From Fermenter to bottle bucket

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Devildog32

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How long do you let it settle in the bottling bucket after you pour the five gallons from the fermenting bucket?
 
Ive only been doing this a few months but I can certainly say...DO NOT POUR.
use a racking cane and tubing.
 
Let's assume he meant siphon...how long?? I have my first 5 gallon bottling approaching.

I assumed id siphon it over and just bottle immediately. I have a lid and thought I might let it settle for a few hours, even entertained thoughts of a 24 hour cold crash...
 
Ive only been doing this a few months but I can certainly say...DO NOT POUR.
use a racking cane and tubing.

+1 Do not pour. The siphon hose needs to be long enough to lay in the bottom of the bottling bucket so that there is no splashing.
 
The only thing you should be waiting for is the beer in primary to settle out clear or slightly misty. Then rack to the bottling bucket & prime. If you're carefull,you get little or no sediment in the bottling bucket. I do & get clear beer.
 
the beer stays in the bottling bucket for about 60 seconds (maybe a little longer if i'm tasting) before it starts going into the bottles.

there is no reason to leave anything in the bucket at all.

ps... siphon into the bucket, don't pour
 
I am obviously really new at this. Any particular way to siphon? What is racking? When siphoning, do you deep it off the bottom to avoid sediment?
Thanks for taking the time to help me.
 
racking is just our word for siphoning to another vessel

a racking cane with tip will help to keep from siphoning sediment from the fermenter. racking cane is a hard plastic tube with a curve at one end and a tip on the other, which helps from racking sediment to your bottling bucket. also, start the siphoning from just under the surface and lower it to keep it under the surface.

different ways to start the siphon:
  • buy an auto-siphon (preferred method)
  • fill the tubing with water, keep one end plugged until you have the racking cane in the beer and then unplug
  • use your mouth (not recommended, risk of infection. mouth full of warm, flat beer, not always a bad thing)
  • fly-guy's t-siphon
 
If you use an auto siphon,you don't need to suck on it like when siphoning gas. You pump the curved part to start the siphon. I have spigots on both my fermenters to negate using siphons that keep wanting to add streams of bubbles. And the racking tube should curve around the bottom of the bottling bucket about half way to induce a swirl that helps mix the priming solution with the beer.
 
When siphoning, do you deep it off the bottom to avoid sediment?

Yes, when siphoning try to keep the siphon off the layer of trub and yeast on the bottom of the fermenter. I also started using a paint filter over the tip of my siphon. I just switched to all grain and had a few pieces of grain that managed to make their way into the fermenter. The filter helps to keep all large particles out of the beer. It's not fine enough to filter out the yeast though.
 
Yeah,my LD Carlson paint strainer bag I use in the BK/MT wound up being "course weave". Doesn't look that course though,but it does let about a cup of grain trub through. I have a cake strainer rack that goes in the bottom of the BK/MT so it doesn't burn. I guess since I keep it stirred it doesn't get much chance to burn. I'm thinking of placing my fine mesh strainer under the collander to strain it out when draining the bag & sparging. I've been concerned about roasty/burnt flavors making it into the final product.
But it all gets strained out going into the fermenter,at any rate.
 
If you use a priming mix like muntons kreamy x instead of sugar, how and when do you add it to the bottle bucket? Do you add it while siphoning and do you continue to stir in the muntons after the bottle bucket is full?
 
You use it the same as sugar. It has dextrose in it,along with DME & propylene glycol for head retention. You can still make a priming solution out of it first,then add to bucket while racking. stir if you like.
 
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