Bottling advice?

I'm a newbie and I've only bottled about 5 batches (each 5 gal). However, each time I bottle I spend about 2 hours flailing around in the kitchen and doing everything in (probably) the most inefficient way possible. Anyone have some quick advice on how to efficiently take a box of empty bottles through the cleaning, sanitizing, filling, capping process? (i'm okay with the racking beer to bottling bucket issue). Thanks in advance.

the monk

Yes, Buy A Keg!

Seriously, I don't think I ever got it down to much less time than that. I think that is what causes many homebrewers to either give it up or make the conversion.

I agree. Bottling is a *****...moving to kegging asap.

Billy and Turtle beat me to it. Kegging is your salvation. You just wash one big bottle

Cheers

1. sanitize bottles in a big honking rubbermaid container that will hold a whole batch worth of bottles, or in 3-4 shifts in your 5 gallon bottling bucket. The mass sanitization option is convenient but a little lavish in the use of sanitizer.

Put bottles upside down in clean dishwasher to dry.

2. Boil priming sugar. Put in ice-water bath to cool.

3. Start siphon into bottling bucket, add priming sugar.

4. Put bucket on counter above dishwasher. Use open dishwasher door as a shelf to fill bottles on. This is a great way to contain the inevitable little or big spills.

5. I enlist a kid or two (or SWMBO, occaisionally) to help here: one person hands the filled bottles to me, I cap them, another helper wipes the bottles off and places them in the case.

Yeah, bottling is the most hassle-filled part of the process, but it's really not that big a deal. It couldn't possibly take me more than an hour from start to finish (assuming clean bottles).

skip everything except the actaull bottling part, i find that as long as you clean and rinse your bottles youll be allright. (my last batch i used clean/rinsed bottles that were stored in brown paper bags for about a month, i took em straight from the bag and bottled them, all dusty and everything...

Rinse and clean your bottles after each use and store upside down in the case box with a sheet of fresh newspaper on the bottom. That should do it.

I hated bottling, that said, it seems to work much faster with at least one person helping. You could switch to 22oz bottles and cut your work in half. Another key is a decent capper.

I finally gave it up and put together a 5-tap kegerator (only waiting on the drip tray). It has renewed my interest in homebrewing...the three batches I brewed in the last month was more than I have done in the last 3 years...

Rinse the sediment out of the bottles immediately after use and turn them upside down to dry. then at bottling time all that's necessary is sanitizing. Get a sanitizing pump to make it go faster. Then start saving your pennies for a keg system.

Ivan Lendl said:

skip everything except the actaull bottling part, i find that as long as you clean and rinse your bottles youll be allright. (my last batch i used clean/rinsed bottles that were stored in brown paper bags for about a month, i took em straight from the bag and bottled them, all dusty and everything...

Click to expand...

Really? Do you not have to worry about sanitizing because the green beer contains alcohol, or what?

Oh, and thanks to everyone who posted with help.

I rinse mine out right after emptying. There's never been a reason to scrub or use a bottle washer after that.

Sanitazing done w/bleach water soak. If you do not intend on refilling the bottles right away you can just drain them and place them on a drying tree. After they are dried you can place a piece of aluminum foil on them and store for up to a year (I've read).

I've done 12 cases of bottles in one day this way.

When you plan on filling them be sure to rinse the bleach off with hot (tap) water and re-dry.

I know kegging is faster, but I prefer to have a selection of 5-7 types of beer on-hand at all times so bottles are the way to go for me.

I went through my bottles last week and set the ones needing further cleaning aside.
When I bottled yesterday I rinsed my clean bottles with hot water, half filled them with star-san sanitizer, shook them, poured out the star-san and put upside down in a case with a clean hand towel in the bottom. A bit of foam stayed in the bottle - the info I've found indicates that the residue has a lasting sanitizing effect - even after it dries. Is this valid?
Did this the last 2 times and haven't had any bad consequences. Took about 1/2 hour or less for the 50 bottles I prepared.
I'm going to look at some 5 gal "soda kegs" today. Maybe I won't have to go through this bottle filling ordeal again.

Bottling doens't really bother me that much.

I agree that it can be a little arduous at times, and I am planning to go for a keg as well when time comes for that, but I find it lovely also to have bottles ready to be brought a long if going somewhere where the beer is bound to be inferior.

My suggestion is really the following:

Whenever you've had a beer, rinse out the bottle. You don't have to be religious about it, just what you'd say was a good clean bottle. On bottling day, what I do is place a really good load of the bottles in the kitchen sink and pour boiling water over the top of them, getting a nice bit of the water inside the bottles, too. I then close the caps (I use flip-tops, which I find much preferable to normal caps) shake the bottle and leave them a bit. This way you've effectively desinfected your bottle.

When you've done this to all your bottles, you can start bottling. Bottle close to your sink. Open the bottle, pour the water into the sink and fill with beer, after which you close the bottle right away.

She Who Must Be Obeyed (Rumpole rocks) usually gives me a hand, but if I do it myself, this process takes about an hour and not really more. That however, assumes clean bottles.

I'm looking forward to kegs, but I will always bottle a good amount of my beer.


Cheers,

Jens-Kristian

Jens-Kristian said:

On bottling day, what I do is place a really good load of the bottles in the kitchen sink and pour boiling water over the top of them

Click to expand...

I'm surprised that your bottles don't break from the thermal shock. Glass doesn't generally like very rapid and big temperature changes.

-walker

I'm surprised that your bottles don't break from the thermal shock. Glass doesn't generally like very rapid and big temperature changes.

Click to expand...

Yeah I know what you mean, mate.

I was wondering about that myself the first time I did this (tested on a couple of bottles) but they are good, heavy bottles that can take it. I've done this with a lot of bottles by now and not one has broken.

I use some that I've bought especially for this, but also some of the commercial ones like Grolsch etc.

(Just wait, next time I bottle they probably will break. Each and every single last one of them )


Cheers,

Jens-Kristian

does anybody use their dishwasher for sanatizing. I am hoping to bottle this weekend and plan on running all bottles thru the dishwasher without soap and with the sanitizer option on. Then using the door as a working area take them right from the dishwasher rack to filling up and capping. Should be able to wash 2 cases with no problem with a case on top and a case on bottom.

cweston said:

1. sanitize bottles in a big honking rubbermaid container that will hold a whole batch worth of bottles, or in 3-4 shifts in your 5 gallon bottling bucket. The mass sanitization option is convenient but a little lavish in the use of sanitizer.

Put bottles upside down in clean dishwasher to dry.

2. Boil priming sugar. Put in ice-water bath to cool.

3. Start siphon into bottling bucket, add priming sugar.

4. Put bucket on counter above dishwasher. Use open dishwasher door as a shelf to fill bottles on. This is a great way to contain the inevitable little or big spills.

5. I enlist a kid or two (or SWMBO, occaisionally) to help here: one person hands the filled bottles to me, I cap them, another helper wipes the bottles off and places them in the case.

Yeah, bottling is the most hassle-filled part of the process, but it's really not that big a deal. It couldn't possibly take me more than an hour from start to finish (assuming clean bottles).

Click to expand...

yeah! I do ALL of this, still takes time, but I can bear with this.
we have managed to make bottling day a family activity.

PLUS:
If family is not available at the time, recruit a friend to help.
one of those curious people asking about homebrewing... well invite them over to share a HB on bottling day
really, two people make things much faster.

after i wash all of my bottles and dry them i put them back into my 24 pack's and just use my wand and go down the line of bottles until there all full. Have it down to a science now!!! Just capping them takes a few minutes!

I do not have room for kegs and with my wife helping, bottling is not hard.

Procedure 1 - Clean but not sanitized bottles.
1. Use 22 ounce or 16 ounce bottles.
2. The night before, douse the bottles in star san and hang on drying tree.
3. Day of, same procedure as above with wife's help.

Procedure 2 - (Current Procedure)
1. Use 22 ounce or 16 ounce bottles.
2. Wash each bottle after use, douse in star san (keeps in sealed bucket)
3. Hang on tree to dry. Wrap neck with foil and store.
4. Day of, unwrap foil, bottle and cap.

I guess if I brewed as much as some on this board did I would have to find a way to keg. I brew every three weeks and so I bottle every three weeks. I really don't mind it at all and I like having my brew in bottles for outings, family gatherings at my parents and friends. :rockin:

kevy_kev said:

does anybody use their dishwasher for sanatizing.

Click to expand...

This has been discussed often around here. Unless yours gets hot enough to sanitize, it doesn't really work. The jets of water can't make it into the necks of the bottles, so the outsides will be sanitized but not the insides.

-walker

I was thinking of trying that today (just bottling a few bottles in clean non sanitized bottles) and marking them with an x or somthing to compare them to the sanitized bottles. I never did but mabye next batch though i doubt it would be smart because even with my sanitizing process I get usualy 1 bottle that has a sour taste to it per batch.

I will have to do some more research on the sanitize option of my dishwasher. I think it is during the drying cycle. There is a button to turn it on or off.

3 Things that I could suggest - I am a Wine Maker, and use these, but they work just as well for beer ( I made and bottled hard Cider so this I know)
The first is a Bottle Tree - After you wash and sanitise the bottle (before filling) hang the bottle on the bottle tree, you can get up to 90 on 1 tree. Any decent LHBS should have these in stock.

The Second which goes hand in hand with the Bottle tree is an Avinator, You put your sanitizer in the lower half, put your bottle over the spout and pump a few times, this sprays the sanitizer up into the bottle, and does a very good job of it too. Hang bottle on Tree afterwards.

The third is a "Super Automatic Bottle Filler" http://www.buonvino.com/P_BotFill.shtml
I used to use a bottle wand to fill, and for 6 gallons of wine, it took me by myself almost 1 1/2 hours to do 30 bottles with this cumbersome thing.
Now - 45 minutes - tops ( this is filling and corking - but capping is the same step.)
I find myself waiting for the bottle to fill so that I can cork it - but the filler works like a charm, and works with beer bottles too (Hard Cider & Hard Lemonade)

Hope those suggestions help.

Kilroy

i've started baking my bottles to sanitize. it's real easy, and hands-on time is less than 10 minutes. aluminum foil over the top of the bottle, put them in the oven, slowly heat up to 350°F and leave them at that temp for an hour. allow them to cool slowly in the oven. as long as the foil is still on the top, they're still good to use. this is great because i can split my sanitizing and bottling over several days, which should allow me to bottle on weeknights instead of exclusively on a weekend day....
i just bottled my first batch in baked bottles yesterday, so i guess i should wait to see if/how many are contaminated before i start trying to sell this method to people...

I have been doing some researching, and I think I'll be going this route too. Baking them just seems so easy, and with the foil in place they should stay clean. It seems to make sense to me. (I've yet to start by first brew, but I hate the idea of sanitizing all those bottles.)

Kevin

Some of these have been mentioned, but they work for me. Just bottled yesterday in 1.5 hrs, and that included stripping some labels on some newly acquired bottles.

1. Use some bigger bottles-seems glib, I know, but 500ml bottles are a perfect size for a good drinking glass, and every 3 is ~= to 4 12oz. I also put some into 1L bottles. My typical batch is 4L, 12 .5L, and the balance in 12oz.

2. Rinse/wash bottles WHEN YOU EMPTY THEM- this is the most important. I wash all bottles right after pouring the beer. I hardly ever have to use my bottle brush any more, as they clean with soap and water, w/hot water rinse right after opening.

3. Streamline your sanitization-I use StarSan. I mix it and put it into a spray bottle. After rinsing the bottles, 6 at a time (I already washed them, remember?) I put them upside down on paper towels. Once most of the water has run off, I shoot a couple sprays up into the bottle, "rool" it around to coat the inside, and put it into the bottle box upside down on paper towels.

4. work in a system- I work in sets of 12: I fill twelve, then lay the caps on twelve, get 12 more bottles out and ready, and cap the first twelve. When you get in a rhythm, it goes faster.

5. Flip Top Bottles- I am moving towards using more of these: definitely the most bang for your bottle buck if you want to save time