Best Bottle Caps of 2010

Ok! So these are a year late, but I've finally cleaned up and mounted my "best of" collection from 2010.

This project started after I received a wall-mount bottle opener from my friend Jody. He was cleaning out his condo and found several beer steins he no longer had room for, and the opener was in the box. Luckily, I had room for both the steins and the opener in my kitchen. The opener installed nicely near my recycle bin and with the help of a random, loose magnet, it catches all the caps before they fall to the floor.

I had been collecting bottle caps for no apparent reason other than I had a magnetic knife rack that I wasn't using. Once I installed the opener on the wall, I got the idea to collect caps that I didn't already have - at least the ones I liked.

The current front-runners of the 2011 collection.

I printed out a template to which I glued the caps before putting them in a deep-set frame. I ran out of heavier card stock, so the standard piece of paper warped a bit as the glue dried. I'm planning to buy a thin sheet of tin or maybe just cardboard to adhere to the back in hopes of flattening it out, but it will suffice for now.

Back in 2010 I had managed to squeeze in more than enough caps and was perplexed as to how I was going to make them fit on a 8-1/2 x 11" sheet of paper. It was Jody who pointed out the obvious: "There's 24 bottles in a case of beer, why don't you just keep 24?" ...so out went the caps I knew I'd have no problem finding again! (really, there's many on there still that I could have thrown out)

The layout prior to framing

My personal favorites from 2010 are:

• Bell's Oberon; this cap always makes me think of summer!
• Hook & Ladder isn't a common find in Chicago - unless your house is actually on fire.
  
• Harpoon Brewery's cap is simple; it's old fashioned and rather distinctive.
  

The complete list can be found after the jump.

The end of 2011 is approaching, and I'm now faced with the problem of picking up SIX new beers with interesting caps! Suggestions will be most appreciated!

All buttoned up! (and me on my way!)

The complete list in no particular order from the 2010 collection is(beer name when obvious):

• Breckenridge Brewery
• Bell's Oberon; Bell's Brewery Inc.
• Victory Brewing Co.
• Anchor Brewing
• Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. 
• Cervejaria Sul Brasileria
• Founder's Brewing Co.
• Otter Creek Brewing
• Lagunitas Brewing Co.
• Magic Hat Brewing Co.
• New Holland Brewing Co.
• Three Floyd's Brewing Co.
• New Belgium Brewing
• Bell's Hopslam, Bell's Brewing Co.
• Magner's Cider, H.P. Bulmer Brewing Co.
• Newcasle Brown Ale, Heineken Intl.
• Hook & Ladder Brewing Co.
• Goose Island Beer Co.
• Bell's Brewery Inc.
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery Inc.
• Great Lakes Brewing Co.
• Harpoon Brewery
• Two Brothers Brewing Co.