Corking Belgian Bottles

[Sent From My iPhone]

Does anyone bottle and cork their beers in Belgian bottles? I have a Ferrari floor corker, Belgian corks and wire hoods. More Beer recommends using a #7 stopper (which I have) over the plunger so that the proper amount of cork is left exposed. My question is doesn't that exposed bit of cork get stuck in the brass jaws of the corker? Do I have to disassemble the corker each time, or am I missing something?

Thanks

[beerocracy]

I used one of the Portuguese floor corkers. I just put a piece of tape on the plunger with mark on where to stop. I would push the cork in to the correct depth then lift the handle up a little to release the cork and pull the bottle out. Just practice it on a few empty bottles to figure it out. It's pretty simple once you get the hang of it.

[Brew Engineer]

Don't forget to soak your cork before you stick it in. You've got to find a good cork soaker, or else you'll have to soak your own cork...




(hint for the short bussers: say it out loud)

[Sent From My iPhone]

I guess my confusion is about the part of the cork that does not get forced through the hole of the corker. Here's the view looking down into the brass jaws or iris. The corks get loaded into here. The hole in the bottom is smaller than the cork

Here's my lame diagram of what I'm talking about: In panel 2, the jaws have compressed the cork and the plunger is ready to force the cork through the hole and into the bottle. For a regular wine bottle you would push the cork all the way into the bottle. For a Belgian bottle, the cork is only pushed half way in. Once the plunger is released, the cork swells back up and is essentially stuck in the hole. When I did a dry run I wound up riping the cork trying to get the bottle out of the corker. What's the trick? Do I have to lower the bottle stand, supporting the bottle with my hand, and then push the plunger back down to force the rest of the cork through the hole? I'm sure there's a simple answer, I'm just a dumb ass.

[Mylo]

Don't forget to soak your cork before you stick it in. You've got to find a good cork soaker, or else you'll have to soak your own cork...




(hint for the short bussers: say it out loud)

There must have been a lot of cork soakers in South Dakota during the gold rush. The dude in Deadwood was always complaining about them. F-ing cork soakers....


Mylo

[DannyW]

Are you saying that the cork won't come out of the iris after seating in the bottle because the diameter of the cork is too wide? That must not be it because the thing went in there in the first place, so it must still be able to slide out after seating.

Perhaps the extra height of the protruding cork prevents you from horizontally removing the corked bottle from the corker? If that is the case, perhaps you can lower the base (the part where the bottom of the bottle sits while you are driving home the cork) 1.5", then put a piece of 2x4 lumber between the base and the bottom of the bottle. Drive the cork, then slide out the 2x4, then lower and remove the bottle.

[beerocracy]

I thought when I did it the cork in its normal size fit through the hole in the bottom of the corker. Have you tried releasing the pressure only slightly so that the cork is still compressed and then trying to lower the bottle out? If you notice in your first picture the hole is not lined up with the compressing jaws. If you are letting up completely on the handle the cork is probably getting stuck due to this offset.

[TapItGood]

You can buy corks specifically designed for Belgian 750 ML bottles. More Beer has them. Just search for "Belgian Corks". I use a Portugese hand corker. The corks go in fairly easily and you don't have to soak them or anything. The corks go in all the way, just use a cork screw to remove just like a bottle of wine.