Bottling beer properly is essential for carbonation to occur. I also found out that if you don’t bottle beer properly, the stray yeast and oxygen can literally ruin the whole brew! Thus, reducing the shelf life of your beer.
Now, there are many suggestions available online such as bottling beer in mason jars. So, should you bottle beer in mason jars? The answer is no. Mason jars are unable to hold pressure inside required for carbonation. It’s also unsafe as the jar may explode.
If you want to know more about whether you should bottle beer in mason jars or not, read on!
Can You Bottle Beer In Mason Jars?
If you want, you can bottle beer in mason jars. But, let me tell you, it is certainly not a good idea.
Beer requires proper storage conditions in order to retain its taste and fizz. Hence, there are some reasons why you shouldn’t bottle beer in mason jars such as:
1. Mason Jars Cannot Hold Pressure
If you have previously used a mason jar, you may know that they are well-suited for maintaining a vacuum inside the container. But, if you want your beer to get carbonated, then mason jars aren’t effective.
It is because mason jars cannot handle or even hold pressure. Even the glass used for mason jars isn’t tempered glass and it can easily shatter due to the high pressure. Hence, there is a huge safety risk here too.
2. Mason Jars Are Transparent
Even though you can always store bottled beer in a dark and cool place, there’s always a risk of sunlight exposure.
Mason jars have a transparent glass that can make your beer smell awful. It is because the UV rays from the sun cause a reaction in your beer and causes it to smell like skunk.
Hence, if you use mason jars for bottling beer and don’t store them away from the sunlight, then your beer may get ruined.
3. Mason Jars May Not Have A Tight Seal
I have noticed that most of the mason jars don’t have extremely tight seals as required for beers.
You need to keep the beer away from oxygen exposure. It is because oxygen can easily spoil your beer by ruining its flavor in the long run.
So, when you bottle beer in mason jars, even a slightly loose seal may allow the oxygen from the air to come inside the jar. Thus, ruining both the flavor and shelf life of your beer.
Apart from oxygen, stray yeast is also something you need to consider. If the lid and seal aren’t tight enough, the yeast also has the potential to damage your beer.
Hence, overall, it is definitely not a good idea to bottle beer in mason jars.
Is It Safe to Bottle Beer in Mason Jars?
As I have mentioned above, mason jars aren’t made up of thick glass. The glass is also not tempered.
When carbonation takes place, the glass of the mason jar won’t be able to handle the high pressure. Hence, it will explode and break into smaller shards. So, bottling beer in mason jars can cause injury. It will also throw all your efforts down the drain!
Why Is It Necessary to Bottle Beer Properly?
Even if you bottle beer in mason jars, the beer may not be up to the mark. It is because you need to store the beer properly due to the given reasons:
Reason 1: Proper Carbonation
A beer needs to have a proper amount of fizz which is only possible with adequate carbonation. Let me explain how carbonation works.
Carbonation basically means that there should be carbon dioxide in the liquid. Now, this is only possible if there’s high pressure available in the bottled beer.
As we already saw earlier, mason jars cannot handle high pressure. So, the beer doesn’t go through proper carbonation.
On the other hand, beer bottles that are made up of tough glass and other materials can bear high pressure. This helps in the proper carbonation.
Reason 2: No Exposure To Sunlight And Air
You need to keep your brewed beer away from both sunlight and air. The UV rays from sunlight cause the beer to smell bad. Moreover, the oxygen in the air can reduce the shelf-life of beer and degrade the taste in the long run too.
So, the best way to prevent sunlight and air from ruining your beer is by opting for tightly sealed beer bottles with dark glass. If you go for light glass, then you should store the bottles in a dark place.
Reason 3: Keeping Away Stray Yeasts
Again, if your beer is exposed to air, the yeast present in the environment can easily damage your brewed beer.
To avoid contamination from stray yeast, opt for proper bottles that keep the air and the stray yeast away from your beer.
Reason 4: Increasing Overall Shelf Life
Lastly, bottling beer properly can increase the overall shelf life of your beer. It can protect your beer from losing its rich flavor over time and any type of contamination too.
So, I strongly recommend using only proper beer bottles, instead of cans or mason jars to bottle beer!
What Are Some Other Alternatives For Beer Bottles?
If you don’t have beer bottles or don’t want to use them, you can try out some alternatives. These options work better than mason jars and can help you out.
Plastic Soda Bottles
Plastic soda bottles are your next best option for bottling beer. I consider them as a good alternative as they can handle high pressure and provide carbonation. They can also prevent contamination.
I have also noticed that you can easily check the level of carbonation by squeezing the bottle a little. If it feels hard, then you can drink the beer.
The only drawback here is that most plastic bottles are transparent so you need to store them in the dark.
Wine Bottles
Even though the cork of a wine bottle may pop out due to the high pressure, you can still use it for bottling by taking some precautions.
I recommend using short corks for the wine bottle. Also, make sure that you don’t overfill the wine bottle. It’s also a good idea to reduce the amount of priming sugar and you’re good to go!
Final Thoughts
To conclude, mason jars are a huge no-no for bottling beers. They can’t handle high pressure and won’t carbonate the beer properly. In the worst-case scenario, the glass may also explode due to high pressure.
So, instead of mason jars, try to opt for either plastic soda bottles or even wine bottles.