I’m new to home brewing and am currently enjoying my first batch, an Irish Red Ale. Anyhow, I was primarily a Sam Adams drinker so I held onto a lot of those bottles when I decided to start home brewing. I also have quite a few from local micro-breweries in the Hampton Roads area. Anyhow, I have noticed that so far every Sam Adams bottle I’ve opened has been fairly flat. While it does have some carbonation in it, it doesn’t have enough to provide any head to speak of. The other non-Sam Adams bottles I’ve used on the other hand are well carbonated and provide a fair amount of head on them.
Has anyone else had problems with Sam Adams bottles not sealing properly? I looked at the bottles and the lip seems perhaps to be a bit thinner on the Sam Adams bottles than on my other bottles. I had a few in me by this point, so maybe my eyesight isn’t the best right now.
My next batch (Saison de Noel) should be ready to bottle in about 3 weeks. Right now I’m planning on avoiding the Sam Adams bottles and just go with some new store bought ones to be on the safe side.
I’ve been using Sam Adams bottles (as well as many others) for 13 years with no problems. i quit having sealing problems when I switched from a wing capper to a bench capper. but many other folks have been using wing cappers longer than I’ve been brewing with no problems. it’s a conundrum, to be sure.
How long did you let it carb and how much priming sugar did you use? The only problems with bottles ive ever had a from Abita brewing in Abita Springs, LA the tops snap off while opening.
A very large proportion of my bottle supplies are Sam Adams. I’ve been using them for years and many batches with a red baron capper without a problem.
I use the Red Baron bottle capper. Perhaps it’s operator error on my part. I opened a few bottles that were not Sam Adams bottles and could help but notice they carbonated much better. They have been in the bottles for 2 weeks when I opened the first ones. It’s been three weeks now. I left them in my fermatation chamber (aka fridge with two-stage thermostat and a heater) with the temp set at 65 degree F for a week before putting them in the garage (temps have been up and down here in Virginia lately).
I recant my initial post. Just popped a Sam Adams bottle that was fine. I’m guessing I didn’t mix in the priming sugar into the bottling bucket well enough or something. Just seems now that it is hit and miss with some bottles being carbonated well and some being practically flat.
Same here. Culprit is most likely the capper, or the technique. Sam Adams bottles are a little thinner than some highly carbed european styles (I like belgian bottles the best, both for looks and strength). But they’re fairly standard compared to most other american bottles. They probably make up most of my bottle collection.
Never had a problem with the Sam Adams bottles sealing with recapping, BUT I find the labels a bit harder to remove than those from Ipswich Ale Brewery (and that annoying extra label around the bottle neck doesn’t help either). Furthermore, the raised insignia on the Sam Adams bottles disqualifies them from use in most beer competitions (except, of course, those run by Sam Adams). Don’t get me wrong- I love their beers-just wish the bottles were more “homebrewer friendly”.
My bottles are mostly Sierra Nevada and Deschutes. I like their beers, the labels come off super easy, and they have proven sturdy with multiple reuses.
The simple thing to do is keep some blank ones on hand for the compitions I do. And I,ve not had to much trouble with the labels. A hot soak In PBW or the poormans version of it will do. A light scrubbie for residual glue and all good
I’ve used SA bottles a lot, and the labels have always come off well for me. They’ve sealed fine too. I cap with my bench capper, then give every bottle a once-over with the Red Barron.
