You are here:

Beer/Homebrewing follow up Q

Advertisement

Expert: - 2/6/2007


Question
I've started to save my extra bottles...however most of them 'real' bottle caps and not the twistie.  Eventually I will purchase a bottle 'capper', but for now would a cork be sufficent?    And would wine bottles work?
 Thanks
 Adam  

Answer
Most beer bottles are not designed for corks, and corks are MUCH more expensive than caps anyway. A 5 gallon batch requires 54 closures if you are using 12oz bottles. The cost of 54 corks and a cheap corker is more than the cost of an inexpensive hand capper and 54 caps.

capper+54 caps  $14.50
corker+54 corks $19.55

Wine bottles would work fine, but again, corks are expensive.

Beer

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Chris Bushman

Expertise

I've been homebrewing beer and mead for about 15 years. I've made beer trips to the Netherlands, the UK, France, Germany, and Belgium.

Experience

I've brewed a couple of hundred all-grain beers and a few dozen meads. I'm a member of the Maltose Falcon's Homebrew Society, the oldest homebrew club in the US. I've attended the Homebrewers Fantasy Camp at American Brewers Guild. In real life I am Optical Effects Supervisor and Laboratory Supervisor for a large movie visual effects house in Hollywood. I've been a fireman, a teacher of English in Okinawa, a personal computer tutor. Other hobbies include orchid culture, koi keeping, photography, sausage making, pickling, and ham radio.

BS Zoology, UC Davis

Member, Society of Motion Picture/Television Engineers http://www.smpte.org/ - Member, American Radio Relay League http://www.arrl.org/ - Member, Quarter Century Wireless Assn. http://www.lockport-ny.com/radio.htm - President, Zen Nippon Airinkai, So Cal Chapter http://home.earthlink.net/~filmlabrat/ - Member, Maltose Falcons Homebrewing Society http://www.westval.com/mfalcons/ - Alumni, American Brewers' Guild http://www.abgbrew.com/

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.