Where to buy empty bottles

GelertTheConstant

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Hi
Just wondering if anyone knows of some good places to buy empty beer bottles?
Thanks
 
Most of us buy craft beer and use the bottles it comes in. You can get new bottles at almost any homebrew shop if you prefer, Other sources are bars and recycling centers. Just be sure not to get any twist tops.
 
Most of us buy craft beer and use the bottles it comes in. You can get new bottles at almost any homebrew shop if you prefer, Other sources are bars and recycling centers. Just be sure not to get any twist tops.
Craigslist and local yard sales or sites too.
 
Where are you located? I have a few cases i'd like to give away, northern Illinois, near 6 flags
 
Just buy a case of Sam Adams and save the bottles. Any beer with regular caps will work. Just don't but twist off bottles.
 
They're available mail-order online as well from many vendors. Another option: Find a restaurant that serves bottled beer and ask them if you can have their empties. You can soak them in bleach solution to clean, then the labels will mostly slide right off. A bit of polish with steel wool (use stainless scrubbies) and you have clean bottles ready to use. But beware of twist-offs....
 
All kinds of options on Amazon too if you are looking to purchase and don't have a local home brew shop. The nice thing about buying them is the boxes they come in.
 
In the past I have used the PET bottles. Basically plastic beer bottles. These have been very easy to clean, lids are screw on, and the come in 500 ml, 750 ml, and 1L sizes. These also have the advantage of not creating shards if you drop one. A secondary advantage is that you can tell when carbonation is complete. The bottle sides are soft when you bottle, but become rock hard when carbonation is done (like a plastic Coca Cola bottle). They're a little more expensive than glass, but I have found them easier to use.
 
I just threw away about 500 bottles, just save the beer bottles you buy and only buy pop off and your set
 
A soak in a warm Oxyclean solution will also make most labels slide off, as a bonus it will also help to dislodge any dried on gunk in the bottles. I have had good luck finding bottles on Kijiji/Craigslist, last year I got 130 clean and delabeled Grolsch bottles for $15.
 
Be sure that your bottle capper works with the bottles. My most recent batch, I split between 6 Sierra Nevada bottles, and 6 Lagunitas bottles. Well, when it came time to crimp the caps, as usual the Sierra Nevada bottles worked flawlessly. On the other hand, none of the Lagunitas bottles allowed the bottle capper to crimp. Good thing I had more Sierra Nevada bottles on hand. Those Lagunitas bottles went straight into my recycling trash. Lesson learned.
 
I'm one of those drinkers, cheers to all the hard workers

Hoisted high OMB! Cheers.... but drinking beer is one of those occupations that you always hear about ...what do they say? Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life! I WANT THAT JOB!
 
Hoisted high OMB! Cheers.... but drinking beer is one of those occupations that you always hear about ...what do they say? Find a job you love and you'll never work a day in your life! I WANT THAT JOB!
I'm sure even the best occupations must eventually become a chore.
Imagine running a brewery for instance or being head brewer it might sound awesome begin with but eventually you'll be complaining about having to brew so much!
 
Try local breweries or pubs? If they're not serving from the tap, it's coming from the glass. Since they probably recycle, they'd be throwing out the bottles anyways. Just ask them if they wouldn't mind keeping a few of the glasses with the label on the bottle.
 

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