No secondary, how to bottle

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matthague

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Hey Guys,

So I opted for a no secondary this time around (since I have messed up EVERY batch so far I thought this might be safer). Doing so I picked the bottling bucket to primary in (I have 2 plastic buckets, one a fermenter, one a bottler) but now when I think of it, if I bottle from here won't I get all the trub in the bottles?

Should I syphon into the other bucket, let it sit for a bit then syphon back to the bottler on bottle day? Or should I run the tap at the bottom to see if I can pull out clear beer without hitting the trub and going straight to bottle?
 
Somehow you have to mix in your priming sugars as well. I would transfer to the bottling bucket, and mix in your priming sugar as you transfer. At least that's the way I did it when I was bottling.

Do you have an Auto-siphon? If not... get one.

Gary
 
You should've made sure to primary in the non-spigot pale. Now about all you can do is rack to the other one,clean out the bottling bucket & rack back ,using tubing on the spigot & auto siphon on the other to bottom of other pale. Or just use carb drops in bottles & run the bottling wand from the bottling bucket you primaried in. Cooper's FV's work that way.
 
Thanks chaps. I have the coopers drops so priming straight into the bottle is fine, but in doing so am I still running the risk of pouring a pile of trub into the bottle?

If I bottle drop prime with the coopers should I still swap it into the other one, then back again to fill them or can I skip that step now?
 
Thanks chaps. I have the coopers drops so priming straight into the bottle is fine, but in doing so am I still running the risk of pouring a pile of trub into the bottle?

If I bottle drop prime with the coopers should I still swap it into the other one, then back again to fill them or can I skip that step now?

You don't "pour" beer to bottle, ever. You siphon from above the trub. It's easier to siphon (rack) to a bottling bucket, and then using a bottling wand in the spigot, just fill the bottles. You can siphon from the bucket into the bottles, but that's a huge pain in the butt.
 
You know, you could siphon it out of the bottling bucket into the other bucket, then just use the siphon to bottle. Yes, it's slightly harder than using a bottling bucket with a valve.
 
It might waste some beer but maybe you could just runoff from the bottling bucket till it runs clear, and then start filling bottles?
 
Its already been said I think, but if it were me I would siphon into the "other" bucket, clean the spigot bucket, sanitize, siphon back and bottle. But that's just me.
 
You don't "pour" beer to bottle, ever. You siphon from above the trub. It's easier to siphon (rack) to a bottling bucket, and then using a bottling wand in the spigot, just fill the bottles. You can siphon from the bucket into the bottles, but that's a huge pain in the butt.

Thanks. I do have a bottling wand but hasn't bothered with it in the past as it looked so convenient to just put a bottle up to the spigot and pour it in. Does this harm the brew by adding too much air or something?
 
Appreciate the input guys, I've an auto syphoner that I haven't used yet so this looks like the right time to crack it out and swap buckets.

In terms of timing, should I wait Til fermentation is complete then swap, sanitize and swap back on same day and bottle, or should it rest in between all that movement?
 
Thanks. I do have a bottling wand but hasn't bothered with it in the past as it looked so convenient to just put a bottle up to the spigot and pour it in. Does this harm the brew by adding too much air or something?

Yes you are introducing oxygen to the bottle which can cause off flavors.
 
Appreciate the input guys, I've an auto syphoner that I haven't used yet so this looks like the right time to crack it out and swap buckets.

In terms of timing, should I wait Til fermentation is complete then swap, sanitize and swap back on same day and bottle, or should it rest in between all that movement?

Personally if it were me I would siphon to other bucket, clean/sanitize spigot bucket, siphon back to spigot bucket, bottle. All the same day.
 
Personally if it were me I would siphon to other bucket, clean/sanitize spigot bucket, siphon back to spigot bucket, bottle. All the same day.

Or, after carefully siphoning to the "other" bucket, instead of doing everything the same day use that "other" bucket like a secondary fermenter, let the beer sit a day or three, cold crash if possible to clear up and then transfer to the spigot bucket. Then bottle from the spigot bucket like Doctor Wily suggested. You may even want to consider the careful transfer of the beer before f.g. is reached so that you get a blanket of CO2 on top of your beer. I think I would probably do something like this just to minimize the sediment in the bottle. I don't bottle too much though, so check with others here - maybe someone will chime in about what I've said. I think in theory it should work. :mug:
 
my only concern with it staying in the other bucket for an extended period of time would be all the head space assuming it's a 6.5 gallon bucket. I'd probably just let it age a little longer in the bottle to let it all settle. Like you're saying though, if there was some fermentation activity still going and could produce a CO2 blanket, that would possibly work.
 
I am fortunate enough to have an extra CO2 bottle/regulator or two in the brewery so I would/could hit it with a blanket of CO2 and rack onto CO2. Oxygenation in a big open bucket is definitely a concern though. On a side note I have found that long after airlock activity has ceased there usually is still lots of CO2 in suspension in the beer itself. How much protection that offers is kind of hard to figure - it's all theoretical AFAIK. Plus, a significant amount of CO2 that was suspended in the beer may be released with any transfer. Some things to consider...

Good luck OP!
 
Thanks. I do have a bottling wand but hasn't bothered with it in the past as it looked so convenient to just put a bottle up to the spigot and pour it in. Does this harm the brew by adding too much air or something?

Yes you are introducing oxygen to the bottle which can cause off flavors.

Yes, as was mentioned. Do NOT hold it up to the spigot and pour it in! Use a bottling wand (best) or at least a piece of tubing so you fill from the bottom of the bottle. Oxidized beer doesn't taste good, and it goes stale very fast. After all that work making the beer, it's silly to risk the whole batch due to not having a $2 bottling wand.
 
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