Wanted- Beer Bottles!

[baldwinpaul]

Hi all, Im just starting out with Homebrew and can't quite bring myself to brew in plastic bottles - Does anyone have any stubbie size bottles they would like to donate? I'm in Melbourne.

 

[mxd]

Hi all, Im just starting out with Homebrew and can't quite bring myself to brew in plastic bottles - Does anyone have any stubbie size bottles they would like to donate? I'm in Melbourne.

look on ebay, some restaurant is selling em for $10 for 100 VB or crownies.

 

[warra48]

This may sound a bit low rent, but I collected all the bottles I needed from the bins around my golf club. Surely the bins at restaurants or clubs must be a source.

The bottles were soaked in water overnight to loosen the labels, then emptied and hit with some brewing detergent and given a good internal scrub with bottle brushes.
They were then rinsed and drained, and hit with a no rinse sanitiser before bottling.

I have more than enough stubbies for my needs. I only collect further longnecks now, although I'm close to my full requirement.

There's nothing wrong with PET bottles as such. They work well, and are easy to use, particularly as you don't need a crown capper for them. I still use one PET bottle for most of my batches to check carbonation levels after bottling.

 

[WarmBeer]

Hi all, Im just starting out with Homebrew and can't quite bring myself to brew in plastic bottles - Does anyone have any stubbie size bottles they would like to donate? I'm in Melbourne.

Don't fear the PET.

It's worth brewing your first batch into PET's for a number of reasons:
- No waiting around. Just go down to your local Coles or Big W, and buy em off the shelf. Reasonably priced
- No worrying about bottle bombs. Especially if you're just starting, it will take a couple of brews to get to understand the process of letting your beer fully ferment out before bottling. PET will not shatter and embed glass in your eyeball if they get under too much pressure
- No need to buy a capper. The only capper worth using is a bench capper (Super-Automatica) but these are in excess of $50
- If you get involved in case swaps later down the line, it's easier to transport PET. Plus it's a standard size.

Welcome to the hobby, it's great fun.

Don't sweat the small stuff, and start brewing rather than worrying about bottling into plastic. You're going to want to pour your fantastic beer into a drinking glass anyway so you get the full impact of beer having real aroma!

 

[bum]

Yep, nothing to fear in using PET. WarmBeer's point about them being a better starting point is a good one. If you really want to use glass only then set up for that later once you've got your process down.

I use both and would only consider not using PET if I was putting down a big beer that needed a really long time to condition (one year or more). If you're going to drink the lot as soon as it is ready then I would not think twice about using PET.

And bottling exclusively in stubbies is a nightmare.

 

[manticle]

Hi all, Im just starting out with Homebrew and can't quite bring myself to brew in plastic bottles - Does anyone have any stubbie size bottles they would like to donate? I'm in Melbourne.

If you want some 500 mL sized european bottles, I have a **** ton that I rarely seem to use. Could easily give you between 20 and 50 if you want to pick up. I'm in Brunswick West. Let me know here or via PM for details.

- No need to buy a capper. The only capper worth using is a bench capper (Super-Automatica) but these are in excess of $50
-

Cellar plus in North Melbourne have them for under 50 (closer to 40)

 

[baldwinpaul]

Thanks all, I'm not really against PET bottles, apart from the fact that they are a tad big for my liking. I tend to drink most of my beer one at a time and a stubbie is about the right size. I have already bottled and enjoyed my first brew and was pretty happy with the result. Thanks for your advice. I might go for my next brew in PET and see what happens. I will probably end up drinking more beer, but hey, one of the perks of home brew hey!