should be fine. You can use these on regular beer bottles of course, and I believe they also fit champagne bottles.


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## spaniel (Jul 1, 2014)

We used beer caps for sparkling wine once...on standard champagne bottles...it worked fine and it took us 2-3 years to get through the batch.


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## RotGut76 (Jul 1, 2014)

Thanks for the tips. Ironically I transported the bottles via motorcycle. Luckily there were no bombs.  Anyway, I never thought of using beer caps on champagne bottles. Perhaps I will use this technique instead. It sounds safer.


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## jas3019 (Jul 1, 2014)

Maybe I'm off here and I'm certainly no expert but I thought there was a difference between carbonated and carbonating liquids. There are plenty of breweries that will send you home with a growler and screw cap of carbonated beer. And those bottles aren't meant to handle pressure either. I don't see the difference between that and force carbing wine and storing in a regular wine bottle. That being said, the carbonation would probably dissipate so it wouldn't be a long term solution. Only if you aged in the keg and then bottled at need. 

I certainly don't want to advise anything unsafe and obviously it's better safe than sorry. But it seems like this situation isn't quite so cut and dry. I'd love to hear if I'm missing something tho..so please let me know if this even makes sense. 





Sent from my iPhone using Wine Makin


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## RotGut76 (Jul 1, 2014)

jas3019 said:


> Maybe I'm off here and I'm certainly no expert but I thought there was a difference between carbonated and carbonating liquids. There are plenty of breweries that will send you home with a growler and screw cap of carbonated beer. And those bottles aren't meant to handle pressure either. I don't see the difference between that and force carbing wine and storing in a regular wine bottle. That being said, the carbonation would probably dissipate so it wouldn't be a long term solution. Only if you aged in the keg and then bottled at need.
> 
> I certainly don't want to advise anything unsafe and obviously it's better safe than sorry. But it seems like this situation isn't quite so cut and dry. I'd love to hear if I'm missing something tho..so please let me know if this even makes sense.



I think you are making a good point. Those growlers that are filled at the brew store seem to handle the pressure pretty well. 

Also as a side note. When I opened my pre-carbed bottles they didn't "explode" with the force of say a champagne bottle. They opened just like a beer bottle except it was corked.

I do like the idea of using the champagne bottles though just as an added precaution.


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## chrisjw (Jul 1, 2014)

Just use non-twist beer bottles and cap them. The bottles are meant to be capped.

You can also use the 1 liter soda bottles and force carb them with the Carbonator cap. Should be good for short term use.


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## jojabri (Jul 2, 2014)

The hubby force carbs beer in his Corny Kegs and then uses a homemade beer gun device to put in bottles to take to gatherings or to gift to friends and family. Doing it this easy keeps the O2 level intact and reduces loss of carbonation. There are several good tutorials on how to bottle from keg using a picnic (cheap black plastic tap) on Youtube.

As far as choosing which bottles to use, you have several options. 

1) Plastic champagne corks with wire cages. I have no experience with champagne corks at all.

2) Standard cappable beer bottles (or apparently champagne bottles are cappable, I have no experience with this.)

3) Plastic acre type bottles. Growlers are good, but I always tape the top well just in case when transferring. Even plastic bottles will work if you plan to serve soon. The Mr. Beer kits, and some other low and beer kits provide plastic bottles with plastic screw on tops. If you think about it soda is carbonated... right? Either way, if you use screw tops, use tape to reinforce the lids.

4) EZ Cap/Grolch/Swing Top bottles. They are made to hold the carb in. We use these on many of our wines. They generally cost $3 each, but the bottle can be used many times before the O-Ring needs to be replaced. We have a Big Lots close, and they sell 1 liter swing tops with soda inside for $2 , which makes it pretty affordable considering you also get soda out of the deal. I'm sure many other stores sell them. 

Remember that anything carbonated is always prone to a more violent opening when agitated. I'm sure you've shaken a soda before. You should consider yourself rather lucky that you didn't caue over compression on corks. Being on motorcycle especially because of the heightened motion could have been catastrophic! One popped cork could have meant one spooked biker who could have made a fatal mistake.

Safety first! 

Sorry to be so long winded, but I thought I had some decent insight.


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## RotGut76 (Jul 2, 2014)

jojabri, thanks those are some great points. Thanks for the words on motorcycle safety too. But I have one of those loud bikes with a huge trunk on the back. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if the bottle blew until I opened the trunk. That would have been an unfortunate mess.


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## petey (Jul 2, 2014)

I've tried capping champagne bottles, and couldn't find any that would accept a beer cap.. But beer bottles Do work and since it's 12 oz. it would stay nice and cold during your outing


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## WI_Wino (Jul 2, 2014)

petey said:


> I've tried capping champagne bottles, and couldn't find any that would accept a beer cap.. But beer bottles Do work and since it's 12 oz. it would stay nice and cold during your outing



In my experience, champagne bottles take a 29 mm cap, just slightly bigger than a normal beer bottle cap. The standard wing bottle capper usually has jaws that can be removed and flipped around to bottle the larger caps.

I have also found that some of the breweries are bottling beer in 750 ml bottles that take a standard beer cap (i.e. New Glarus fruit/sour beers).


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## pjd (Jul 2, 2014)

I have also found that some of the breweries are bottling beer in 750 ml bottles that take a standard beer cap (i.e. New Glarus fruit/sour beers).[/QUOTE]

No fair having access to New Glarus brews! I'm down to 2 six packs of my all time favorite beer, Moon Man! Love that stuff!


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## cintipam (Jul 2, 2014)

Jojabri, thanks for mentioning big lots. I just bought a case of 1 liter new for more than the price of soda filled from Big Lots. I have to check that out cause I go there pretty often. What flavor soda has the swing top/

Pam in cinti

pinc


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## RotGut76 (Nov 16, 2014)

jojabri said:


> We have a Big Lots close, and they sell 1 liter swing tops with soda inside for $2 , which makes it pretty affordable considering you also get soda out of the deal. I'm sure many other stores sell them.



Jojabri, I have been to several big lots stores in my area and have been unable to locate the soda bottles you speak of. This area (NYC/Metro) rarely has this type of stuff. When I lived in Virginia it seemed that certain things like this were more readily available. Can you tell me the brand name? Maybe I can find it somewhere else.


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## cintipam (Nov 17, 2014)

Rotgut76, Hubby and I drove to and from tenn back in aug and stopped at many many biglots along the way, including every one in KY we could find (jojabri lives midky). We didn't find any of the sodas. However I found that Grolsch beer comes in these, and if you check craigslist folks often sell these empty. I've seen many at 50 cents each but also have seen many offered for sale at $1.50 or so. I doubt the pricey ones ever sell as it's almost the cost of buying one with beer in it.

Hope this helps.

Pam in cinti


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## jojabri (Nov 20, 2014)

RotGut76 said:


> Jojabri, I have been to several big lots stores in my area and have been unable to locate the soda bottles you speak of. This area (NYC/Metro) rarely has this type of stuff. When I lived in Virginia it seemed that certain things like this were more readily available. Can you tell me the brand name? Maybe I can find it somewhere else.



These


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## JohnT (Nov 21, 2014)

For what it is worth... 

Most all champagne bottles accept a beer cap, but there are two sizes of beer caps. 

Imported champagnes typically use the European standard size beer cap where the diameter of the bottle's lip is slightly larger and a lot thicker. If you try to cap one of these bottles with a cap purchased in the USA, the bottle's lip will be crushed into dust. 

Just check it out. Compare the lip of a bottle of Korbel to that of a bottle of Moet and you will see what I mean.

I have found that if I stick to domestic champagne (which is the same size as domestic beer bottles) I have no problems at all with capping using any of the caps and cappers available here.


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