Just had my first bottling experience....

Needless to say it was not fun! I bottled 3 gallons of apfelwein. I kept getting air in my autosiphon hose so I kept trying to get that out which in turn made me move the bottom of the siphon around causing everything to become cloudy. I went ahead and racked to my bottling bucket which went suprisingly quick and the proceeded to bottle. I ran the Revvy set up for my bottling wand and somehow I kept getting air in that line as well. I guess my connections werent tight enough.
All in all, it took longer than expected and I am exhausted! Kegs are sounding really nice right now!
Anyways....I guess it was a learning experience that prepared me for my Irish Red coming down the pipe.

I get air in my hoses with thin wall hose, the thick wall siphon hose seems to hold a seal well. You also could try a hose clamp like this.

One other thing.....will the excess amount of yeast in each bottle cause problems? This batch fermented 6 weeks at 63-66*. I used 2.5 oz of dextrose to prime 3G if that helps.
Thanks for the help,
Killian

As you mentioned, check your connections to see if any were loose. If not, it seems like you may have a small hole/puncture in your tubing somewhere.

For me, once I get the siphon going, it's a very easy process, one bottle at a time but not a lot of effort. I can drink beer while I'm bottling more, always a good time.

I will admit though, getting the siphon started and going can be a trick at times, but even then it isn't that tough. Not enough to make me switch to kegs yet

GOod luck - have fun and drink the beer (in a few). Enjoy

Dave

Sorry - missed your other question. I don't think it's the amount of yeast (though I know somebody will correct me if I'm wrong). Sugar = CO2, yeast just convert the sugar. It may happen quicker, or may take longer to clear, but it shouldn't be an issue.

Good luck

Dave

Killian_77 said:

will the excess amount of yeast in each bottle cause problems?

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The yeast should settle to the bottom of the bottles. Don't shake the bottle before you open it, pour carefully, and you should have no problem.

As others mentioned, no, extra yeast won't have any affect on the carbonation, it's strictly the amount of sugar you added.

As far as the air in the line, how much are you talking about? There is always going to be some bubbles in the tubing as you rack/bottle because there is a lot of dissolved CO2 in the beer. When you pull a siphon you create a small vacuum which will degas the beer and pull bubbles out. These typically will collect at the highest portion in tubing but this is just a CO2 bubble and there is nothing to be worried about. My guess based on your description is this is what happened to you.

Next time just ignore it and keep your eye on the siphon to prevent moving it around too much. I try to keep mine as high as possible in the brew to prevent sucking too much settled gunk in, and then slowly moving down as the liquid level drops.

Easy air leak test: You'll know right away if you have an air leak because if you pinch off the flow the siphon should fail (the liquid in the tube in the fermenter will run out (during racking) or the liquid in the tube in the bottling bucket will run out (during bottling)). If you try this and the siphon is still working, you are good to go.