If your brewing hobby began with an equipment starter set, chances are you own a wing capper. These classics usually come in black or bright red and do a great job of sealing crown caps onto standard 12-ounce “longneck” beer bottles: Just center the crown in the bell, place over the bottle, and push down on the wings until the cap snaps into place.
If you’ve ever tried packaging in bottles of different shapes and sizes, though, you may have found that the standard-issue capper doesn’t always get the job done. That’s because the venerable wing capper relies on two metal plates that grab onto the bottle’s neck. These plates secure the bottle in place and give you the leverage and support you need to firmly push the cap down.