We no need no stinking beer gun...

CornyKegs 728
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I cannot get this thing to work.. way too much foam.

I'm using it exactly as described with a stopper, and racking cane. I have 5' of 3/16 beer line, which works fine when I take my kegs to a party, etc.

I'm rinsing with starsan.
 
Try venting the keg before each pour, make sure your pressure is just pushing the beer out as well (less than 5 psi)
 
Wow this is really similar to what I do. I just use a bottling wand instead works great to cut down the foam. Added benefit no cutting and I already had the wand from my bottling days!
 
Bernie Brewer said:
Hmm, the principle seems right, using a long wand to reduce foaming........

The only thing I'm wondering about it the fact the the air inside the bottle isn't purged with CO2 before filling. I wonder if it would lead to spoilage over time. Your post states that you kept one bottled for ten days without a problem.

Hmm I sense an experiment in the works. You could bottle, say a twelve pack or eighteen beers, and open one every two week till they're gone or spoiled, whichever comes first. It's certainly worth looking into, what with beer guns costing close to a hundred bones.:mug:
Click to expand...

Rinse the bottles out with peracetic acid instead of chilled water. This will both eliminate foaming (as with water) and sterilise the bottles.
 
this looks sweet, but all i did was cut off a picnic tap.

then, to shut off flow of beer, you click it off the keg, takes about 1/4 of a second. i use it to fill all my growlers and several bottles of beer off each batch. seems to last a long time and i had 4 fully set up picnic taps that i wasn't using after getting faucets.
 
This looks real similar to what i am doing with a piece of stainless tubing hooked up to the picnic tap with tubing.

subscribing, thanks
 
frydogbrews said:
this looks sweet, but all i did was cut off a picnic tap.

then, to shut off flow of beer, you click it off the keg, takes about 1/4 of a second. i use it to fill all my growlers and several bottles of beer off each batch. seems to last a long time and i had 4 fully set up picnic taps that i wasn't using after getting faucets.
Click to expand...

You mean to say you just let it slowly flow out directly from the cut tube? Interesting, it should work though because that's how garden hoses function without attachments, slow calm flow. Hmmmm.
 
Just did this last night with great sucess, this is awesome.

One question though, one of my kegs is a converted Pin Lock (to Ball Lock) and it does not have a relief valve. Is it still possible to do this at all? I figure if I cant purge a little bit Im going to get a ton of foam...But Im not sure if there is some trick Im not aware of.

I have an American Wheat I would love to bottle up for a competition.
 
If I could do that couldnt I just bottle right off the Perlicks? Or is that too un-sanitary?
 
i do have a keg that to not have any relief valve i use the tip of a marker pen and press the in post with it to let pressure go... put a scott towel around it when the keg is near full to avoid making a mess!

And no its better not bottling right off the perlicks it always make some foam even if you drop your pressure. You will have hard time filling your bottle to the needed level and because its foaming oxydation occurs so it would not be good bottle to keep.

But i do make this when i need to go fast at my friends house and bring some beer but i use a quarter jug so even if it foam i would still have 3/4 of it filled and because i drink it right away i dont care about oxydation and the sanitation of my perlicks.
 
Coff said:
If I could do that couldnt I just bottle right off the Perlicks? Or is that too un-sanitary?
Click to expand...

I bottle off of mine and haven't had any problems. I've even had some now I have tested that are over a year old.

I have experimented with using the stopper and not using the stopper. Using the stopper seems to hold/have more carbonation. JME YMMV.
 
BM (hahaha ya gotta admit that is funny dude!)
You rock!!! I followed your instructions to the letter (chilling bottles, burping the fill, etc) and it WORKED LIKE A CHARM!

You da man, brohana.
~TuefelHund
 
I tried this method and I must say it was very easy.

I have a problem though. I just opened two different beers from two different kegs and they are flat.
Two weeks old.
Anyone else had this problem?
Not sure what went wrong.
 
jamnw said:
I tried this method and I must say it was very easy.

I have a problem though. I just opened two different beers from two different kegs and they are flat.
Two weeks old.
Anyone else had this problem?
Not sure what went wrong.
Click to expand...

I've never had this issue but I'd guess that you either:

  1. did not properly cap the bottle.
  2. did not get a good seal when you were filling the bottle.

What PSI did you bottle at? 12oz bottles? A little more info on the hardware you're using would help.

:mug:
 
Two different espresso stouts.
Both carbed @11psi.

When pouring from tap they both had a very nice head.

Used 12oz bottles. 3 standard, 3 guiness stout bottles.

Cleaned and sanitized with star San. Covered with foil and froze.

Filled bottles to top placed cap and "tilted" to get foam, then capped.

Maybe caps didn't get good seal?
 
I guess the key point here is the assumption that bottled beer is significantly "better"- if air is removed from the head space not occupied by beer in the bottle.
This thread discussion is about method of displacing the air (one fifth oxygen) by CO2.
Now although I have been brewing for 40 odd years I have not established this is the case; does better beer result?
I guess (without thinking to be honest) I have always been pleased to find my fermented out green beer in good condition (IE no off flavours & the like) & getting it into bottles has never presented as a problem.
BTW; I rely on in-bottle secondary fermentation for carbonation.
I bought many years ago a plastic tube with a foot valve on the end which fits snuggly into my fermenter drain tap, I just refer to it as my filler tube. Anyway its very simple quick & foolproof to use, I get no foaming but I do "judge the airspace" which therefore varies a bit between bottles. And of coarse I end up with some oxygen in this airspace.
I again question: does this oxygen adversely affect my beer, until we can be sure that it does, there is little point in resorting to the more complex CO2 displacement techniques described here.
Has anyone done the testing to prove this one way or the other?
 
peterlonz said:
I guess the key point here is the assumption that bottled beer is significantly "better"- if air is removed from the head space not occupied by beer in the bottle.
This thread discussion is about method of displacing the air (one fifth oxygen) by CO2.
Now although I have been brewing for 40 odd years I have not established this is the case; does better beer result?
I guess (without thinking to be honest) I have always been pleased to find my fermented out green beer in good condition (IE no off flavours & the like) & getting it into bottles has never presented as a problem.
BTW; I rely on in-bottle secondary fermentation for carbonation.
I bought many years ago a plastic tube with a foot valve on the end which fits snuggly into my fermenter drain tap, I just refer to it as my filler tube. Anyway its very simple quick & foolproof to use, I get no foaming but I do "judge the airspace" which therefore varies a bit between bottles. And of coarse I end up with some oxygen in this airspace.
I again question: does this oxygen adversely affect my beer, until we can be sure that it does, there is little point in resorting to the more complex CO2 displacement techniques described here.
Has anyone done the testing to prove this one way or the other?
Click to expand...

I'm with peterlonz on this. I just use O2 absorbing caps and call it a day - http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...e-caps-closures/o2-absorbing-caps-144-ct.html.
 
OK at least there is some questioning about the need to displace the air with CO2.
I have heard of oxygen absorbing crown caps but to me it's just another avoidable expense.
Second question now is: has anyone done a blind test to see if oxygen caps give some improvement?
 
I think the point is getting lost here. I don't believe this method was developed as a "better" option for bottling, it seems to me this is just an option for those who keg a batch but want to just bottle a sixer out of the keg to take to a competition/bbq/party/ etc. In the end if you want to bottle your beer, prime with sugar or let secondary fermentation whilst bottle conditioning do its thing. If your gonna keg, then just keg. I've used this method a bunch and it works just fine. Compared to a $120 beer gun, this works just as well. Sometimes its a bummer kegging a batch but not being able to travel with it and a growler doesn't last very long (unless you find those caps that you can actually pump CO2 in after filled!). I prefer kegging, but its nice to take your brother-in-law a sixer across the state.

In Secondary:

Hoppy All-Grain IPA 5.5% ABV
Porter/Stout Hybrid (Calling it a Scout's Pout after my Goldendoodle Scout) 4.9% ABV

Both have been in 2nd for two weeks and will be kegged by the end of the night!

Happy Brewing to all!!!!
And Brew the beer you drink!!
 
Lewybrewy said:
I think the point is getting lost here. I don't believe this method was developed as a "better" option for bottling, it seems to me this is just an option for those who keg a batch but want to just bottle a sixer out of the keg to take to a competition/bbq/party/ etc. In the end if you want to bottle your beer, prime with sugar or let secondary fermentation whilst bottle conditioning do its thing. If your gonna keg, then just keg. I've used this method a bunch and it works just fine. Compared to a $120 beer gun, this works just as well. Sometimes its a bummer kegging a batch but not being able to travel with it and a growler doesn't last very long (unless you find those caps that you can actually pump CO2 in after filled!). I prefer kegging, but its nice to take your brother-in-law a sixer across the state.
Click to expand...

Word up my brother.

:mug:
 
I tried this method once and got more foam than I expected, which leads me to ask, why are we using about 4-5 psi with this method? Wouldn't it be better to use about 14 psi as in real brewery bottling equipment to minimize foam?
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/how-brewery-bottling-equipment-works-267499/
With that kind of pressure, I'd think you would get hardly any foam at all until you released the pressure after filling. Of course, I can see that it would be hard to hold the cork in the bottle with that kind of pressure, but maybe some kind of simple jig would make this easy. Would oxygen absorption be a problem under that kind of pressure if the bottle was not pre-purged with CO2?
 
Lewybrewy said:
I think the point is getting lost here. I don't believe this method was developed as a "better" option for bottling, it seems to me this is just an option for those who keg a batch but want to just bottle a sixer out of the keg to take to a competition/bbq/party/ etc. In the end if you want to bottle your beer, prime with sugar or let secondary fermentation whilst bottle conditioning do its thing. If your gonna keg, then just keg. I've used this method a bunch and it works just fine. Compared to a $120 beer gun, this works just as well. Sometimes its a bummer kegging a batch but not being able to travel with it and a growler doesn't last very long (unless you find those caps that you can actually pump CO2 in after filled!). I prefer kegging, but its nice to take your brother-in-law a sixer across the state.

In Secondary:

Hoppy All-Grain IPA 5.5% ABV
Porter/Stout Hybrid (Calling it a Scout's Pout after my Goldendoodle Scout) 4.9% ABV

Both have been in 2nd for two weeks and will be kegged by the end of the night!

Happy Brewing to all!!!!
And Brew the beer you drink!!
Click to expand...

My beer gun works flawlessly right out of the box. No over foaming. I can use it with one hand. I appreciate that people are building these and using them. I'm countering by saying the beer gun is worth every penny -- perfectly carbed (award winning) bottles of beer from my kegs. This build is worthwhile... but if you have the money to spend, you're likely delaying the inevitable: a badass beer gun. Don't fight it. You know you want one.
 
The title of the thread is 'We no need no stinking beer gun'. I am sure there are threads debating the merits of the alternatives; if not, that might not be a bad idea....just sayin'
 
bigbeergeek said:
My beer gun works flawlessly right out of the box. No over foaming. I can use it with one hand. I appreciate that people are building these and using them. I'm countering by saying the beer gun is worth every penny -- perfectly carbed (award winning) bottles of beer from my kegs. This build is worthwhile... but if you have the money to spend, you're likely delaying the inevitable: a badass beer gun. Don't fight it. You know you want one.
Click to expand...

+1 I still love mine.
 
shroomzofdoom said:
The title of the thread is 'We no need no stinking beer gun'. I am sure there are threads debating the merits of the alternatives; if not, that might not be a bad idea....just sayin'
Click to expand...

I counter the title of the thread with "Yes you do."


I'm sure there are "shroom" threads out there, too.
 
bigbeergeek said:
I counter the title of the thread with "Yes you do."
Click to expand...

Well, it looks like you found the title of your new thread, just a matter of starting it up...

bigbeergeek said:
I'm sure there are "shroom" threads out there, too.
Click to expand...
Yanno, there's a term for those that post 'off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response.'
 
BierMuncher said:
If spending $100+ on a device that does no more than something you can build yourself out of spare parts makes you a man. Then...indeed. Man up.
Click to expand...

So touchy in here! ;)

I though my humorous tone was clear enough in what I posted. Do what you will, build what you will. I'm a huge fan of DIY with respect to this hobby. That being said, no one is going to build a Blichmann Beer Gun from scratch. It's a wonderful tool that has none of the frequently described issues associated with the build on this thread. I'm very, very happy that so many people are utilizing this thread to bottle beer. I'm just throwing a good word in for a well engineered tool that is the pricey alternative for those who stumble across this thread. :mug:
 
Newbie here.
The BMBF seems like another cool idea invented out of necessity. I don't understand the need for the stopper on the cane though.
Before I discovered this thread I came up with something similar (through much trial and error and asking for advice from the LHBS).
I take a bottle filler tube that has the spring loaded valve on one end and push the other end into a picnic tap. This setup seemed perfect and allowed me to fill different height bottles too. I can easily control the flow too with no wasted beer.
I also don't chill my bottles first because foaming hasn't been a problem.
My first bottling using this method was only last week so I don't have any long term results as far as oxidation or carb levels yet.

So my question is, why the stopper to seal the neck while filling?
 

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