Life expectancy in beer bottle?

[Elmer]

I am going to bottle some cider and later in the year skeeter pee in beer bottles.
I know I can keep Skeeter pee up to a years in corked wine bottles before it starts to diminish.
But how long do I have in a beer bottle, with a sealed bottle cap?
A month of a few?
A year?



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[barbiek]

I would imagine it would be the equivalent just make sure you buy the beer bottles that need capped cuz you cant get a good seal with twist off cap bottles. Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Arne]

LOL, Elmer,
Don't know for sure how long they will last, but have found a bottle or two that has been capped for a couple of years. It is surprisingly good, just usually doesn't last that long around here. Arne.

 

[Tenbears]

A bottle is a bottle is a bottle, It's in the cap. Corks allow a little bit of air in during aging. That is why some wines are bottled with synthetic corks. They provide an oxygen barrier. Some wines are aged with first quality corks, then at some point the corks are changer to synthetic for prolonged storage. so The answer would be as complex as the wine one is making. However They do make Oxygen absorbing caps, and Oxygen barrier caps that can be used as corks are. For meads I always use Oxygen barrier. But some wines require some oxidation to complete the ageing process

 

[barbiek]

A bottle is a bottle is a bottle, It's in the cap.

Tenbears are you saying that you can safely cap a screw top bottle?

 

[sour_grapes]

A bottle is a bottle is a bottle, It's in the cap.

Tenbears are you saying that you can safely cap a screw top bottle?

I am not tenbears, but I think I can safely say that no, he was not saying anything of the kind. He was saying that the aging potential of a bottle+closure system has nothing to do with the kind of bottle, but is strictly determined by the closure.

 

[barbiek]

I am not tenbears, but I think I can safely say that no, he was not saying anything of the kind. He was saying that the aging potential of a bottle+closure system has nothing to do with the kind of bottle, but is strictly determined by the closure.

just to clear this up, is it possible to use screw top bottles or must you buy the pop top bottles? Thank you so much Paul
barbie

 

[grapeman]

Well I am not sour_grapes or Tenbears, but no screw top bottles are not what is being talked about. Crown caps require a crown cap bottle. You can either buy a case or two of them or drink a beer that uses the crown caps and use them.

 

[Arne]

just to clear this up, is it possible to use screw top bottles or must you buy the pop top bottles? Thank you so much Paul
barbie

You can use the screw top bottles, but I wouldn't cork them. The glass is thinner on their openings and we worry about them breaking when you cork or uncork them. With corks, use regular wine bottles, with beer bottles, use caps, with screw tops use screw tops. I think you can buy replacement screw caps or clean the original one and reuse. Don't believe you should use the screw top for long term storage, tho. Arne.

 

[barbiek]

Thanks arne for clearing that up for I have read in one of the beer forums (don't know which one) not to use screw top bottles for pop caps. I'll do a search and see if I can find it...

 

[Floandgary]

To be clear some more,, you cannot put a crown type cap on to a bottle which originally had a screw type cap. And vice-versa. The bottles are molded specifically for the particular type of cap to get the best seal AND in general are not made with corking in mind (the thinness being the problem)

 

[Elmer]

Just to be extra clear, some more, for clarity sake!......

I will not be corking a beer bottle!
I only tend to drink beer that have crown caps.
I have been saving all my Sam Adam/Long trail IPA bottles (beer bottles are so much more of a pain to delabel).

I intend to buy some crown caps for $5 per 100 and a $20 capper and atleast capping a dozen to see how the cider goes in the beer bottle.
Iam going to consider it portion control.
In the spring I will try it with SP!
Thanks for all the info!

 

[Tenbears]

Basically you can use any bottle you like, However you have to use the appropriate cap for the bottle and purpose you choose. As Arne said quality wine should not be stored in screw top bottles for long periods, (Over 2 years) and definitely should be aged before bottling. I do however store mead In screw top bottles with new oxygen barrier caps for long term and have never had a problem. My buddy Places all his wine in recycled arbor mist bottles, with the original sanitized cap. However he drinks most all he makes within 1 year of bottling. It works for him.

 

[Elmer]

My intention was never to age long term.
Just the opposite, they would probably be drank quickly.
I am also not storing "good" or "fine" wine, I would most likely be bottling my cider or Skeeter Pee in beer bottles.

My thought was when drinking SP by the pool, I am cracking open an entire wine bottle.
If I dont drink the entire bottle, I tend to drink it the next day or there after for fear of oxidation.

However for the cost ($5 for 100 caps, $20 for a capper and my seemingly unlimited supply of beer bottles) I could bottle in beer bottles.
This would enable me to drink 12 oz and not have to worry about what is left over.
I could also bring SP on the golf course, since it is easier to stash a few 12 oz bottle in a golf bag opposed to a wine bottle!

 

[maurtis]

Yup, I do not see why you would have any issue using crown cap beer bottles, go for it! If they can hold pressurized beer they can hold wine/pee. And I would not hesitate to use them for storage for a year or more in a cool, dark place.

Regarding label removal, I just delabeled 100 bottles yesterday (and another 150 to go since I will be bottling 5 batches next week). I fill an ice chest with water and a scoop of oxyclean and soak the bottles for an hour or so. The longer the better, of course.

Sam Adams labels peel off with ease, Goose Island and Great Divide labels just fall off on their own in the water. Southern Tier still takes some scrubbing, I swear their labels are molecularly bonded to the bottle...

After removing the labels there will likely be some glue residue, so put the bottles back in the water/oxyclean solution for a few more minutes, then a quick wipe with a non-scratching scrubber or sponge and should be clean and ready for sanitizing.

 

[GreginND]

Crown caps are an excellent closure and will last even longer than a cork.

 

[knifemaker]

All of my Dragons Blood, and Skeeter Pee gets bottled in crown cap beer bottles. 25 fit nicely in a milk crate, and those stack well so storage is a breeze. I'm with Arne, I haven't been able to keep any around to age more than a couple of months, and I make at least 15 gallons a month, of course I seem to have more than a couple of helpers drinking it! Dale.

 

[Geronimo]

The pressure in a beer bottle helps keep the seal of the cap. Having said that, I can't see why the wine wouldn't last for many years.

With this question in mind, you really need to wonder why they don't make 750 ml bottles with a mouth made for capping. Cheap, dependable, easy to open, stores upright... and they have O2 barrier caps (I used to use them on barley wine). In fact, I have a few bottles of barley wine that are over 10 years old now.

 

[marino]

All of my Dragons Blood, and Skeeter Pee gets bottled in crown cap beer bottles. 25 fit nicely in a milk crate, and those stack well so storage is a breeze. I'm with Arne, I haven't been able to keep any around to age more than a couple of months, and I make at least 15 gallons a month, of course I seem to have more than a couple of helpers drinking it! Dale.

15gallons a month?

 

[sour_grapes]

The pressure in a beer bottle helps keep the seal of the cap. Having said that, I can't see why the wine wouldn't last for many years.

With this question in mind, you really need to wonder why they don't make 750 ml bottles with a mouth made for capping. Cheap, dependable, easy to open, stores upright... and they have O2 barrier caps (I used to use them on barley wine). In fact, I have a few bottles of barley wine that are over 10 years old now.

I believe champagne bottles take beer caps. JohnT has posted recently about the difference between North American and European champagne bottles. I think he said that domestic champagne bottles take domestic beer caps.