Hopry Special # 9 | Saving Unused Beer
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I see this (and experience it) all the time. What to do with all that beer from a 750ml or 22oz bomber that I’m just not going to drink today. I sure hate to waste it and I hate to see it go flat by the time I’m ready to drink it later. So I began thinking of ways to conserve my beer for the next day while keeping it as fresh and lively as the previous day. Reading a wine book one night, I came across a chapter where the author talks about buying half bottles of wine specifically for saving the second half of a larger bottle. So I set out to do the same for beer. At first I would cork the bottle, but soon realized that I still had to things to accomplish. Getting the air out of the bottle and keeping it out. Watch this video and you can see how I overcame this dilemma. Hope you enjoy…
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Posted by theReaper16 on November 21, 2010 at 2:23 PM
This is an advanced technique. Very useful video.
Posted by thehopry on November 21, 2010 at 10:53 PM
Good to hear. Thank you Barry.
Posted by builderofcoalitions on November 21, 2010 at 2:27 PM
Man, that was useful. I’ve typically just used a champaign stopper, but, as you pointed out, there’s too much air and the beer suffers. It works okay if I drink the beer later that day, but probably not like your technique works. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by thehopry on November 21, 2010 at 10:54 PM
You are right. If you want to consume the beer the same day, chances are the oxygen won’t eat away at it too bad, but this helps…
Posted by Louie on November 21, 2010 at 3:15 PM
I share everything with my wife, so I never have stuff to save, but what a great way to go about preserving the beer. Maybe someday I’ll become a real man and get to drink a beer by myself. Hahhaha.
It really adds another dimension to the site to have videos like this – - love it.
Posted by thehopry on November 21, 2010 at 10:55 PM
Nah man it’s cool that she drinks it with you. My wife does most of the time, too, but for the times she doesn’t, I can drink the whole bottle in two sittings…
Posted by vinobello on November 21, 2010 at 5:41 PM
Good easy way to store beer. Oxygen is the enemy of storing beer and wine. There are many tools on the market for storing. Some inexpensive tools are vacuum pumps to suck out the air as you cork it. Other options include injecting nitrogen or argon into the bottles to displace the oxygen. Great video Mark! The only drawback in using those resealable bottles is you are forced to save 12 oz. If you want to save smaller amounts you need to use other tools. I am thirsty now.
Posted by thehopry on November 21, 2010 at 10:57 PM
You’re not forced to save 12 ounces, it just helps the cause if you do so. I choose to do this because it maximizes my experience for two different sessions if that’s what I want. And for beers that are hard to come by, this is a great thing.
Posted by Big Mike on November 21, 2010 at 6:11 PM
That’s a great idea. Thanks for the useful info.
Posted by thehopry on November 21, 2010 at 10:55 PM
Thank YOU!
Posted by Barleywhiner on November 23, 2010 at 4:18 AM
I’m just kidding. I’m actually very happy to see the 12oz. Smokestack beers. Now I can have a Tank 7 any time.
Posted by Barleywhiner on November 23, 2010 at 4:21 AM
Sorry, meant this to be a reply to my post. Doh!
Posted by thehopry on November 23, 2010 at 4:19 PM
Me too. As much as I love Tank 7, I hated drinking too much of it.
Posted by Bobby Digital on November 22, 2010 at 12:45 AM
Your videos are much easier to watch when you’re not wearing Yankees gear. I think we talked about this concept at the store once (the beer saving, not my hate for the Yankees) and it’s a great idea. Where did you find the Lil Sumpin Extra? I read that it came to Kansas but my store didn’t get any and that saddens me.
Posted by Jordan on November 22, 2010 at 2:05 AM
Excellent tip Mark! Very useful! – j
Posted by Barleywhiner on November 22, 2010 at 11:30 AM
Just man up and drink the whole bottle!
Posted by thehopry on November 22, 2010 at 3:22 PM
Hahaha…how American of you.
Posted by John on November 22, 2010 at 2:17 PM
If you use a PET soda bottle for the second bottle, you can squeeze it after filling to remove any excess headspace.
Also, old homebrewers trick for filling bottles from a keg, if the bottle is cold (but not frozen) and wet the beer will foam up less.
Posted by Mike on November 23, 2010 at 1:26 PM
Very helpful, Mark. Just curious where you buy the swing top bottle that you use in the video? Homebrew shop?
Posted by thehopry on November 23, 2010 at 4:19 PM
It’s the bottle from the Uerige Sticke review I did here…
http://thehopry.com/2010/11/18/uerige-sticke/
But really you can buy any beer that comes in a swing-top bottle and use that. The smaller the better.
Posted by Robert from GA on November 26, 2010 at 8:44 PM
How long will the brew stay for? Have you tested times longer than 24 hrs?
Posted by thehopry on November 27, 2010 at 6:28 PM
Honestly, I haven’t tested it. Maybe I should. I would think one to three days and then I think it may just start to slowly lose its carbonation.
Posted by Landon on December 1, 2010 at 5:57 PM
I like this. If you have some sanitizer and always cap on foam you should be good for a long time. Some homebrewers use those bottles for bottle conditioning and long term storage so I dont think there would be much CO2 loss.
Posted by Patrick on December 8, 2010 at 3:45 PM
I just wish that there were a way to make this a more feasible solution for larger growlers. Though I don’t tend to get growlers for this exact reason, sometimes there are beers that aren’t bottled, or, sometimes filling my growler is so much cheaper I can’t help it.
I guess maybe the point of growlers is for if you have other people around to drink with you, but I don’t really know people who enjoy beer in the way I do. I can’t drink a growler in a day, and so most of the time my growlers end up going to waste.