We no need no stinking beer gun...

I love this method. But I have found that I maintain better carbonation and "think" that I get better co2 flushing via foam if I bottle at 10-12psi. You do have to keep a pretty steady hand on the stopper and I use tub to catch the beerfall. In the tub I put a coffee can to support my bottle at a comfortable height so I can work the on/off with my right hand and work the stopper with the left hand.
I generally spill about one to two bottles worth of beer in one corny keg worth of filling.

What's the best way to cut the racking cane at a 45 degree angle? A fine tooth hacksaw blade?

I used a hacksaw to get mostly there, then broke off the last little bit by bending with my hands, then smoothed around the edges with an orbital sander.

giligson said:

...and "think" that I get better co2 flushing via foam if I bottle at 10-12psi. You do have to keep a pretty steady hand on the stopper and I use tub to catch the beerfall....

Click to expand...

A method I use is to go ahead and use the 4-5 PSI, then top off each bottle just a bit. Then I place caps on each bottle and before I crimp them, I give each bottle a quick tip on its side and back upright (hold the cap on of course) to cause the beer to start foaming up. Then on goes the capper (loosely) and when I hear/see foam coming out of the cap, I crimp it down.

I'm looking at making one of these (someday). I had a thought on the air chuck side. Harbor Freight carries these:
Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Basically a tire inflator with a bleed valve. I've seen them on sale for about 1/2 price. I was thinking of permanantly attaching it to the inflating needle then you can just use the button to bleed off pressure.

I have read about this and thought it was pure genius... Then, I made one using a carboy stopper which sits on top of the bottle.

Beyond genius!

With this trick, and the rolling portable "kegerator" which is built now for parties, Biermuncher is my hero! And, congrats on the recent article!

I have some beer I need to send you. Bravo!

So I've just bottled some of BierMuncher's OktoberFAST ale from the keg using the BMBF. I plan to give this brew away as Christmas gifts. I am wondering whether or not I can store the bottled beer at room temperature for a while. I'm an apartment dweller and don't have room to store this beer in the fridge for an extended period of time. Basically, what kind of shelf life will this bottled brew have if it isn't refrigerated?

ISUBrew79 said:

So I've just bottled some of BierMuncher's OktoberFAST ale from the keg using the BMBF. I plan to give this brew away as Christmas gifts. I am wondering whether or not I can store the bottled beer at room temperature for a while. I'm an apartment dweller and don't have room to store this beer in the fridge for an extended period of time. Basically, what kind of shelf life will this bottled brew have if it isn't refrigerated?

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If you had complete and thorough fermentation before kegging and chilling, your shelf life is indefinite. I have bottle in the basement that are 10-14 months old and regularly stock my fridge with those.

If you rushed your beer into kegs and then chilled, racking the beer back into to bottles and then storing at room temp can kick up some residual fermentation and cause the beer to get over carbonated over time. I speak from experience.

So if you're patient with your fermentation process and you give the ber plenty of time to condition at room temp, bottle storage at room temp is no problem...even over many months.

BierMuncher said:

If you had complete and thorough fermentation before kegging and chilling, your shelf life is indefinite. I have bottle in the basement that are 10-14 months old and regularly stock my fridge with those.

If you rushed your beer into kegs and then chilled, racking the beer back into to bottles and then storing at room temp can kick up some residual fermentation and cause the beer to get over carbonated over time. I speak from experience.

So if you're patient with your fermentation process and you give the ber plenty of time to condition at room temp, bottle storage at room temp is no problem...even over many months.

Click to expand...

This was the OktoberFAST ale. It spent 2 weeks in primary and 2 weeks in secondary prior to kegging. The OG was 1.056 and the FG was 1.011, for 80% attenuation, fermented with WLP001 Cali Ale yeast. I think it attenuated fully, especially given the extra 1/2 pound of Carapils in the grain bill. Hopefully overcarbonation in the bottles will not be a problem.

Thanks for your reply, BierMuncher!

Just used the BMBF for the first time. Bottled a case of beer to take to a party.

Worked really well!

12 o BM's Brown ale
6 IPA
6 Pale ale

Thanks BM!

made mine last saturday and bottled 30 munich madness sunday in about 45 minutes.
only lost 1/2 bottle of beer.
thanks bm!

MikeG said:

What's the best way to cut the racking cane at a 45 degree angle? A fine tooth hacksaw blade?

Click to expand...

I just used the racking cane I broke the week before. I could not get the hose off and it broke at about a 45 degree angel, all be it a little rough around the edges.

I love mine. Used it to bring Cran-Cider to Thanksgiving dinner.

I've done this a couple of times thanks to Bobby's video. Saw it on you tube before I found this place. Lots of great info here btw.

Question is this: I bottled 20 beers tonight to clear a keg out of the kegerator. The beer i bottled was a little more carbed than the norm. 2 of the bottles kept pushing the caps off before I capped them. Should I worry about bottle bombs?

Rob

edit - I did put them in my deep freeze/fermenter with temp set at about 35-38.

Yambor44 said:

I've done this a couple of times thanks to Bobby's video. Saw it on you tube before I found this place. Lots of great info here btw.

Question is this: I bottled 20 beers tonight to clear a keg out of the kegerator. The beer i bottled was a little more carbed than the norm. 2 of the bottles kept pushing the caps off before I capped them. Should I worry about bottle bombs?

Rob

edit - I did put them in my deep freeze/fermenter with temp set at about 35-38.

Click to expand...

Nah. That's normal.

It's actually a good thing. If escaping CO2 managed to push off the caps, it also managed to push out any Oxygen that might cause your beer to go stale after an extended period of time. I actually give my bottles a good tip before capping to cause some intentional foaming. Then when the foam is seeping out of the loose lids, I crimp them down.

Always cap on foam to make sure you're not locking in any O2.

BierMuncher said:

A method I use is to go ahead and use the 4-5 PSI, then top off each bottle just a bit. Then I place caps on each bottle and before I crimp them, I give each bottle a quick tip on its side and back upright (hold the cap on of course) to cause the beer to start foaming up. Then on goes the capper (loosely) and when I hear/see foam coming out of the cap, I crimp it down.

Click to expand...

Once I get the beer to the top of the bottle, remove the racking cane/bottling tube and try and fill it the rest of the way, I get pretty much all foam. Any suggestions?

Rob

Yambor44 said:

Once I get the beer to the top of the bottle, remove the racking cane/bottling tube and try and fill it the rest of the way, I get pretty much all foam. Any suggestions?

Rob

Click to expand...

That's not unusual for a fully carb'd beer.

Just do your best and then proceed with capping on the foam that you got whilst topping off the bottles. Foam is foam...

BierMuncher said:

That's not unusual for a fully carb'd beer.

Just do your best and then proceed with capping on the foam that you got whilst topping off the bottles. Foam is foam...

Click to expand...

We will do. Thanks for the quick response. I love using this thing. As soon as I saw the video I ordered a couple of number 2 stoppers and started bottling as soon as they came in.

I cut the beer out tube off (about 1/2 inch) to help keep sediment out of my beer glass at all times. This just takes it to the next clear level!

Rob

Yambor44 said:

...I love using this thing...

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Spread the word and tell 'em where you heard it. :rockin:

BM, I love you!!!!! Bobby too. I have an old Foxx CP filler that I hate using. I am now FREE, FREE, FREE to make good on all the homebrew that I have promised and not fulfilled on due to kegging instead of bottling, and my wretched hatred of that thing. Tralalalalalala....happy, happy. XXXOOO

Just finished bottling 5gal of stout and 5 of ESB and this worked great,

I think I might be doing something wrong, it took a long time. But they are holding carbonation great.

worked like a charm! just bottled up eight bombers. best five bucks i've spent on gear in a long time. ten foot hose, i had no foaming over. i'm sure we'll drink them all today, so we won't get to see how long they hold the carbination.

Arneba28 said:

Just finished bottling 5gal of stout and 5 of ESB and this worked great,

I think I might be doing something wrong, it took a long time. But they are holding carbonation great.

Click to expand...

It takes a bit of time. All that fine motor movement makes my hands hurt after only 10 or so bottles. I would not have done a whole batch this way unless i had a REALLY good reason.

It is great for back sweetened ciders and if you want to empty a keg.

I've been using this to take beers with me wherever I go instead of buying. I like it cause you can drink homebrew straight from the bottle. Sometimes I feel like a snob/jerk walking into my friends house and asking for a glass while they're all drinking from their Busch Cans.
Cost a whopping 39Cents. Had the racking cane left over from starter kit and who doesn't have hose laying around if you're already to the point of kegging! Also started off using a picnick tap on kegs before I got the tap hooked up.
I've had some problems but just re-read original post and realized why. I wasn't filling until beer came out, just till it was full. No problems that led to bad taste and I always drank what I botteled that night. I always seem to do it as we're walking out the door to the get-together and don't wanna make a mess on the basement floor.

I used mine for the first time yesterday and it rocked. I bottled a 12 pack of my porter from the keg and had no problems. I found that if I let the beer that was left in the racking cane drip into the top of the bottle it produced just enough foam to completely fill the bottle. Will use again!

I just tested this for our oatmeal stout this weekend. We got the amount of headspace perfect for competition. And when we opened a bottle to test later that night and the next day, it was still carbed exactly the same as the beer in the keg. Amazing! It seemed complicated when I read over all the posts, but when we actually tried it, it was so simple! We only chilled the bottles for about five minutes after sanitizing, and had almost zero foam. Thanks for making my Saturday!

boodyrischous said:

...We only chilled the bottles for about five minutes after sanitizing, and had almost zero foam. Thanks for making my Saturday!

Click to expand...

I've stopped chilling the bottles all together. Now I do what the local micro does and that's one last minute rinse in sanitizer and then a rinse with cold tap water.

Apparently, the moisture inside the bottles from the tap water suppresses foaming. I've been doing this now for about 6+ months. Sure is a time saver.

BierMuncher said:

I've stopped chilling the bottles all together. Now I do what the local micro does and that's one last minute rinse in sanitizer and then a rinse with cold tap water.

Apparently, the moisture inside the bottles from the tap water suppresses foaming. I've been doing this now for about 6+ months. Sure is a time saver.

Click to expand...

So do you use cold tap water rinse first then sanitizer?

I wonder if it would be advantageous to fill the bottles while holding them down in a bucket of ice water? Probably too much work.

Yambor44 said:

So do you use cold tap water rinse first then sanitizer?

Click to expand...

I use a mild bleach water for sanitizing so the rinse comes second.

BierMuncher said:

I use a mild bleach water for sanitizing so the rinse comes second.

Click to expand...

But as you've noted in other threads, your water seems to be quite "clean" of any buggies.

I dunno if I'd trust my house's water supply for post-sanitizer rinsing. 90 years old house, iron pipes, etc etc.

cheap and easy, just how i like it....thanks BM

Chriso said:

But as you've noted in other threads, your water seems to be quite "clean" of any buggies.

I dunno if I'd trust my house's water supply for post-sanitizer rinsing. 90 years old house, iron pipes, etc etc.

Click to expand...

Do what I did: break a faucet and replace all the pipes in your house with copper!

Curious. Has anyone noticed a difference in how well this works when bottling when you first tap the keg from bottling when it's almost done? I did a brew with a buddy and split it with him. So one day when it was first ready I bottled about 3 six packs. No issues, was perfect bottling, moved real fast, less than 30mins. This past weekend we tried to bottle the last sixer and it was all foam. Bottled 3 more last night, same issue. Just now I went to pull a pint and all got about 1/4 of the glass and the keg kicked. Wondering if the smaller amount of beverage in the keg may have caused the foaming for some reason.

Kilted Brewer said:

...Wondering if the smaller amount of beverage in the keg may have caused the foaming for some reason.

Click to expand...

Most likely due to the significantly higher ratio of gas to liquid in the keg.

I've bottled a lot from the last 1/4 of the keg. You have to make sure to bleed all excess pressure from the keg and then dial that PSI to about 4 or 5. It's also easier if you just blast the keg with enough of a burst of that 5psi gas to barely push out the beer. If you simply crank the gas to 5 and let the whole (mostly empty) keg pressurize, it might be a bit too much to insure a smooth flow.

Another thing is that if you are using frozen bottles...try using room temp bottles that have been rinsed in cold water. That really improved things for me. Most micro's don't freeze their bottles at filling time. They simply give them a cold, last minute rinse and then fill.

BierMuncher said:

. It's also easier if you just blast the keg with enough of a burst of that 5psi gas to barely push out the beer.

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That's how I have always done it, and if you just hit it really fast you don't have to worry about monkeying with your regulator. 12 psi only on for 1-2 seconds won't put 12 psi into the keg, so I just bleed off all the pressure, hit it real quick and start to fill. If beer doesn't come out I hit it real quick again.

Doing it this way I have never had a foaming issue with the BMBF

See, that's how I did and normally do do it. I've bottled numerous cases with the BMBF with no issue at all. Then these two near the end of the keg and all I get is foam. PSI and 2 or less, just to get the beer pushed out.

I just did about a case using this method again. about 12 each of an Oktoberfest and 12 of a wheat beer plus a growler of the wheat. Both have been sittin in the fridge with about 11 PSI on them for over a month. I needed to get them out, so bottled them. Most will be drank today for the game, and over the next week or so. I plan to save a couple back for testing purposes.

The Oktoberfest ran great, not much foaming at all. The wheat seemed to foam a bunch, and I really had to be careful with it.

Still, better than buying a danged beer gun

The last time I did this I used one of these:



Hooked up the the CO2 tank with the rubber tip that came with it. I purged the bottles with this before putting in the BMBF. Not sure if it mattered, but I figured it couldn't hurt.

I have saved one of each from that batch, one purged one not. I will check in three months to see if there is a difference.

Next time I do this it will be outside. I am trying to get chocolate stout stains out of my carpet.
First the picnic tap fell off the racking cane and beer went everywhere. Second I did not have the hose to the liquid out on tight enough and it started spraying out all over my kegerator. But after all that it went pretty well. I bottled a 12 pack; the last six went much better that the first six. After the next twelve I should be a pro.

BierMuncher should have a special place reserved in homebrew heaven for his genius.
I spent today bottling up some brews for travel and competition and damn was it easy! I love the idea that I can bottle up some of my special brews without bottling a whole batch. I'm planning on trying my hand at filtering soon, so it'll be great to eventually bottle up filterred and perfect beers!
I ended up getting a counter pressure bottle filler for free, but now I'm not sure I want to go through getting fittings and setting it up. I may have to gift it to someone instead and stick to the BMBF.

I just bottled 50 bottles today, 3 different beers. I didn't freeze the bottles, just sanitized them with the vinator before use, I did 10 bottle batches. This time I turned the pressure down to 2-5 PSI through a 10 ft line.

I actually didn't even need the counter pressure, there was hardly any foam throughout the whole filling process. I ended up flipping the picnic tap back to continuous on, so I'd just move quickly between bottles (As I got toward the end I'd lift the wand). I set the cap on each bottle right after I was done filling it, I always made sure there was a little bit of foam. This filled the bottles more than would be good for a competition, but I'm sure I could adjust it if I needed to.

Thanks again BM!