Need some capping advice.

[Guest]

Hey guys,

I'm a first timer to homebrew (got my kit a few weeks before christmas) and for the past week i have been brewing the Munich Lager which came with my homebrew kit.

Well for the past few days i've noticed that the airlock has stopped bubbling as frequently. The hydrometer reading comes out as around 1010, so just below the "Bottle" line.
I assume that within the next few days she'll be ready for bottling, and so i've been collecting up all of the post-christmas bottles from the neighbours, and also built up a rather large collection of my own bottles ready for the big event (still yet to wash and sterilise them).

So onto my main question, I have a SuperAutomatica Bench Capper and i was wondering if this specific capper does a decent job on twist top bottles?
I gave it a small test using the crown caps which came with my kit (the bottle had no brew in it), but the seal over the twist top bottle was just nowhere near tight enough to be sufficient in keeping my lovely brew inside.
Are there specific twist top caps i should purchase?

Also, when testing my brew with the hydrometer, i decided to give it a small taste test just to see how it's coming along.
Now although it DID taste like beer, the aftertaste was malty. I'm wondering if this is normal and will possibly dissapear when it comes to the bottling and ageing stage. Or has something gone wrong, and if so, is there a way to save the brew?

Thanks guys.

[Guest]

Relax.

Read the instructions again and again and relax. Basically don't stuff with it.

[Oliver]

Hi,

Your beer sounds like it's coming along fine. As beer ferments and until it has matured, it tastes like beer, but at the same time not, if you get my drift. Unmatured beer is often referred to as "green beer", presumably because it's young and immature.

As for the capper, I've never had trouble with twist-tops. You can get special caps for twist tops though if you're worried.

You can put quite a bit of pressure on the capper without breaking the bottles so that you get a good seal.

Whatever you do, DO NOT hold the bottle or the lower part of the capper when you're capping. If a bottle smashes, you risk terrible injuries. Instead, hold the top of the capper as you pull the lever, so that if the bottle smashes it doesn't get your hand.

Cheers,

Oliver

[Drewus]

Decided i better register, no doubt i'll have more questions as time goes on....

Thanks for the advice Oliver. I actually took my capper out to the garage and bolted it down on the bench to stop it from moving. Gave it another test, this time with alot more pressure (and with my hands clear) and managed to get the cap on nicely.

I was certain the bottle would break, because it required a fair bit of force to get the cap on nicely.
It sure as hell beats using the hand capper though.

[Oliver]

Welcome.

Yep, the Superautomatica surely is a beautiful thing. I know what you mean about the amount of pressure you can put on bottles. They may break if you drop them, but I don't reckon one's ever ended its existence at the end of a Superautomatica

Cheers,

Oliver

[Evo]

The "Superautomatica". Love it !

[Drewus]

Oliver, I just remembered that i have a $100 gift voucher for K-mart, which was given to me as a bonus from work.

Do K-mart sell amber glass bottles in the bulk? If so, this voucher will be VERY handy.

[Drewus]

Well i went down to K-Mart, but they had absolutely nothing!
No homebrew kits, bottles, equipment or even books on the subject. Nada!

But, i then sprouted a brilliant idea. Right next to the shopping centre is a recycling depot where people can just drive in and discard all of their old bottles and paper and what not.
Well, i drove my car around there, threw some blankets in the boot, and completely loaded it up with recycled glass bottles.
Sure, they have been used by other people, but i figured they are going to be washed and sterilised anyway (i'll do it twice for good measure) so why not take the opportunity to load up on a lifetimes worth of free bottlage.

The old couple throwing their Christmas boxes away were looking at me rather oddly as i was scrounging through the bottle bin. But i'm willing to sacrifice my social status for the sake of homebrew!!!

I also stopped off at the local homebrew store and bought some supplies for that #35 Black Rock Cider recipe you have Oliver. And while i was at it, also bought a can of Spicy Ghost and some extra ingredients for another brew later on.

I think i'm addicted.

[Oliver]

Nice work. I think that recycled bottles are the way to go. After all, as long as the bottle holds beer, who cares where it came from?

[BPJ]

I don't have a genuine Superautomatica. I have a simple one that I welded up in the shed. It iworks just as well. I have broken about 3 stubbies in total over maybe 20 batches, ie 1000 stubbies. I used clear COLD stubbies (Easier to see if clean). The ones that have broken the sides have been very very thin, less than 1 mm, and I hadn't line them up too well. When they break they do with a lot of force. I should learn to keep hands clear or wear leather gloves.

As for caps, you can get "duo seals" which are for both types. I just use "Homebrand" from Coles $1.40 per 100, about 1/2 price from HBS. I don't have any dramas, sometimes a flat beer but usually because a grain or two of sugar was under the lid. Shouldn't be a problem as I have just started bulk priming. In the past i have even used cheap misprinted caps that were sold for tomato sauce. they were very hard and needed a bottle opener as they wouldn't twist off. still sealed well altough did wreck some of the threads.