Capping magnum bottles

[Will Smith]

I have got some 1,5L magnum champagne bottles which i am going to fill with beer and they fit a 29mm cap. Will a cap hold the amount of carb in a 1,5L bottle or is a cork necessary?
Cheers

 

[smurfjuice]

Just to be safe, I would cork them.

 

[bobeer]

I second the cork. No use in possibly wasting all that beer if the caps can't take the pressure.

 

[snowtiger1987]

I cap .750 ml bottles of Saison carbonated to 3.5 volumes regularly. I have never had a problem with those.

 

[tll77]

I cap .750 ml bottles of Saison carbonated to 3.5 volumes regularly. I have never had a problem with those.

Yep A properly fit cap will hold just fine without a cork.

 

[NTexBrewer]

I make sparkling wine and Brut beer using the methode champagnes. I cap 750ml champagne bottles carbed to 6 volumes without a problem.

If you are using a wing capper you may have a hard time capping Magnum bottles if the neck is thick even with switching the plates. I would test that before bottling day.

Corking with Belgian corks and cages look pretty cool and would work well also!

 

[davidabcd]

A related question to anybody: If you cork, are you talking about making the cork flush with the bottle top or the mushroom look as for a Belgian? Would you then need a wire holder? I've been contemplating doing that.

 

[NTexBrewer]

A cork can't hold pressure well. So if you cork flush you still have to cap which is what some Gueuze producers do.

Belgian (mushroom) corks always need cages.

 

[tll77]

For this use, where the bottle can accept a crown cap, generally the cork(wine bottle cork) is flush and capped on top. But, you could use a cage and make it work, although not with the wine bottle cork. Most Belgians with the 'mushroom' cork won't accept a crown cap and must be caged.

 

[davidabcd]

For this use, where the bottle can accept a crown cap, generally the cork(wine bottle cork) is flush and capped on top. But, you could use a cage and make it work, although not with the wine bottle cork. Most Belgians with the 'mushroom' cork won't accept a crown cap and must be caged.

Thanks, that bit about compatibility is what I was missing. I get a lot of La Fin Du Monde (relatively speaking) and it's a shame throwing those into recycling;they are some super-nice bottles.

 

[tll77]

You welcome. La Fin Du Monde is a great beer! I'm pretty sure that bottle will not accept a cap.
When I first got into brewing I was all about belgians, in fact, I think out of my first twenty or so batches only 2 or 3 were not belgian-style ales. I wanted to make them as authentic as I could and went all in with a corker and 'mushroom' corks and cages. I don't really use them so much anymore except for gifts or if I wanna be a show-off, it's just too easy to put it in a keg.

 

[davidabcd]

@tll77 I like the gift idea. The Belgian Tripel I do is well-liked by my family. Since I don't keg, corking and caging sounds interesting. I haven't done the math yet, but once I collect enough La Fin Du Monde bottles, I'll check out the equipment needed.
I have followed a similar path: I can't seem to break away from the Belgian Tripels and Quads, at least, for now.
Right now, the only beers I purchase are the La Fin Du Monde, Final Absolution, Dragon's Milk stout and the Ellison's Irish Coffee stout. I'm not a big variety person.

 

[snowtiger1987]

For Belgian Abbey type beers I bottle with a cork and cage. I have an Italian champagne corker that makes putting the cork in very easy. I also use mostly 750ml bottles but also use 1 or 2 large format bottles (1.5l, 3l, 6l) each batch which makes bottling much less time consuming.

 

[davidabcd]

less time consuming

Good info. I do the flip-tops. I can't imagine cranking out 50 caps though I'm sure it's easy once someone becomes accustomed. So it's an appealing idea plus cool looking to do 750ml (25oz) per bottle which I think the Belgian beer I've been loving comes in.
Those larger sizes would be perfect to bring somewhere.

 

[Calder]

A cap will hold the pressure fine. Just make sure you are able to cap the bottle before filling it. I assume you have the 29 mm bell to go on the capper (since you already know it takes a different cap). Also, you may have to change the plates in the capper to accommodate the wider bottle. For the hand-held cappers, you just pull out the plates and turn them around.