Long night of bottling ahead

This is just me getting something off my chest. Due to a babysitter canceling on me yesterday I now have a night of bottling 100 brew ahead. When i get home a little after 5 I will have to get all 100 bottles sanitized first. This means boiling most of them. Usually I just go with the star sanz but some of the bottle I’m using this time has been sitting in my garage for two year. Rinsed several times as soon as I poured them. But sitting around for 2 years can’t be good for them.

Then after all that non sense I will get to bottling. I have to do this tonight so I will have another empty carboy for the brew I am making on Wednesday. I have to make it on Wednesday because I have some friends coming up shortly to do a tasting of this brew for a special day coming up. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great problem to have. I just hate bottling and I don’t have the funds for kegging yet. Oh well. Music and homebrew will get me through it. And coffee and more coffee will get me through tomorrow. CHEERS!

I got three batches bottled this weekend, 2 on Saturday night and 1 first thing when I woke up on Sunday morning. Not the funnest part of brewing, just crank some good music, and having a helping hand is always a great thing. My dad helps sanitize and cap the bottles while I fill them, so bottling isn't nearly half as bad as it used to be.

I think I am going to have to draft SWMBO on this one. Its my first 10 gallon batch. I am not a fan of bottling 5 gallons so I know I am going to be burned out. But she is working tomorrow. Its more a question of whether or not the 10 month old will give her enough of a break.

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

It's all good times either way though.

vinerator and bottle tree will help immensely

Dude, if they're clean you don't need to boil them just because they've been sitting around for 2 years....It's GLASS. Just give them a rinse and sanitize like you normally would.

You don't need to make this harder that you need to.

If you really feel you need to do something "special" which you really don't, stop at the LHBS and get yourself a jet bottle rinser,



If you have a basement sink, crank it to hot and blast them with the jet. Then "hit it with starsan."

You don't need to boil....

tojo said:

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

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Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

Try larger bottles...I know, I know, you mentioned a limited budget...but I use 16oz flip-top bottles and while bottling still isn't the highlight of my brew process, its lightning fast.

Revvy said:

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

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Yes! Amen... I tried kegging, and disliked it.

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

I know I most likely dont need to boil them but I get all spooked when its a bottle thats this old. And I may end of giving in and not doing it. its just nice to know that there is nothing to worry about. Maybe I can just fill the sink with a starsan mix and submerged them in it. Again, thanks for the feedback from everyone.

Plenty of time to just order a new fermenting bucket. Put the bottling off until you can commit as much time to it as you're comfortable with. Why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow.

Look at it this way, you saved some money on the babysitting, that you could now spend on brewing.

I look at everything that way these days. For instance: I was supposed to go on a golf trip to Pinehurst again this year but that was put on lock down by you know who. So I took the money I had saved up and have spent it on parts for my single tier system as well as the last 4 batches (counting next two) of brew. Makes not going on the trip a lot easier to deal with.

As "Revvy" says, you needn't bother boiling or otherwise radically treating your bottles prior to bottling. Once you know the bottles are clean, just be sure that when the beer is poured, the bottle is rinsed out immediately. Then the bottles can be stored, and either run through the dishwasher or sanitized with Star San (I find a vinator extremely convenient for this purpose), then filled. This has worked for me over several years and many batches with no problems.

Ok then. The closer it gets to 5pm the less I want to boil these things. You guys have convinced me. Im going to just rinse them again (it has been 2 years) and then hit them with the Star. Thanks guys. I needed to hear it from a few people.

+1 to not boiling. No point. They were rinsed well when opened, most that it likely in there is dust or something else that will be rinsed away. Then Starsan all inside and let it drip on the top shelf of the dishwasher or whatever you have to hold them upside down.

And also, it's usually no problem to put off bottling until you are really prepared. I have a terrible habit of doing a lot of thing unprepared and it makes an otherwise enjoyable hobby frustrating sometimes. Your beer won't suddenly go bad over the next couple of days or week...

I keg, and I won't lie, it's great and handy. But I still bottle sometimes. Sometimes I WANT a bottle of some 1/2 batch, or something heavier than I want sitting in my kegerator. (I only have 2 taps.) Keg is a great place to serve the "regular" beers, and bottles are still great for anything and especially for big beers!

Once you get a good system down for bottling it's not too bad.

Yeah I've certainly got a system and its cut down greatly on the time. I wouldnt be worried about it except that I have 2 more brews that I have to get done before the weekend and into the carboys that are currently being used. Again, not a bad problem to have.

Although I do keg, I bottle most of my brews. Preparation is the key when I have a batch that is ready. I sanitize my bottles in the dishwasher either the night before I will bottle in the morning or run dishwasher in the morning & bottle in the afternoon.

Yesterday, was the first time I've kegged & had enough beer left to bottle so I had to approach bottling a little different. Carbed each bottle individually right out of the carboy instead of using a bottling bucket. Good luck & hope all goes well!

If you're really paranoid about it: Rinse them with hot water, then run them all through the diswasher with the heated dry cycle on. That will pasteurize the bottles. Rinse with star san after. Boiling 100 bottles sounds like an awfully tedious evening.

Ah, I feel for you. Do me a favor? Take some pictures! I love seeing pictures of people's homebrewing, especially if it entails something like 100 bottles.

I would suggest employing your wife a time or two, it would make the kegging option alot more attractive from her standpoint, she may even suggest it then you have the green light...;^)

oh, btw, good luck, it was these "long nights of bottling" meads/beers that got me into kegging, you won't look back if you do...

Finished. Good night.

1stTimer said:

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

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Rather agreed. Eventually, yes I will do some kegging. But I will also always bottle at least some to age, to give to friends/family (when I feel like it), etc.

Kegging's nice... but not the end-all of beer storage.

falconnuke said:

Rather agreed. Eventually, yes I will do some kegging. But I will also always bottle at least some to age, to give to friends/family (when I feel like it), etc.

Kegging's nice... but not the end-all of beer storage.

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Diddo again. My problem is I drink it way too fast as it is. If it's cool and carbed all the time I'd be a bottomless pit! I need to keep my warm so I have to plan to drink it, rather then just drink it! I love beer. Once the novelty of always having beer around wears off it should be a different story.

That being said, I still hope to get into kegging someday.

tojo said:

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

It's all good times either way though.

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No doubt!

A hundred bottles of beer on the wall, a hundred bottles of beer.......

1stTimer said:

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

I know I most likely dont need to boil them but I get all spooked when its a bottle thats this old. And I may end of giving in and not doing it. its just nice to know that there is nothing to worry about. Maybe I can just fill the sink with a starsan mix and submerged them in it. Again, thanks for the feedback from everyone.

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Im just a newbie but talking with the man at the home-brew store told me that u don't want to boil the bottles because the ash used to make the bottles would break down from the heat and get into the beer. I havent researched this but it may be worth looking in to

Congrats!

I keg mostly, but bottle some of my stronger non-session beers or brews like porters and stouts. While it's not a super fun task, the feeling when finished of seeing cases of beer stacked on the floor is pretty nice. I had 3 batches ready this past weekend (2 brown ale, 1 IPA). Planned to bottle one and keg the other two, but once I got started and realized I could clear out my whole stock of empties, I kept going. Felt great Sat evening when I stacked an additional 6.5 cases along side the 6 cases I did last month! 4 kegs full and 12.5 cases of beer has my pipeline loaded!

So that was a long process but I’m done. Ended up with about 90 bottles. But that’s with a good number of larger bottles. Everything is in tubs sitting in the dinning room. Then this morning I went ahead and made my starter for my brews tomorrow. Doing a double chocolate stout and belgian dark strong. I will be posting updates on my blog. This brewing thing is becoming all encompassing. I love it! CHEERS!

Revvy said:

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

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Just stating an opinion..to each their own as there is no right way just personal preferences. For me it's easier to keg and bottle what I want to afterward instead of having no other choice in a situation like his.

BTW...didn't mean to offend anyone.

BradleyBrew said:

Yes! Amen... I tried kegging, and disliked it.

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Not to mention astronomically more expensive than bottling. :rockin:

My wife and I can knock out 50 or so bottles in 25-30 minutes, start to finish....so 10 gallons would about double that time.

If it took me from 5pm until 1am to bottle 10 gals (that's almost 5 minutes per bottle!), I'd definitely figure out a new system. How do you go about bottling now? Give us all a rundown, and we can see if we can cut some time for you.

Best regards,

Revvy said:

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg.

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I second that! Although I agree that bottling is my least favorite part of the process, I LOVE having my beer in bottles. For me, it's not a financial choice. It's just a personal preference.

The task of bottling is a pain but I'm finding as I improve my process, it is getting faster and easier.

The original poster of this thread mentioned getting through his night of bottling with coffee. Here's an easy bottling process improvement tip:
Instead of coffee, relax and enjoy a tasty home brew while you bottle!

BrewerDon said:

I second that! Although I agree that bottling is my least favorite part of the process, I LOVE having my beer in bottles. For me, it's not a financial choice. It's just a personal preference.

The task of bottling is a pain but I'm finding as I improve my process, it is getting faster and easier.

The original poster of this thread mentioned getting through his night of bottling with coffee. Here's an easy bottling process improvement tip:
Instead of coffee, relax and enjoy a tasty home brew while you bottle!

Click to expand...

Hear, hear! Kegging is not some more "advanced" form of storing beer. It's just different, and for the people who want it, it's fine and dandy. I bottle, and I have absolutely no intention of doing anything else.

The crown-cap bottle is a century-old technology, but it holds up very, very well in our time. Simple, most of what is involved is eminently recyclable, etc. Technology can be that way- the Egyptians invented pen, paper, and ink several millennia ago, and it's not going anywhere, either. It lives very nicely right alongside our more technologically involved means of writing.

Man I like bottles to take some where or give to friends but my five kegs stay full first. Kiss the bottling process. Get a bucket of star-San put bottles straight in soak for a min drain and line up you can clean all bottles in about 20min then fill, cap and rinse set on towel to dry over night. boiling bottles is crazy to this guy if they are that dirty go buy new ones. Glad your pipeline is not in jeopardy tho

mthompson said:

My wife and I can knock out 50 or so bottles in 25-30 minutes, start to finish....so 10 gallons would about double that time.

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Wow! I can see where having two people would make it a lot faster but even with two, 25-30 minutes sounds really fast. Very impressive. I'd like to hear more about your process.

Are you including boiling and cooling of the primer in that time? How about racking to the bottling bucket, cleanup, and moving the two cases to storage?

With two people, I can see how you could sanitize, fill, and cap 50 bottles in 30 minutes but I cannot picture myself and another person doing it that fast if the time included prep work and cleanup. I know some things can be done in parallel but not everything.

I know priming sugar boiling (then cooling) and racking can be done at the same time but then you have to stir in the priming sugar if you add it AFTER racking. I don't see how the priming sugar prep and racking could done in less than 10 or 15 minutes. So that would leave only 15 or 20 minutes to fill and cap the bottles and you still have to clean up the room and your equipment.

It takes me at least a few minutes to rinse out the carboy and bottling bucket and then to fill them up with water and Oxyclean.

I'm very interested in hearing more about your process and what all is included in that 30 minutes. I'd love to chip away more time off of my process.

• Looked like a good place to repost my double-barrel bottling bucket pic. It nearly doubles my bottling speed.
• Find a gadget called a vinator and get the associated bottling tree. Cheap and all the LHBS have them. Makes sanitizing bottles a breeze. The pic below shows a bottling tree with a vinator on top.
• I keg also. I prefer kegging, but some beers don't make sense in a keg (i.e., sours, high-ABV)

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/double-barrel-bottling-now-twice-fast-257264/

Thats a sweet looking setup. Nicely done.

BrewerDon said:

I'd like to hear more about your process.

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I'll do my best to explain the process as thorough, but as concisely as possible.....I did not include the priming solution in there, so add 20 minutes to the time if you make it right before bottling. I usually will make this before hand when I am cooking or something and let it cool in a water bath during dinner. I also make 2.5 gallons of starsan sanitizer solution in the bottling bucket at the same time.

The process starts with the bottling bucket, for speed i snipped a short piece of tubing to connect the bottling wand to the spigot. The wand is then stationary, and you move the bottles up and down to fill.

now the start:

1. Drain some sanitizer through the spigot (30 seconds) and into another 5 gallon bucket, with several beer bottles in the bottom standing upright. Then dump the rest of the sanitizer in the second bucket (2.5 gallon in a standard 5 gallon bucket should fully cover the beer bottles when put in the sanitizer bucket, at least in the bucket I use).
2. Put priming solution in bottling bucket, and begin auto-siphon and attache to racking cane holder attached to fermentor (this frees your hands).
3. Next make sure the bottles are submerged in the sanitizer (or wifey can do this step), and start replacing sanitized bottles with new bottles...2-out, 2-in, and the sanitized ones go on the dishwasher rack.
4. One can also start preparing their capping station...we work left to right, pre-bottling stuff on the kitchen floor, post-bottling on the kitchen table....left-to-right: new bottles (have more than you will need at the ready), sanitizer bucket, bottling bucket on counter above open dishwasher, capping station, then small bucket of water to dip/rinse capped beers, towel off (get a few towels ready in place), and into new box.
5. Keep an eye on beer, as you will need to manually finish the siphon to watch out for yeast uptake. I should mention we use the larger diameter auto-siphon, and it is a lot faster! I also use a roll of duct tap under the back side of the bucket in order to tilt it forward to drain more beer, with less yeast near the end.
6. When beer is transferred (about 5 minutes or so in), put it up on the counter above the dishwasher and get in position. I cap, wife bottles and she sits on an upside down bucket, next to the folded down dishwasher door.
7. She starts grabbing bottles from the dishwasher (should be a good number in there), fill 1st with right hand, hands it to me, starts filling 2nd with left hand, switches to right and grabs another with the left...
8. ....meanwhile I am capping, dunking, quick towel and in the box, getting next cap in position on capper (which has a convenient magnet for this)....got a good rhythm going now....
9. Once we run out of bottles in the dishwasher, we switch to the bucket which still has bottles in it from the beginning....since we have a rhythm and I have a second or two between bottles, we do the same 2-out, 2-in method in the bucket...she takes two out on her side, I put two in by sliding bottles that are already in there over to her side (this helps ensure new bottles are not picked out before the old ones)....
10. Continue until bottling bucket is empty (***trick for bucket dip tube*** a 3/4" 90º fpt X slip pvc fitting will screw on to the inside of the spigot after the big plastic "nut" screws on. You just have to cut off a few mm of the slip end for it to twist on without hitting the bottom of the bucket. This leaves about a cup or 2 in the bottom with no tipping, which would require a break in the rhythm and puts the bottling wand at an awkward angle)
11. Now this should be 20 minutes or so in, and clean-up begins....
12. Fermentor, bottling bucket, spigot and siphon are washed in the sink, while I take beers to storage and use the now wet towels to wipe down the floor, table and counter.
13. I take buckets, empty boxes and other stuff downstairs to the brewroom after the beer, while wifey puts more dishes in the dishwasher (including pot and utensils from making the priming solution), shuts it up and starts it (if full) to wash away the spills on the doors.

I think that is about it, I'll edit if I see anything I missed.

passedpawn said:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/double-barrel-bottling-now-twice-fast-257264/

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I thought about adding this, but with my wife and I we have a rhythm (see above)...now, if I we solo, this would be a no brainer!!!

Definitely use the short tubing either way, this frees up a hand, instead of having to handle the wand on a long tube in one and a bottle in the other.

:rockin: