bottles

[squarehead]

This is my first time make mead and i have a ? about bottleing. I use to make beer a few years back and have a few dozen grolsh bottels laying around and was wondering if i can use them for bottleing my mead ?
grolsh bottels have the porcelain stoper with a rubber gasket,

[Ben Brewcat]

Absolutely. The usual caveats apply; good sanitation, make sure it's done before bottling (a lot longer than beers), avoid aeration. I like the 16-oz swings because two 8-oz pours is great for sharing with a friend!

Swingtops are also cool in that if you DO get overcarbonation in spite of your efforts you can loosen the bail, burping out pressure, and re-clamp without really opening the bottle. You'll of course get the sediment that results from an active ferment in the bottle, but homebrewers are adept at decanting off the yeast.

One point: I remove the gaskets from the bottles when you're sanitizing. If left in place, the crevice where the rubber lies against the cap can harbor bugs. If your gaskets are dented from long use, you can flip them over to form a new seal. New gaskets are available at LHBS (local homebrew shop) for @$.10 apiece. Also be sure to rinse very well with hot water if you use bleach to sanitize... bleach residue becomes chorophenols with a terrible medicinal taste, detectable at three parts per billion.