Sunday 14 September 2014

The Limitations of EZ Cap Bottles

For about two weeks now, my cider has been sitting in those cool looking EZ Cap bottles.  Two days after bottling the first batch, I noticed tiny bubbles rising to the top, inside the bottles.  I thought this was a good sign, as it meant that the secondary fermentation was working, and the cider should be nice and carbonated when it was all over.  The problem is that the bubbles have not stopped.  That can only mean one thing:  the EZ Cap bottles leak.

Bubbles can only form if there is somewhere for the gas to go.  If the bottle is under sufficient pressure, the CO2 stays dissolved in the liquid, and there are no bubbles.  However, as soon as the pressure drops, CO2 becomes gas, and bubbles become visible.  This is exactly like opening a pop bottle.  When you unscrew the lid, the pressure inside the bottle drops, and CO2 is released.

In exactly half of my 1 litre EZ Cap bottles, tiny bubbles are still forming in the cider.  Last night, I decided to open one of the leaky bottles and test it.  When I popped open the lid, there actually was an audible pop as if the bottle was under a small amount of pressure.  When I poured a glass, however, the cider was clearly not carbonated.  (So, I added some club soda and proceeded to enjoy!)

I really like EZ Cap bottles.  They look nice and they are easy to use.  I think they are perfect if your goal is to make still cider (i.e. non carbonated).  But if you want carbonated cider, you will need to use beer bottles and bottle caps, or maybe a plastic pop bottle with a tightly screwed lid.  Now, my experience might not be a total failure.  I still have hope for the other bottles of cider that don't have bubbles, because that suggests they are under pressure.  But here's the thing - a 50% success rate of getting a strong seal just isn't good enough for this purpose.

Here's my question:  Is there a trick to getting a good seal on EZ Cap bottles?



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