Waxing Bottles - Classy!

I've really been looking forward to Minneapolis Town Hall's Barrel Aged Beer Week and more specifically, their Czar Imperial Stout aged in Jack Daniel's barrels. It's one of those beers that would easily break into Beer Advocates top 100 if more people had the opportunity to try it (just like 3 Hour Tour) or was brewed in Southern California. In preparation for this beer release I purchased some silver wax from Midwest Brewing so that I could seal the tops of my Barrel Aged Czar growlers. The growlers are cold counter pressured filled (or so I hear) but I just don't trust the twist cap tops to hold the carbonation and keep out the oxygen. I'd really like to sit on one for a while to share with friends come August at The Great Taste of the Midwest.

I didn't have much idea of how to melt the wax but I remember reading something about someone using a small tuna or cat food can to melt the wax on their stove. Sounds good to me. I emptied one of my cats wet food cans and washed it out as best I could. The bags of wax beads are 1 lb each and I probably poured in maybe 2-3 oz total in the can. I just wanted to melt enough wax to cover the lip of the growlers (and eventually the caps of Langs Lil Smokey since I had extra wax). Keep in mind, the little wax beads will melt down quite a bit so add a bit more than you think you'll need.

For maybe the first time ever, things went smoothly and exactly as I had envisioned. I kept the heat on a level 2 of 10 so it was fairly low in the grand scheme of things. I didn't want everything getting too hot and be a bitch to work with. I slowly stirred the beads with the back end of a wooden matchstick once everything started melting and kept the chunks moving. At first the wax was thick and chunky but once it starts melting, the rest of the beads quickly follow. It eventually turns out to be nice and smooth and even seems a bit thin (my picture is rather blurry, I know). No worries though because once you dip the lids , the wax cools very quickly. I was able to do the growlers and my last 15ish Lil Smokey bottles in about 5 min. Once the wax fully cools and hardened, i just left it in the can and put the can a Ziploc bag to be reused the next time I need some wax. Eazy Peezy and the bottles look really cool.

I'll definitely be doing more of this with beers that I know I'll be aging (my Surly Wort will look reeeeaaaal nice with some Red or Brown wax). It gives the bottles a little extra something and serves as a extra seal on whatever you wax. Maybe not needed with a good seal on the bottle caps but whatever, the coolness factor is well worth it!