<p>The bottle cap has the same purpose as a wire cage-- to ensure that the cork doesn't pop itself under the bottle's interior pressure.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T18:01:57.697Z
I hadn't realized that the pressure could do that.  (I guess, now that you mention it, champaigne does tend to have wire cages, though most wines don't.)  But is a cap really strong enough to prevent that?
Monica Cellio
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T18:05:52.417Z
I don't have direct experience in bottling that beer, or beers of that nature, but apparently so.  I think it's mostly precautionary, and probably a small cost to prevent accidents (and a poor reputation).
object88
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-23T01:30:32.247Z
Prevent entirely? Probably not - but you wouldn't *want* that either, @Monica. In a "catastrophic failure" scenario, popping a cap is preferable to breaking the bottle itself. Under normal conditions, the fermentation produces *juust* enough pressure to give the wine/beer a nice sparkling carbonation and the cap a satisfying "pop" - the over-cap would need only to keep it in place long enough for you to enjoy it.
Shog9
CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-01-22T17:53:02.120Z
2014-01-22T17:53:02.120Z
object88
<p>Some beers, like Lindemann's lambics, come in a bottle that resembles a champaigne bottle (but smaller), with a cork -- <em>and</em> a bottlecap.  What does the cap add to this?  Why is it there?</p>

<p>(By "resembles a champaigne bottle" I mean the glass is thicker and the bottom has that "indent" characteristic of bottles whose contents are under higher-than-normal pressure.)</p>

<bottling>
What's the benefit of cap “and” cork?
Monica Cellio
# What's the benefit of cap “and” cork?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-01-22)

Some beers, like Lindemann's lambics, come in a bottle that resembles a champaigne bottle (but smaller), with a cork -- *and* a bottlecap. What does the cap add to this? Why is it there?

(By "resembles a champaigne bottle" I mean the glass is thicker and the bottom has that "indent" characteristic of bottles whose contents are under higher-than-normal pressure.)

**Tags:** bottling


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2014-01-22. Score: 8 | Accepted answer

The bottle cap has the same purpose as a wire cage-- to ensure that the cork doesn't pop itself under the bottle's interior pressure.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I hadn't realized that the pressure could do that.  (I guess, now that you mention it, champaigne does tend to have wire cages, though most wines don't.)  But is a cap really strong enough to prevent that?  
> **username_1**: I don't have direct experience in bottling that beer, or beers of that nature, but apparently so.  I think it's mostly precautionary, and probably a small cost to prevent accidents (and a poor reputation).  
> **username_2**: Prevent entirely? Probably not - but you wouldn't *want* that either, @username_0. In a "catastrophic failure" scenario, popping a cap is preferable to breaking the bottle itself. Under normal conditions, the fermentation produces *juust* enough pressure to give the wine/beer a nice sparkling carbonation and the cap a satisfying "pop" - the over-cap would need only to keep it in place long enough for you to enjoy it.  

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