2 Litre Plastic Pop Bottles?
I've used the 2-liter bottles a number of different ways. For brewing, there is a product called Oztops that is essentially a fast acting yeast and a set of pressure caps designed to fit the 2-liter bottles. I brew wine coolers in the bottles, and serve directly from them. The pressure caps relieve the pressure of fermentation, and I wind up with carbonation to boot.
You can also bottle beer in the 2-liters. There is another product called the Carbonator Fill Cap, which is essentially a fitting that screws onto your 2-liter bottle and allows you to carbonate from a CO2 tank.
While plpastics as a rule do breathe, and do allow for oxidation, the PET material that pop bottles are made of is similar to the new plastic carboys on the market. Oxidation is slower, and they are cheap. The main issue is sterilization. Since plastic scratches easier than glass, bacteria can hide from your sanitizer in the scratches. Check the bottles often for scratches and nicks, and let them soak overnight to ensure your best chance at sanitization. And ALWAYS use some sort of airlock. PET bottles can explode under pressure.
Chris
Hay Mon;
Never tried it cut wondered myself if the PET bottles could handle the carbonation??? It would seem so, since the big brewers, ie AB, and Coors, and others are now selling plastic bottle beer. AND, the sode that came in them to start with was also carbonated, thou I don't have a clue just what the atmospheres of CO2 are/were in the bottle when opened....
Give it a go, and let us know how it works.... That's what's great about brewing... always sometin to check up on....
Happy brewin to all and to all a good light!!!
I have used 2 liter, 1 liter, and 20 ounce plastic bottles in the past without any problems. I usually wash them with bleach, and do not scrub, and use the plastic top to screw back on. I have not had any problems, but after awhile, I got enough glass bottles, and 5 liter kegs, that I did not bother with it. I only used them for bottling, not fermenting beer.
There are some soda recipes that have you actually use the 2 liter bottle to ferment the soda in. I have done that before and it worked well.
I would advise not to use empties that had rootbeer in them. We discovered in our home brew meeting that traces of rootbeer flavor get left behind. That goes for your tap lines too.
As for the Carbonator - I have used it often to force carbonate a 2 liter bottle of beer to bring to a home brew meeting. 30 to 35 PSI overnight usually does the trick as long as you shake it until the bottle stays firm. It is a good idea to add more CO2 every few hours too if you are force carbonating as it will absorb.
Personally, I think it would be tough to get the soda smell out of them, it sticks around in the plastic.
I've used the carbonator on 2 liter bottles without any issues. More often though I use 3 liter bottles with the Tap-A-Draft system, basically a system that turns 3 liter or 6 liter bottles into a small kegging system, except the smaller bottles fit in a regular fridge (that is still being used for food...). When I bottle beer in 3 liter bottles I naturally carbonate them and it works great. The nice thing about the bottles is they are really cheap. Just go to the megagrocery store, pick some cheap soda on sale and pour it out. For $5 or so you can get six 3 liter bottles.
It's especially great for traveling, camping, taking beer to a party, etc.
DT
Do soda 2 liter bottles work with the Tap=A-Draft system? When I had one I thought you had to buy those blue bottles that were 3 liters.
cmanley542 wrote:
Do soda 2 liter bottles work with the Tap=A-Draft system? When I had one I thought you had to buy those blue bottles that were 3 liters.
The blue bottles are 6 liters and I think they run around $5 each. But the neck/thread is the same size as a 3 liter soda bottle, which usually costs less than a buck. The 2 liter soda bottles are just a little too small, but they work with the carbonator tops.
DT
I thought the standard plastic soda bottles from the grocery store WERE 2 liters, is there a 3 liter bottle?
cmanley542 wrote:
I thought the standard plastic soda bottles from the grocery store WERE 2 liters, is there a 3 liter bottle?
Yea, but this is America...home of the obese. 2 liter bottles is the standard, but every grocery store I've been in has also sold 3 liter bottles of soda. A lot of the time its the generic stuff.
DT
I think that glass is better.
I once bottled cider in plastic bottles, and, although it tasted ok, it had a funny smell. We didn't find this effect when we used glass bottles.
Plastic can give a funny smell, but also creates a lot less shrapnel. The point of the thread is finding an alternative to bottling 50 bottles for every batch.
jamebow wrote:
also, it would be ghetto as hell.
Hey, I like my ghetto beer. HAHA!
Seriously though, I didnt know that the plastic
bottles don't seal. Good info, thanks.
Where would you buy those little plastic rims that
are in the bottle cap?
I'm sure all the answeres will come to me soon. I was
figuring if you are recycling a bottle that isnt usually
a bottle for beer, then you probably won't be able to buy
spare parts for them. Right?
Hmm, sounds like more work than saving work.
I would really try to stay away from using plastic to bottle your beer. Plastic is very permiable to oxygen and oxygen can be really bad for your beer. Glass (dark not clear) is the best way to go. Clear bottles are O.K. but not ideal. There is a chance for the beer to get light struck and that can cause skunky flavors.
Another thing about using plastic bottles is that I am not sure how well those caps are for keeping your beer completely sealed off. Seems there would be a better chance for mishaps. I know some people have this fear of glass bottles because of the "bottle bombs" problem that some people have. I assure you that if you make sure your beer is fully fermented (use a hydrometer, you'll know if it is) and you use anywhere close to the right amount of priming sugar or DME you won't have to worry about that.
I've heard that dark bottles are better. So why does Corona etc, use clear bottles?
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