re-corking bombers...

I'm in the same boat as you, SFACRKnight, so I'm curious about this as well. I've used one of the basic cheap thumb stoppers to keep a bomber overnight, and it worked okay (better than nothing, and the beer was plenty drinkable, but there was a noticeable loss of carbonation). I'm not sure what the "balloons" are, but I've thought about getting one of the vacuum sealers for wine. If I'm not mistaken, there is a basic one, which is not recommended for champagne, and one that is made for champagne. I assume the difference is due to carbonation, but I'm not certain. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

man up and chug the rest. thats what chuck norris would do.

but in all seriousness, the wine recorker stopper thing works about the best, but it wont save it. If its high gravity and had low carbonation to start with, a loss of carbonation would hurt it.

 

I'm interested in this too. Any insight would be great!

 

If it fits bombers, try this: http://www.amazon.com/Vacu-Vin-1880450-Champagne-Pourer/dp/B000063CWL

 

The best way to save beer is using a small flip-top bottle. I have several clean bottles of Uerige Sticke. What I do is I first open the 22OZ bomber and fill up the clean empty bottle of Uerige Sticke, I make sure I fill it up to the very top. Close the flip top and place it in the fridge. I've placed bottles for weeks in my fridge and when I open them they are always carbonated and fresh tasting. I usually get about a good sized snifter on each of the two servings, more when its a 700ml of course!

 

I poured the remainder of a 22oz IPA in a standard screw top water bottle once. Filled it to the very top and it seemed to keep the carbonation. Just pour it in very slow. I think I used a funnel and titled the bottle.

 

Ive never used a vacuum sealer, but if it works the way it sounds like it works, by vacuuming out the air in the bottle, then you would certainly not want to use that with anything carbonated. The vacuum will just pull all of the carbonation out of the beer. If they make one for champagne then thats what I would go with since it must work differently with the carbonation. Maybe it replaces the air with a different gas or something i dont know.

 

You mean you don't HAVE to drink it all?
Never heard of that.

 

I have 3-4 of these. They work great for sealing bombers. Keeps'em carbed long time.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/champagne-wine-stopper/s618780

 

That's exactly what I use. I think the longest I've corked one with that is two weeks... still perfectly carbonated and fresh when I revisited it.

 

I have expanding bottle stoppers something along the lines of these:
http://www.amazon.com/Zyliss-leak-p...1_60?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1341509880&sr=1-60

Cost like $4 for 2 at my bottle shop

 

I have a lot of vacuum sealers for sealing wine but to El_Zilcho's point, they pull the CO2 from the beer to replace the air and are counterproductive for carbonated beverages. I agree that the best recommendation is to pull it immediately into a smaller container that you can seal with as little air in it as possible, but I don't always think ahead so I use a champagne stopper. Keeping it as cold as possible is also important.

 

This is my thoughts exactly. Just finish the beer.

 

This is correct, vacuum sealers don't work.


For champagne style cork & cage magnums, I recommend this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846

And for 22 ounce or 12 ounce bottles that were capped using a standard size cap, I recommend these:
http://www.amazon.com/Beer-Saver-Reusable-Silicone-Bottle/dp/B00467QN54/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1341510285&sr=1-1&keywords=beer savers

Both give me at least a few more days of tasty beer.

 

I experimented with this on odd times cause I would vacuum wine bottles. Tried the vacuum pump on a beer bomber, saw all the carbonation being drawn whoops... and didn't bother doing that again.

I just use flip top sealers like these on occasion. 95% of the time though I open a beer... that bottle is gonna be emptied!

These put a simple good seal like a flip growler and rubber top.

http://www.amazon.com/Pedrini-Wine-...1_41?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1341510589&sr=1-41

 

I keep a cork in the fridge(I've had the best luck with the style Unibrou uses) the cold air dries them out and shrinks them enough that they will slip right in. Once in the bottle they swell right up again. I've never done it for more than a couple of nights..but so far has worked great!

 

I don't finish a bomber, once in a blue moon but when I do, I use a capper that I kept from my old home brewing days. Mind you, I've always finished the beer the very next day.

 

My feeling is that you should plan ahead and not open a bomber unless you plan on finishing it. I have experimented with many options and the beer simply does not maintain the quality I desire the second day.