# Homebrewers! Can I do this? Have you? Good or Bad Idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 5, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184 "2003-08-05T19:35:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/1 "2003-08-05T19:35:52Z")
I’m planning a road trip in late Sept. and there is MUCH partying to be done when we reach the destination. I sure would like ferkins of homemade ale available when I get there. I currently use 1L EZ-Caps to bottle my stuff. I don’t want to schlep bottles back and forth while on the road. A buddy says he used to bottle in 2L plastic soda bottles with no trouble. Is this the straight dope? Have any of you done it? My main concern is with leaking. Keep in mind these will be in a camper and jostling around some, I imagine. I would hate to open the storage locker to find a beery mess (not to mention wasting beer!:eek:) Will these bottles re-seal sufficiently to handle the carbonation? Your esteemed opinions, please! In advance, thank you for your time and trouble. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/2 "2003-08-05T19:40:54Z")
My dad bottles in plastic 1 and 2 liter bottles all the time- I’ve not known of any issues he has had with it. Best of luck! (Oh, and I’ve transported the bottles with no problem, also) ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/3 "2003-08-05T19:49:45Z")
I’ve never tried bottling in plastic bottles, but I’ll bet Charlie P. has weighed in on the matter. So you could check what his book says on it. If you don’t have his book (for shame!), just e-mail me and I’ll look up the answer for you tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/4 "2003-08-05T20:04:28Z")
A beer-making kit that I got back when I started brewing included the sort of screw-top caps found on plastic or glass soda bottles as an option for bottling. (I never used them, though, and bottle my beer in Grolsch 1-pint swing-top bottles to minimize capping hassle.) ---
**Author:** ![viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viking)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/5 "2003-08-05T20:52:54Z")
I use 1-pint plastic bottles all the time. I’ve put mead in 1-L ones. I don’t see that 2-L ones would fail dramatically. You probably want to buy new caps, though. I find it almost impossible to get them really squeaky clean, so if you re-use them, you run a risk of skunking the beer. We did 3-4 batches without a trouble, had a batch go bad, and now re-use caps once if at all. Replacements are available at any reputable home-brew store. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/6 "2003-08-05T21:29:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spiff \* > \*\*I’ve never tried bottling in plastic bottles, but I’ll bet Charlie P. has weighed in on the matter. So you could check what his book says on it. > > If you don’t have his book (for shame!), just e-mail me and I’ll look up the answer for you tonight. \*\* I \*feel \*shame! I’m not too proud to admit I’m an idiot! Who is Charlie P. and what is the title of his book? I might have it at home, but not sure. My wife bought me just about every book on homebrewing and I have read none of them! :eek: :wally :smack: :dubious: 😕 “Morons! I have Morons on my payroll!” I’m just like that. Some men you just can’t reach. Thats the way he wants it, that how he gets it…(this is degenerating into a Strother Martin appreciation thread) See what Charlie say and post tommorrow. Thanks! * * * In England, you can get Newcastle Brown Ale Ice Cream. ---
**Author:** ![viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viking)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/7 "2003-08-05T21:40:29Z")
Charlie Papazian. The new complete joy of homebrewing. The bible of homebrewers everywhere, and origin of the immortal ``Relax. Don’t worry. Have a homebrew.’’ So if you haven’t read the book, no need to beat yourself up about it. Just relax! don’t worry! and have a homebrew 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Turbo\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@Turbo\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turbo_Dog)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/8 "2003-08-05T22:02:44Z")
Before I got into kegging, I used to use 2L bottles all the time. For every batch I brewed, I would use two of them. It was an easy way to tell if the beer was carbonating, and they served as instant “pitchers” of beer for the hot tub, or growlers that travelled well for camping. Never had one leak or fail. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/9 "2003-08-06T15:18:08Z")
Holy Moly! I went to the store last night to grab a few bottles and discovered they are now selling soda in 3 L size! Hot dog! My evil beer plan is starting to shape up! Better brew up a batch of “BeeSting Road Ale” for the upcoming trip. Thanks, all, for the input! ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/10 "2003-08-10T15:59:48Z")
Yep - I used to do that and it was fine. Lighter to carry about than glass bottles too. Of course, if you open a 2 litre bottle and only drink half of it, the beer or whatever is not likely to like that. But that just _might_ not be a problem. Have fun! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/11 "2003-08-10T20:38:47Z")
You can get metal caps with a soft gasket material in them for 3L bottles now. They are accessories for a new thing called “Tap a Draft”. It is a fitting that goes on the end of 6L bottles (provided by the Tap a Draft folks but pricy at 5-6 bucks each) Check with you local Homebrew Supplier. I got some for 49cents each yesterday. I’ll be bottling a Chocolate Porter soon. ---
**Author:** ![1kBR\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/dc4da7/32.png) [@1kBR\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1kBR_Kid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/12 "2003-08-10T20:42:37Z")
oh yeah- the TAD 6L bottles have the same threads as 3L bottles. A local grocery chain has store brand 3L drinks for 78cents each. Better than 6 bucks each for the TAD bottles, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-can-i-do-this-have-you-good-or-bad-idea/193184/13 "2003-08-10T22:04:10Z")
Although the question has been answered (it’s perfectly fine; but if you don’t finish the opened bottle it will go flat) I still must post in any thread on homebrewing. So here’s my post, from a club newsletter I wrote in 1996 > [@](#): > > It has already made the classic, glass Coke bottle rare, now plastic is aiming for the beer bottling market. > > A recent report in the Wall Street Journal stated that the _much-beloved_ Anheuser-Busch breweries along with a few brewers in Austria and England are test marketing polyethylene terephthalate, or PET, bottles. > > The report mentioned a couple of characteristics that could be beneficial. First, they don’t break if you drop them. And they are lighter than glass. > > However, I had a couple of concerns. Most importantly, are they sufficiently oxygen-barrier? > > After reading the report, I posted a question on the Homebrew Digest about the use of PET bottles. The response was generally positive with a couple of caveats and suggestions. > > The first warning was the oxidation factor. All respondents said oxidation was not a problem as long as the beer is consumed within six months of bottling. That is fine as long as you are making English styles such as a bitter, mild or pale ale. Don’t use them for any lagers or other styles that need to be aged. > > Skunking can also be a problem, as with glass bottles. The plastic provides even less protection than glass, so don’t leave any bottles in the sun. Now for the advantages: > > A couple of fellow homebrewers said they bottle a few in used Sprite bottles to take on camping trips and when visiting out-of-town friends. That way they don’t have to worry about bringing the bottles home. > > Another plus is that the caps are reusable. > > The pros and cons got me interested enough that I am conducting an experiment. When I bottled my Nut Brown on Aug. 25, I put some in two PET bottles to test the results. I’ll let you know what happens. I couldn’t find the follow-up article, but my experience was the same as others in this thread. Works fine but be careful about light exposure because the plastic adds no protection.