LHBS closed a few months ago and I've run out of bottle caps. I was hoping to bottle tonight but nearest brew store is now 40-60 minutes away. Does anyone know of a handy non-HBS place to purchase bottle caps?
I doubt whether you'll find bottle caps in any non-LHBS brick and mortar store. You could probably find them through Amazon. Since your LHBS has closed I guess you, like me, will be purchasing most of your supplies online. I would recommend MoreBeer http://morebeer.com/, as a reasonable option. Their prices are competitive with other online sources, and they offer free shipping on orders over $59, check them out.
I've noticed 'designer' crown caps at a Hobby Lobby store, but you'll pay thru the nose to get enough for a batch.
I have seen them at a couple of Whole Foods. One of the ones nearest me, with the alcohol license, has a small homebrew department, selling some small equipment, malts and Brooklyn Brew Co, kits. THey have bags of caps for sale. Other than that, I've only really seen them at LHBS.
Another bottle cap related question. Has anyone ever used http://www.bottlemark.com for custom caps. Wondering how well pictures turn out?
They're never as cheap as you want them to be unless you buy them by the pallet. I've heard Bells brew store has pretty cheap ones if you accidentally take a road trip.
No close brew pubs? I buy from my brew pub , they don't offer it, but love to help any homebrewer they even put their used bottles out for free once a month.
I used them to select a design from their library for my daughter's wedding. The caps came quickly and were exactly as pictured. I was satisfied. If you're going for a custom designed cap then I can't comment on that.
I was actually just looking at those the other day. I could be wrong, but I don't think they have a waxed seal (or whatever you wanna call it) under the cap.