My beer is close to being done fermenting. There is 5 gallons of it and I was wondering if instead of putting it into a bunch of bottles I could put it into 5 glass jugs that have rubber corks?
asked Jun 16, 2017 at 7:23
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Rubber corks, like the ones for wine? Or more like a bung that we use on a carboy?– PhilippeJun 16, 2017 at 13:05
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Rubber corks kinda like the ones for the bung but no hole.– jordan thielmanJun 16, 2017 at 15:40
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I am going to reiterate some comments below up here for clarity and safety. Please - Don't put beer that has yet to reach FG in bottles you risk bottle bombs and this is unpleasant and potentially very dangerous. If it has reached FG and you are priming, don't prime into bottles, growlers, containers of any kind that are not rated for the pressure or again this can be very dangerous.– Mr_road ♦Jun 18, 2017 at 16:26
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1It is worth noting that some (indeed many) "growlers" are pressure rated - so be sure to establish which is which, for safety's sake, before use. A pressure rated growler can quite reasonably be used to condition beer. I suppose it might be useful to know exactly what type of "glass jug" is being proposed.– barking.peteJun 19, 2017 at 13:38
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4 Answers
In principle beer can be put and stored in "a glass jug with a rubber cork". However it might be difficult to naturally carbonate the brew to any degree in a rubber stopped glass jug. Any pressure build up would tend to "self vent" unless the stopper was firmly wired on. Some types of rubber stopper can also affect the taste of any beer they come into prolonged contact with. So I would not recommend a glass jug used for anything other than temporary storage of beer. For example - to decant into prior to pouring into a glass.
A better but cheap option might be to re-use 500mL/1L plastic fizzy drinks bottles (usually screw top PET plastic bottles). They are shatter resistant and will keep fizzy beer for at least 4 months and probably slightly longer.
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2You touched on it in your last sentence, but it's important to note that many glass vessels are not meant to hold pressure and could shatter if you're carbonating inside them. Even growlers which are meant to hold beer are not made for the actual pressure of carbonation, and there's always a chance when brewing at home of over-carbonation. Jun 16, 2017 at 17:01
I have put my beer into 2 litre growlers before with a screw cap which is a nice way of bottling it quickly, but that ba***rd exploded.
Don't put your beer in anything isn't made for pressure. And that means allowing for more pressure than you planned on.
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Did you mean to say, "don't put your still fermenting beer in anything that isn't made for pressure"? Growlers are intended to store beer, if I understand correctly. Jun 16, 2017 at 19:15
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@CoryKlein, I would argue, no one puts what they think is still fermenting beer into any container that isn't made for pressure... or rather, no one knowingly puts still fermenting beer into a container not made for pressure.– WyrmwoodJun 17, 2017 at 0:11
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I was bottle conditioning in a growler. Growlers are made to store beer from a draft system, which could get significant pressure if you let it warm up. So you'd think they are sturdy, but my experience says: not strong enough.– PepiJun 17, 2017 at 2:00
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I think it is fair to say that a screw down cap and a "rubber cork" would behave differently under pressure. Jun 17, 2017 at 22:19
I have put my beer into 2 litre growlers before with a locking cap which was a nice way of bottling it quickly, although it does come with its down sides, for example it's hard to chill in a standard fridge without mixing in the sediment and once you open the bottle you are sort of locked into drinking 2L of it, which isn't always a bad thing :).
As for a straight cork I think you really would run the risk of some explosions. You could use champagne corks with a cage.
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wiring down a cork or bug into a vessel not rated for pressure could be very dangerous indeed, it would be far better to let the cork or bung blow out that risk the 1 gallon jug exploding. If wiring down the cork you had better be very sure about the vessel's pressure rating and the volumes of CO2 your are priming for. And, still have a safety margin of about 50% re pressure rating.– Mr_road ♦Jun 18, 2017 at 16:32
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Absolutely agrees with Mr Road, maybe was a bit bit flippant with my answer. The bottles I am using are definitely rated for pressure and sold with very thick reusable glass. Jun 18, 2017 at 19:03
1 gallon glass jugs made for juice / wine are not rated for any significant pressure. While they work great for starters or small batch fermentors I would not bottle condition in them or fill with carbonated beer.
They have too much surface area for the needed 12 psi for carbonation and will fail.
I would use PET 2 liter soda bottles instead.
answered Jun 16, 2017 at 13:35
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@GrainMother because it would need to be rated for 15psi or so, and 1 gallon jugs mentioned are not. Jun 18, 2017 at 0:38
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I think EvilZymurgist means a "stoppered/capped glass jug" not just "a glass jug". I have filled a glass jug many times with carbonated beer. It is a good way to decant beer off the yeast in a bottle. Jun 19, 2017 at 13:00
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@barking.pete yes a sealed jug... But it's not so much as any "glass jug" it's the size that limits its pressure tolerance. For example you won't find very many 1 gallon size glass growlers they would need to be too thick of glass. Also a 5g carboy can fail with as little as 2-3 psi. It's all about surface area to thickness ratio. Jun 19, 2017 at 13:08