J’ai une saison qui serait prête à embouteiller et j’aimerais bien bouchonner et museler quelques bouteilles pour faire des cadeaux à Noël prochain (je vais rajouter des Brettanomyces bruxellensis - lie de Orval - à l’embouteillage pour plus de funk dans 6 mois ). Je n’ai jamais fait ça, mais je me suis dit qu’il n’est jamais trop tard pour essayer.
Y a-t-il un humain dans ce groupe qui aurait une bouchonneuse sur pied que je pourrais emprunter pour quelques jours, afin de voir si j’aime le processus avant de m’en procurer une ?
I have one too that is available to the group.
I use the mushroom corks and #9 long corks with cages and #8 capped (like some lambics). I’ve had success with #8 or even #9 in random 26mm top bottles for caging but be warned some aren’t meant for it. I’ve tried the plastic ones but you can’t use a floor corker for that. I’ve carefully used a bench capper.
I don’t sanitize corks from a fresh bag of corks or on mixed fermentation beer. I use a stopper on the floor corker to prevent the cork from going in all the way. I adjust the amount the cork goes in so its about half in. Then I use a bench capper to cage by compressing the cage and cork and tightening the cage; this mushrooms the cork. Test one bottle first so you aren’t disappointed by a whole batch of corks too deep into the bottle. To remove the bottle from the corker, I step on the seat where the bottle goes and press the lever pushing the cork and bottle out.
I’m sure you have found this article but I found this useful. Corking - Milk The Funk Wiki
Only other thing is, some cages are nicer than others. Some don’t last for multiple “cagings”, others the texture is bare and not pleasant to touch.
Thanks for the advices @Albert ! I was planning on using these 500 mL bottles which have a lip I assume would be fine to hold the cage. Do you know if I would be better with the #8 or the #9 corks with these bottles? Any particular reference about where to buy good corks and cages? Moût probably has everything…
I did read a few times the Corking page from MTF. Great tips in there. I also reviewed a couple of videos as well, which put me in good confidence with the process.
Thanks for the offer regarding the floor corker. I’ll see depending on the availability if I borrow it from Yacine or you.
Those bottles are strong; although they have the 26mm top, with the thicker glass they can survive mushrooms corks and #9. It’s the same bottles a la fût uses and it looks like they use the mushroom ones (which are thickest of the ones we mentioned). The #9 seal well enough, the mushrooms cosmetically look a tiny bit better. I’ve used both in the bottles you show. I really only use #8 on 26mm bottles with thinner glass but that is me trying to get style points that don’t exist.
I mostly use the corker for meads, but I’ve bottled 3 batches of beer with it, and the occasional bottles here and there for the looks. Gotta say, results weren’t always perfect tbh.
I’ve used both, the 500ml bottles you intend to use and also European sized 750 bottles (pretty much like champagne bottles with a 28 mm hole). I found it easier to cork the ones with a larger hole, but it worked for both.
One thing I would suggest would be to make sure you get good quality corks, even more so if you opt for the mushroom ones. The latest pack I’ve got was of pretty bad quality, and the corks would systematically tear when I tried to pull the bottles out of the corker. Couldn’t even get a refund since I bought them way ahead of time…
*EDIT : Mine is available any time. I won’t be in town tomorrow, but I could maybe drop it off at your place Friday on my way to work. Otherwise, if you’d prefer to pick it up today, I live in Longue Pointe, so not too far away from you.
). Je n’ai jamais fait ça, mais je me suis dit qu’il n’est jamais trop tard pour essayer.