I capped some twist offs

Northern Brewer General
1

I had a few commercial bottles I could have swore were pry off so I cleaned them and sanitized them for reuse. They were Summit EPA and Fulton’s Lonely Blonde specifically. I didn’t notice the lip was a twist off until I had already begun bottling. I decided to use them anyway. I used a wing capper. They seem to grab on to the edge hold the beer in just fine, I can hold the bottles upside down and there’s no sign of leaking.

There’s mixed reviews on this out there. Most people advise against it because there’s a 10-15% chance of a bad seal.

I was reusing these 12 ozers so I could give them away as gifts and not worry about the cost. Might be some bad gifts. Is there any way I can tell if the seal is good or bad without opening each bottle?

2

Aren’t twist off bottles a bit thinner? Could end up with bottle bombs that you wouldn’t get with pop offs.

3

I used twist offs in the past and never had a flat beer when bottle conditioning. I used a stand capper so IDK if that makes a difference?

You can check the seal by dipping the cap end in a bowl/bucket of water. If you see bubbles you’ve got a bad seal.

4

besides the sealing issue, the big thing you gotta watch out for is breaking, chipping, or cracking the tops. I personally will not take the risks involved with twist offs. I advise you to throw them in the recycling bin once they’re empty.

5

The one’s from Fulton are real thick and nice. Plus they’re still a pretty small brewery so I was shocked to notice the thread on the top of the lip. Sure enough though twisted open my next one.

[quote=“Duxx”]
You can check the seal by dipping the cap end in a bowl/bucket of water. If you see bubbles you’ve got a bad seal.[/quote]

That makes sense.
Don’t know why I didn’t think of that. Duh.
Thanks!

I will do this. Probably won’t make this mistake twice. Unless all of them turn out fine. Then I’ll probably continue. :slight_smile:

6

Unless the Summit bottle is really old it should have been a pry off:

http://www.summitbrewing.com/media-reso ... ottle-caps
7

Duxx, Good idea about putting the caps in water to check. I had a a 6 pack of twist offs sneak into my bottle supply a few months ago and none of them carbonated correctly. I am disappointed that Fulton dosent use pry offs given their homebrewing roots but since they contract brew their bottles they probably don’t have any control over it.

8

I’ve capped a few Bud Light and New Belgium bottles that were twist-offs, and haven’t had a problem with cracking or carbonation. The first couple were tests, and now I have a handful in the rotation. The glass is much thinner right at the top of the bottle so I completely understand the concern about cracking.

IMO the twist-off bottles are the ones that are perfect for gifting - you don’t need or want to get them back!

9

[quote=“AverageJoe”]Unless the Summit bottle is really old it should have been a pry off:

http://www.summitbrewing.com/media-reso ... ottle-caps[/quote]

I had heard this which is why I surprised. Then again, I’m a slow motion recycler so that could have been out in the garage for several months.