First bottling Sunday - final questions

Beer (AHS Double Choc Stout extract kit) has been fermenting in primary for 4 weeks this Sunday and I'm planning to bottle. Final questions:

1. I purchased new bottles form Midwest - do I still need to clean them beforehand or just sanitize and hang them on the bottling tree?

2. I assume everything else I will be using - which is all new equipment (siphon, tubing, bottle filler, caps, bottle capper, etc) - will have to be sanitized as well, yes?

3. Is there any particular trick to using the auto siphon - I've always siphoned the old fashioned way.

4. Besides the priming sugar included with the kit, do I or can I add anything else to the beer before bottling?

5. Once bottled, do the bottles need to be stored a certain way or can I simply stack them upright in boxes and store in a dark cool place?

5. How long do I leave the beer in the bottles before I can pop one open and see what I've done - or not done?

1. I got away with just sanitizing my purchased bottles from my LHBS
2. Yes.
3. My bucket has a spigot, can't help here.
4. I've heard people adding extracts at bottling, depends on what you're looking for.
5. Upright, dark, room temp.
5(6)? As long as you can tolerate, 3 weeks is an ok start.

1) Just give them a rinse to get out the dust. If you see something stuck to the sides, get a bottle brush in there, otherwise they should be good to go. After they're used make sure you clean them.

2) Everything that touches the beer post boil needs to be sanitized. Everything.

3) Nope, just give it a couple pumps and away it goes. When you are at the bottom of the carboy though and the siphon stops, if you give it a couple pumps, you may not get every drop of beer. All you might get is O2 in your beer, so be careful. You don't want to oxidize your beer.

4) Make sure you boil the sugar with a cup or two of water for about five minutes just to sanitize it. Then cool it and add it to your bottling bucket. Later you can try different kinds of sugar to prime with such as honey, brown sugar, or even DME. For now just stick with the sugar.

5) Don't store them in a cool place. Make sure they're room temp so they carb well. That yeast needs to be awake. Cooling it will make them sluggish. Otherwise, yeah, just store them upright in a closet and forget about them for about three weeks.

6) I guess I just answered that, but if you get antsy, you can try to pop one after a week, then two weeks, and by three your beer should be well carbed. Although with some beer, it may take up to six weeks before its at it's prime to drink.

Good luck and have fun!

I leave my bottles at room temperature and they are pretty well carbed in just a week. Chill just one and have a taste. I'll bet you aren't real impressed (or maybe you will be, it's beer YOU made). Leave the rest sit at room temperature as long as you can stand before opening, like another month (it's your beer, sample when you want) and I'll bet you will be wowed. Save a few for 2 to 3 months to let them fully mature (it's a stout, they take more time to mature). Meantime, start brewing another batch or 2. Unless you are really hung up on making stouts only, try a cream ale. It will be good before the stout even though the stout had a head start.

Practice with the auto siphon ahead of time. It is very easy to use but better to learn with a bucket of water than with your first bucket of beer. I would recommend you stop the transfer before you get to the bottom of the carboy. Watch the transfer as it gets low and try to stop it right when the bubbles start to get sucked up. You don't want those bubbles getting into your bottling bucket.

Have fun! You're finishing making your beer!!

Great ideas - much appreciated! I think I will practice the use of the auto siphon ahead of time. Should I also run some sanitizer solution through the siphon and bottle filler and tubing prior to the actual bottling event?

Yes I run sanitizer through my siphon tubing and through the bottle spigot. Everything the beer touches.

Read this:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812

It will make your first bottling day easy and enjoyable.

I'd like to add something to what trevorc13 said. #6, I think it's important to taste the beers as they condition (and at bottling). This way you really get to see how aging improves taste. If you wait until a suggested conditioing point, ie. three weeks, you have nothing to compare it to. My Boddington's clone was a perfect example. Ten days in the bottle, I could almost taste the color green. Two weeks later, much better.
I'd get a sixer of choc stout to have while bottling.

More great ideas - very very much appreciated. rustym, that link was very helpful. As with many things in life, organization and preparation is the key. petey - I will adopt your suggestion to sample the beer as it goes along.

I like the idea about attaching the bottling wand directly to the spigot and may try to do that if I can find some small clamps.

I think I will also add half the priming sugar solution at the beginning and the other half after I've transferred half of my beer to the bottling bucket.

Do I need to, or even want to, gently stir the beer in the bottling bucket once it's all in there to adequately mix the priming sugar solution throughout the beer prior to bottling it?

My inclination is to use the priming sugar packet that came with the kit since it's my first, but would I be better served by using a darker brown sugar since I am making a stout?

Like trevorc13, I batch prime (response #4). Pour the priming sugar/water mix into the bottling bucket, then rack on top of it. This way it gets evenly mixed. Stick with the basics, then you have a guage for your other brews (priming sugar, then other types of sugars). I would also keep a cup or bowl on the floor underneath the wand. It keeps the drips from getting onto the floor and sometimes the spring loaded valve in the wand gets stuck in the open position. After you've bottled your last, you get to taste a sample. No alcohol abuse (spilling beer, pouring it down the drain, etc.). Pete