# How to reuse twist off beer bottles ?



## Twintrades (Mar 4, 2012)

Well around here I just can't find any place that has the reg pop off tops. I'm not working so buying bottles to use is outta the question. The local bars don't care if I dig through there bottles. So couple questions.

To use a twist off bottle all I have to do would be to get some plain caps. And a capper I'll borrow. Nothing else right ?? The capper will cap it and the bottles design will allow he cap to twist off ?

Second what would be the best namebrand to use ? Do any have thicker necks an others ? Or are thy all pretty universal ?

If you can't tell I'm brandspanking new to all this ! Feel free to talk in imple terms lol. Also these bottles will be for alfpinwien and skeeter pee.


----------



## Brian (Mar 4, 2012)

I could be wrong but I don't think the reg bottle caps will work on twist off bottles if that is what you are thinking. I bottle my Skeeter in beer bottles and there are lots of long neck bottles that are reg cap type. I can't think of the brands right now but they are out there..


----------



## cpfan (Mar 4, 2012)

The regular bottle caps that I have been getting for the last dozen years here in Canada work fine on the Canadian twist off bottles. I'm sure that they will work fine on American twist off bottles. I have been using a bench capper, and find capping a twist off needs just a little more oomph than a crown cap bottle.

Note Canadian twist off are reusable and are made of thicker glass than many of the US twist offs. You can feel the weight difference.

Steve


----------



## Lurker (Mar 7, 2012)

I have used regular caps with twist off. Not a problem, but I do prefer to use non twist off. I only have a hand capper.

Richard L.


----------



## Twintrades (Mar 7, 2012)

Well im going to dig threw some barrels at a local bar. They have a ton of diff bottles. Im going to try and find pop top's. But almost everyone is going to twist off's now.

Oh well ill find out i guess. Im glad reg caps will work on a twist off.


----------



## TJsBasement (Mar 7, 2012)

I just tested a twist off "Crush" bottle and the cap seamed to seal, I tested it by heating a empty bottle then cap it, then cool it and when I removed the cap I could hear it sick in air. Funny I can get that crush cheaper at wally then I pay for empty bottles at the brew store. 

I'm planning bottling my first batch of skeeter pee too.

I just tried it with a fresh can of sprite, poured it in the twist off bottle slow then capped it , shook the crap out of it and it had pressure after a few minutes of sitting


----------



## Twintrades (Mar 7, 2012)

Well i probably wont be using the original caps. Ill be re seating them. Good thing about what i doing is that i dont think ill carb anything....... Well mabey ill do a 1 or 2 gallon batch and try carbing it. If i like it that way then ill do a 5 gall batch. If not it was only 2 gallons and you can always stir away the carbonation !


----------



## phat (Mar 7, 2012)

While I prefer the old school pop offs, definately, with a bench capper there's no problem seating regular caps on twist off bottles - I've never had much of an issue with this. Twist off bottles work fine, other than the fact that at least with my monster chiller horror capper, they won't twist off to open, you need to use an opener on them (or shred your hands) 

I used to make a lot more beer than I do now - while I like decent kit wine, I find I can make better wine from good kits than I can beer. I *love* good full grain beer, out of a keg, but haven't been able to justify getting everything I need to do that right. So I just make wine. 

I kind of left both hobbies for a while after a basement flood, and figuring I wouldn't make bottled kit beer any more (and not counting on skeeter pee) recently divested myself of 20 dozen old style canadian stubby bottles  so I am at somewhat of a dearth of good bottles for skeeter pee.. I'll probably be using wine bottles for some of it, and some twisties (and a few of the stubbies I have left)

(those of you who know what those bottles are can chastize me appropriately.. I'm kicking myself)


----------



## TJsBasement (Mar 7, 2012)

phat said:


> Twist off bottles work fine, other than the fact that at least with my monster chiller horror capper...



Where would I find one of these, I have a cheap orange bench ones that looks like I'm half a pull away from blow the whole thing out. Today was my first time using it and I need something better. Im starting off with it for SP but I can see it getting used more then that.


----------



## phat (Mar 7, 2012)

TJsBasement said:


> Where would I find one of these, I have a cheap orange bench ones that looks like I'm half a pull away from blow the whole thing out. Today was my first time using it and I need something better. Im starting off with it for SP but I can see it getting used more then that.




I've had mine for quite a while, don't remember where exactly I picked it up. It is a "Colonna Bench Capper" - looks like this:







There are other kinds you can actually bench mount. I originally bought it I recall because I hated hand cappers and this one would also cork.. It kind of sucks as a corker (a real floor corker works better) but this works very well as a bottle capper.. Most home brew stores carry them, or something like them, if they have beer stuff. I've had friends with the real bench mounted cappers (who do a lot more beer) and they also worked very well on twistoffs. but the above beast works for me.


----------



## SarahRides (Mar 8, 2012)

I tried to cap the twist off's and several of them broke at the neck while trying to cap..........I have sooooo many beer bottles at this point, I don't bother with them.


----------



## Brew and Wine Supply (Mar 9, 2012)

Twintrades said:


> Well im going to dig threw some barrels at a local bar. They have a ton of diff bottles. Im going to try and find pop top's. But almost everyone is going to twist off's now.
> 
> Oh well ill find out i guess. Im glad reg caps will work on a twist off.



Look for Sam Adams and micro brew type beers, AB and Miller use twist off's.


----------

