Storing Flip Tops

[yourlastchance89]

So I just bottled my first batch. I brewed an American Amber. I did 10 days in the primary, cold crashed for 3 days, and bottled. I purchased an SS Brew Bucket for fermentation with the FTSs temp regulator. For cold crashing, due to the freezing temperatures we've had, I stored it outside utilizing the FTSs for heating instead of cooling. I bought a bunch of the EZ swingtop bottles due to the fact that I'd be doing the whole process myself, they'd make bottling easier, and I figured I could re-use them again and again. Reviews online were good, then I got on the forums. My question is, would they keep carbonation if stored on their sides? It makes sense. My brew was extremely clean racking from the fermenter to the bottling bucket, with virtually all sediment settling in the cone. I don't want to lose carbonation, yet I also don't want a yeasty beer. Does anyone have any experience storing flip tops this way? Or any input based on the separation of trub from the brew bucket cone and getting a clean transfer from a cold crash?

 

[N3Bruce]

The flip tops are fine, just make sure the seals are in good shape. Regular bottles aren't all that hard, the only thing you will need is a Wing capper ($20), Caps (about $5.00 for about 200), and a supply of clean, sanitized, and delabeled bottles that aren't screw tops, but it's a matter of preference. I would still store all bottles in an upright position though. Nice fermentation setup though, I still use plastic buckets and a makeshift fermentation chamber.

The best way I have found to get nice and clear beer is to transfer it from your fermenter once it has run its course into a second bucket and cold crash it for 24 hours, then stir in a solution of 1 teaspoon of unflavored gelatin dissolved in a half cup of hot water. Wait a couple of days, and you will have a nice clear beer. When you bottle, the added sugar will cause the fermentation that will carbonate your beer, but will leave a thin layer of yeast on the bottom. For this reason alone, I would store all bottles in an upright position if you are bottle conditioning. The only way around bottle conditioning is to keg it, which means an investment in kegs, CO2 bottles, regulators, and dedicated refrigeration.

 

[flars]

There will be yeast in your bottled beer otherwise it would not naturally carbonate. The yeast will eventually drop out. The yeast will fall to the side of the bottle if they are resting on their sides. When you stand to bottle up to open the yeast will mix into your beer. Even a smooth pour will not keep the yeast in the bottle as it may when the bottles are stored upright with the yeast falling to the bottom.