I picked up a couple of one-gallon glass carboys not too long ago. They look *fantastic* :rockin:
However, after making a couple of micro-batches, I have some questions - things came out OK, but it wasn't as smooth as I would have liked:
1) Siphoning: any good hints on how to siphon? I have an auto-siphon but I can't use it because the opening on the carboy is far too small to let anything but the end of the tube in.
2) Bottling: Sort of the same problem here; bottling was sort of OK; I was able to use a funnel on the beer bottle end, and used my (sanitized) thumb over the end of the tube to fill up the bottles. But this resulted in quite a bit of 'foaming' because the bottle was filling up so fast. I suspect this resulted in not a little bit of oxygen getting into the mix...What's the best way to control the flow rate and be able to stop/start the flow for bottling?
3) Cleaning: I have a nice long brush that fits into the neck of the carboy - but it's not like I can get my hand inside it to scrub all over. I can get the bottom and around the edge of the bottom, but that's about it. What's the best way to clean something you can't really get into?
Txs in advance for any tips!!
However, after making a couple of micro-batches, I have some questions - things came out OK, but it wasn't as smooth as I would have liked:
1) Siphoning: any good hints on how to siphon? I have an auto-siphon but I can't use it because the opening on the carboy is far too small to let anything but the end of the tube in.
2) Bottling: Sort of the same problem here; bottling was sort of OK; I was able to use a funnel on the beer bottle end, and used my (sanitized) thumb over the end of the tube to fill up the bottles. But this resulted in quite a bit of 'foaming' because the bottle was filling up so fast. I suspect this resulted in not a little bit of oxygen getting into the mix...What's the best way to control the flow rate and be able to stop/start the flow for bottling?
3) Cleaning: I have a nice long brush that fits into the neck of the carboy - but it's not like I can get my hand inside it to scrub all over. I can get the bottom and around the edge of the bottom, but that's about it. What's the best way to clean something you can't really get into?
Txs in advance for any tips!!