Wax Dipping Homebrew on The Cheap

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by jbakajust1, Dec 14, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Thought I would share my experience with yall. I did a wax dipping based off of a thread on a different HB forum and it turned out thick and ended up cracking. Tonight I wax dipped 2 more beers since they all 3 are in a series and have labels and are going to the hombrew club Christmas party with me tomorrow (wanted them all matchy matchy). I had limited glue sticks so I used what I had, turned out great. I found that one full size hot glue stick and 1/2 a mini hot glue stick to 7 Crayolas was the perfect consistency for waxing bottles. Did 6 crayons to same glue sticks and it was too thick. I also found that 7 to 1 full + 1/2 mini is perfect for 6 bottles.

    I grabbed an empty green bean can and removed the label. Cut up the hot glue sticks into chunks (4 pieces full size[1/4] and 2 pieces mini [1/2]). I unwrapped my crayons and broke each crayon into 3 pieces. I placed on the stove top over medium heat and melted it all down, stirring with wooden stir sticks until smooth. Removed from stove, tilted on the side, put bottle in, twisted the bottle around in the mixture, pulled it up and continued to spin, then went upright leaving a few drips down the neck. Turned out great.

    In the pic, the yellow was following instructions from another forum (thick and cracked. no real dripping at all), the orange is the 7 crayons which was perfect (covered 6 bottles, perfect consistency, great dripping [other bottles were better]), and the purple is the 6 crayons (4 bottles, too thick, decent dripping).

    [​IMG]
     
    #1 jbakajust1, Dec 14, 2013
    VikeMan, volta, grilledsquid and 6 others like this.
  2. Hanglow

    Hanglow Pooh-Bah (2,051) Feb 18, 2012 Scotland
    Pooh-Bah

    Looks good

    You can use cheese wax, you can buy it on ebay and probably cheesewax-4-u type websites
     
    #2 Hanglow, Dec 14, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2013
  3. TruePerception

    TruePerception Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2013 California

    Question: Why use wax? Does it make the beer keep better, or is just for looks? I've always found it to be quite a nuisance on bottles I've bought.
     
    #3 TruePerception, Dec 17, 2013
  4. grilledsquid

    grilledsquid Initiate (0) Jul 10, 2009 California
    Trader

    It conveys the feeling of a premium product. That and it allegedly improves the ability for long term aging (read this from an article Charlie Papazian) wrote.
     
    #4 grilledsquid, Dec 17, 2013
  5. TruePerception

    TruePerception Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2013 California

    Any science behind that, do you know?
     
    #5 TruePerception, Dec 17, 2013
  6. epk

    epk Pundit (849) Jun 10, 2008 New Jersey

    @TruePerception - I don't think any science supports that waxing helps. It is logical to assume it's an extra security blanket - like if a bottle fell over and the cap was somehow dented or some such - that would not happen with wax. In the end, I think of it simply as an aesthetic thing.
     
    #6 epk, Dec 17, 2013
  7. FATC1TY

    FATC1TY Pooh-Bah (2,564) Feb 12, 2012 Georgia
    Pooh-Bah

    Reminds me I need to bottle and wax that RIS to clear up a keg soon..

    Thanks for the info. I'll surely use it!

    I'm wondering how I'll wax though.. 7 crayons for that little bit of bottle is alot of crayons if I want the same color... Wonder if you can buy bags of the wax alone somewhere, and then add the hot glue to.
     
    #7 FATC1TY, Dec 17, 2013
    mcc1654 likes this.
  8. epk

    epk Pundit (849) Jun 10, 2008 New Jersey

    #8 epk, Dec 17, 2013
  9. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    @TruePerception it is all Asthetics. The Belgian bottles, the labels, the wax, makes it look really nice when pulled from the cellar to share with friends. Definitely the best looking homebrew (and better than most of the commercials) at that club party. Everyone was asking, "Ooh, what's that? That's your's? Wow, that looks really nice." No one said that about the kegs, well, except maybe the midget 1 gallon keg. Basically, it looks pretty. Same reasons the big boys do it. I only do this on my sours, and only a 6 pack at a time, all the rest get regular brown 12oz bottles with crown caps. These are the ones I hold onto for years and only pull out for special occasions.

    @FATC1TY They don't have to be crayola, hit the $1 Store and grab like 10 packs, and glue sticks to boot. I blended the different colors. I used Red, Blue, Blue Violet, Red Violet, Violet, and Pink for the Purple wax. The Orange is Orange, Red, Red Orange, Yellow Orange, Peach, and a couple others. Same with the yellow, I used a few different yellows, oranges, peaches.
     
    #9 jbakajust1, Dec 17, 2013
  10. FATC1TY

    FATC1TY Pooh-Bah (2,564) Feb 12, 2012 Georgia
    Pooh-Bah

    Good points.. I know I've seen the wax at some LHBS and online homebrew shops in bags, chipped wax parts. Wondered if those would work well enough to blend with the glue, or if they were already a blend of some sorts.

    I'm gonna have to do some 12oz bottles of this RIS. Planned on bombers, but want enough to last atleast 10-15 years to see if it even last that long. 14.5% and I'm not all that interested in popping a bomber of it each time I want to taste it and enjoy one.
     
    #10 FATC1TY, Dec 17, 2013
  11. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    Something that big I might do maybe 3 bombers to take to large gatherings, and the remainder in 7oz nibs.
     
    #11 jbakajust1, Dec 17, 2013
  12. TruePerception

    TruePerception Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2013 California

    It would be a good idea to stock up on crayons in the summer (Back-to-School), if you do this often enough. A lot of times you can get a pack of crayons for, like, 19 cents.
     
    #12 TruePerception, Dec 17, 2013
  13. TruePerception

    TruePerception Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2013 California

    Say, is there an easy way to open wax topped bottles. I usually try to take the serrated knife on my bottle opener just under the crown, and then finagle the opener until it catches enough to pop, but this has yet to take me less than 3 minutes!
     
    #13 TruePerception, Dec 17, 2013
  14. OddNotion

    OddNotion Pooh-Bah (1,915) Nov 1, 2009 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Have you tried this on Deschuttes Abyss? that bottle refuses to open every damn time I have one.
     
    #14 OddNotion, Dec 17, 2013
  15. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I used the knife on the wine bottle opener, hit it right where the neck bulge starts to slope in toawards the cap and cut it away to the cap itself for about 1/3 of the way around the neck. Then use the bottle cap remover on the same wine bottle opener to pop the cap off. It can take some time, but it works much better than my beer bottle cap opener from New Belguim. This is the type of opener I use.

    [​IMG]
     
    #15 jbakajust1, Dec 17, 2013
  16. TruePerception

    TruePerception Initiate (0) Aug 30, 2013 California

    That was one I have had, yes. I got lots of flakes from that one...

    Yeah, I use that same style of opener (except mine has a flat/non-curved body).
     
    #16 TruePerception, Dec 17, 2013
  17. skivtjerry

    skivtjerry Pooh-Bah (1,865) Mar 10, 2006 Vermont
    Pooh-Bah

    If you're going to cellar for a long time, waxing will protect the cap from rusting. I've tasted a 10 yo homebrew with a rusty cap and it was pretty awful, nothing but blood/metal. OTOH, I have some 1986 Thomas Hardy's with unprotected caps and they look fine. A 1988 TH had no issues when opened in 2009.

    So, mostly for looks unless you have a very humid cellar, though it's cheap insurance for a treasured bottle or 2.
     
    #17 skivtjerry, Dec 17, 2013
    TruePerception and PortLargo like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.