Thursday, August 30, 2012

Pry-off versus twist-off bottles? What's your preference?

Well, after several years of asking our bottle supplier to give us the option to switch to pry-off bottles instead of the twist-off ones we are currently using, he has come through.  So I'm putting it out there to all of you - what's your preference?

A little history:  when we first starting bottling, our bottling line was set up for the shorter Heritage style bottles and couldn't be changed to a different size.  The closest bottle supplier could only get us twist-off bottles, so that is what we have been using.  Freight is a huge cost for bottles, and so we couldn't easily get the pry-off kind from another supplier.

But now our new bottling line can handle both kinds, and our supplier can get the pry-off bottles for us.  The benefits to the beer are that over time, less oxygen can leak past the caps on pry-off bottles versus twist-off bottles - Sierra Nevada did the research that led them to make the switch to pry-off bottles a year or so ago.  Also, our homebrewer friends have made it clear that they prefer pry-off bottles for reusing for their homebrew.  The cons?  Well, obviously you have to have an opener to get the bottle open - but most of the time, if we are capping on foam at the bottler, it's pretty hard to twist off our caps anyway.

So, anyway, what are all of your thoughts?

UPDATE: 

Thanks for all the comments!  Pry-off bottles were your overwhelming choice!  They are ordered, and we should be making the switch in a month or so.

12 comments:

hippityhophead said...

hate twist offs.

Unknown said...

Pry-off all the way. Allowing the beer stay fresher longer is reason enough. Plus, bottling Yazoo beer with pry-off caps would be yet another way to set it apart from BudMillerCoors.

b. murphree said...

Definitely switch to pry off.

marmanold said...

Pry-off.

Unknown said...

I vote for pry-off.

Unknown said...

Pry-offs!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Webervn said...

There are many reasons I don't care for the twist off cap.

1. The twist off caps don't always twist off and using a bottle opener can result in glass shards. This has happened to me many times.

2. Pry lipped bottles are more robust with thicker glass at the tip.

3. Seems like with twist off caps you'll taste rust more frequently if you drink from the bottle than from the pry cap.

Andy C. Fellows said...

I use a bottle opener (or a disposable lighter) as a default to open all my beer bottles since the VAST majority of the beer I drink uses pry-off caps, so it doesn't matter that much to me since I'll pop the top off the same way no matter what. But, by the sound of the post, your mind has already been made up anyway.

Linus said...

A-Sub: well, I am leaning towards the pry-offs, yes - but wanted to get more feedback. Thanks for the comments. - Linus

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I end up prying off your twist-off caps anyway.

swenocha said...

Glad to see the pryoffs coming our way. Puts yazoo back in my "buy beer for more homebrew bottles" rotation... ;)