I have noticed that after I open many of my beers, my caps still look perfectly intact. I.e not fractures stresses and are relatively clean still.
It seems like such a waist to just chuck it. Does anyone out there re-use theirs, and or what would be a good reason not to re-use caps?
I know the are cheap. But is that really the only reason to use new ones?
I would probably say that re-using caps is a risky idea for a few reasons.
1) even though they may look like they are still new, they were already crimped over a bottle so there is a chance that the reliability of the cap properly resealing over another bottle are diminished.
2) as someone said previously, a lot of caps have a coating on the inside that helps prevent oxidizing. Re-capping would eliminate the effectiveness of this the second time around.
3) Considering the time and effort that you would put into a brew, do you really want to risk spoiling some of your finished brew over a couple of caps.
Many caps are made with an oxygen absorbing layer to prevent the beer from oxidizing. The benefit of such layers is disputed, however they are definitely not functioning anymore when being used a second time.
The shape of an unused crown cap is such that if you crimp it over the bottle top, it seals it nicely. A crown cap that has been pried off of a bottle is bent and might not seal entirely when reused.
I never considered reusing caps, in my opinion, they probably have suffered some sort of flaw in their ability to reseal a bottle and be able to retain pressure. If you want to try a few caps after an inspection have at it. Be sure to sanitize well before their use. Considering their low cost it may not be worth the risk of losing a bottle of beer.
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