So How Does The Blichman Beer Gun Work?

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BVilleggiante

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I've always either kegged by beer or bottled it traditionally and waited for it to carb. over a three week period or so. Recently, I poured an irish red out of my keg and into two bottles for a friend to try later that day. Later that day when I went to open the bottles, the beer was completely flat. Not a huge surprise since I was just using a tap, but my question is, how is the Blichman beer gun different? How does the Blichman beer gun allow the beer to come out of the keg, into the bottle, and stay carbonated for drinking immediately?
 
How did you pour it from the kegs into the bottles? Just out of the tap? If the beer wasn't fully carbonated or something, that could be the issue. But having them be flat wouldn't be remedied by having the Beergun.

The Beergun is like a bottle filler, using the CO2 from the kegerator to push the beer into the bottles, from the bottom up, much like a bottling wand from a bottling bucket.

The huge advantage I've found from the Beergun is the ability to purge the bottles with CO2 prior to filling them. I personally think the beer keeps much better with this option, but others don't seem to find the benefit.
 
This isn't an exact reply to how the beer gun works, but I may have a solution much cheaper than a beer gun. After you sanitize your bottles out them in the freezer and chill them down idk how this works but it does. Get a beverage tube the will snugly fit into the mouth of your tap and it needs to be long enough to fill your bottle from the bottom. Turn your serving pressure down so it just trickles out of the tap to avoid foam. When you fill the bottle fill it will less than an inch of headspace and cap them individually as you fill them. I have had them stay carved longer that 2 weeks this way. Put them in the fridge or a cooler when you finish filling them.
 
To help you to understand how the Beer Gun works...

You connect up the Beer Gun (after putting together as the instructions outline) to the keg using the liquid post. You'll want the keg on <15 psi (10psi works well for me, with 10' of beer line going to the gun). You also connect the gun up to another CO2 feed so that you can purge the chilled, sanitized, bottles. You use the stud trigger on the handle to purge the bottle, then with the working end of the gun at the lowest point in the bottle, you pull the main trigger to start the beer flowing. You'll want to get the tip under the brew as fast as possible and not let go of the trigger until the bottle is filled. Go until the beer is level with the top, or you overflow the foam. Remove the gun and the space it took up helps to bring the beer level down to where it's perfect to maintain carbonation. Cover/cap the bottle and then go on to the next one.

The main trick with the beer gun, or any good tap/keg bottling system is the hose ID that delivers the brew. Another is filling from the bottom so that carbonation remains in the brew. Another is chilling the bottles to the same temp as the brew going into them (to keep foaming to a minimum).

Doing all that, you should be able to bottle from keg and maintain the carbonation in the bottles for more than long enough.

That help you out any??
 
I have noticed filling bottles using the BMBF (BierMunchers Bottle Filler) that they are a bit flat for a couple of days then get better. I think some of the CO2 comes out of solution and pressurizes the headspace in the bottle, then is gradually reabsorbed into the beer. Your beer might not have been so flat if you had just waited a few days.
 
Fantastic post! Thank you for taking the time to write that.

Golddiggie said:
To help you to understand how the Beer Gun works...

You connect up the Beer Gun (after putting together as the instructions outline) to the keg using the liquid post. You'll want the keg on <15 psi (10psi works well for me, with 10' of beer line going to the gun). You also connect the gun up to another CO2 feed so that you can purge the chilled, sanitized, bottles. You use the stud trigger on the handle to purge the bottle, then with the working end of the gun at the lowest point in the bottle, you pull the main trigger to start the beer flowing. You'll want to get the tip under the brew as fast as possible and not let go of the trigger until the bottle is filled. Go until the beer is level with the top, or you overflow the foam. Remove the gun and the space it took up helps to bring the beer level down to where it's perfect to maintain carbonation. Cover/cap the bottle and then go on to the next one.

The main trick with the beer gun, or any good tap/keg bottling system is the hose ID that delivers the brew. Another is filling from the bottom so that carbonation remains in the brew. Another is chilling the bottles to the same temp as the brew going into them (to keep foaming to a minimum).

Doing all that, you should be able to bottle from keg and maintain the carbonation in the bottles for more than long enough.

That help you out any??
Click to expand...
 
Golddiggie said:
To help you to understand how the Beer Gun works...

You connect up the Beer Gun (after putting together as the instructions outline) to the keg using the liquid post. You'll want the keg on <15 psi (10psi works well for me, with 10' of beer line going to the gun). You also connect the gun up to another CO2 feed so that you can purge the chilled, sanitized, bottles. You use the stud trigger on the handle to purge the bottle, then with the working end of the gun at the lowest point in the bottle, you pull the main trigger to start the beer flowing. You'll want to get the tip under the brew as fast as possible and not let go of the trigger until the bottle is filled. Go until the beer is level with the top, or you overflow the foam. Remove the gun and the space it took up helps to bring the beer level down to where it's perfect to maintain carbonation. Cover/cap the bottle and then go on to the next one.

The main trick with the beer gun, or any good tap/keg bottling system is the hose ID that delivers the brew. Another is filling from the bottom so that carbonation remains in the brew. Another is chilling the bottles to the same temp as the brew going into them (to keep foaming to a minimum).

Doing all that, you should be able to bottle from keg and maintain the carbonation in the bottles for more than long enough.

That help you out any??
Click to expand...

Thank you very much!!!...I would like to transfer my beer from keg to botles, I have read about Blichmann Beer Gun and several opinions about home made filing systems ...Your post have helped me to take a decision....I will try the Beer Gun and I will report our results...
 

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