Ways to Siphon Your Beer

I know there are many ways to do this, but when I first started brewing I did it manually. After I realized that was a huge pain in the butt, I moved on to carboy cap. That didn't turn out as well as I liked so I moved on to the auto siphon.

For $10 I solved my problem and minimize the amount of time my beer is exposed to the possibility of being infected.

Some of the new brewers may walk the same path so I decided to make an article that goes through all the ways I tried siphoning and what worked and didn't work.

How to Siphon Beer

What methods do you guys use?

after my first batch and a rather painful first attempt to siphon, I purchased an autosiphon.

An auto siphon was probably 10 of the best dollars I spent

Ah yes, I love the autosiphon. Just wish they would make a stainless version or atleast out of a plastic that dont crack and leak after a few months.

A method that is not talked about much is the turkey baster...
I adopted it recently. I had doubts, and could not believe how well it worked, given its simplicity.

I use the carboy cap and CO2.

I didn't see that you have tried them all...I have also seen where you add a "T" in the middle of your racking hose with a short piece of hose attached, pinch the hose that goes into the receiving vessel, suck on the "T" hose you added, when the liquid starts release the hose to the receiving vessel and pinch the hose you just sucked on, done.

Pat_13 said:

I have also seen where you add a "T" in the middle of your racking hose with a short piece of hose attached, pinch the hose that goes into the receiving vessel, suck on the "T" hose you added, when the liquid starts release the hose to the receiving vessel and pinch the hose you just sucked on, done.

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YESSSS flyguy's t-siphon, I can't believe it took that long for someone to say it https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/flyguys-t-siphon-3-replacement-autosiphon-25774/

Also, the carboy cap method worked well for me when I tried it, but I do it the opposite way the OP does. I put the cap on the empty carboy I'm racking to, stick a cane in the vertical hole and suck on the angled hole to get it going. That way you're not blowing bacteria & crap from your mouth into your beer. I didn't have a problem with losing the siphon at all

eelpout said:

Ah yes, I love the autosiphon. Just wish they would make a stainless version or atleast out of a plastic that dont crack and leak after a few months.

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I must be abnormal. My autosiphon is about 12 years old and going strong.

malkore said:

I must be abnormal. My autosiphon is about 12 years old and going strong.

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I had one break after using it once, and no I wasn't beating the hell out of it. The inside cane part snapped a few inches from the bottom while i was cleaning it.

The autosiphon came with my kit. Can't imagine doing it any other way.

pinkfloyd4ever said:

YESSSS flyguy's t-siphon, I can't believe it took that long for someone to say it https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/flyguys-t-siphon-3-replacement-autosiphon-25774/

Also, the carboy cap method worked well for me when I tried it, but I do it the opposite way the OP does. I put the cap on the empty carboy I'm racking to, stick a cane in the vertical hole and suck on the angled hole to get it going. That way you're not blowing bacteria & crap from your mouth into your beer. I didn't have a problem with losing the siphon at all

Click to expand...

its what I use cheap easy and effective.

I love the functionality of the autosiphon but I do wish they made a version SS as already mentioned or with no nooks that can collect crap and hide bacteria from my sanitizer solution. I just think it's too hard to clean some of the small crevices sometimes. I think the best thing is to rinse it immediately after using it.

Other than that I love it and I haven't found it to infect any beer yet...... so maybe I should shut it.