Best way to bottle when using a glass carboy?

I've bottled more than my fair share of beer batches, but I just want to make sure I'm taking the right approach on this one. I have a beer fermenting in a 6 gal. glass carboy and to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how to bottle this correctly. First, a couple pieces of relevant info:

1.) I usually fermented in a bottling bucket or used one for secondary.

2.) Because of the previous, I never really had to rack and siphon, etc.

As much as I'd like to make it easier on myself, I don't have a kegging/draft system set up yet, plus I prefer having individual bottle-conditioned brews. What I'm asking you folks is this: am I going to want to use a siphon (and buy an autosiphon attachment to avoid infecting the beer as it passes through the tubing from me sucking on it) and transfer it to a bottling bucket and give it some time to settle out (number of days?), then bottle it?

That's the only method I can think of, because I'm sure as heck not wanting to bottle out of the carboy with a siphon. Any suggestions on techniques, necessary equipment, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Buy an auto siphon.
Buy bottle filler.
Siphon from carboy to bottling bucket.
Connect tubing to spigot.
Connect bottle filler to end of tubing.
Bottle.
Unless Im misunderstanding the question.

I would go ahead and buy an autosiphon. It is a great investment for only a few bucks. Then all you have to do is siphon from your carboy into the bottling bucket and add your priming solution. No need to let it settle for days, you can bottle immediately as you usually would. You never mentioned if you normally use a bottling wand either but it is also a great little gadget for not much money.

Yeah, definitely buy an autosiphon. It's one of those things that once you've tried it you'll never go back.

Danek said:

Yeah, definitely buy an autosiphon. It's one of those things that once you've tried it you'll never go back.

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+3
I agree the Auto siphon is so much easier to use and more sanitary that starting a siphon conventionally.

+4 Buy an autosyphon. When cleaning/sanitizing just run the solution through as you would be syphoning, just keep all tubing inside the same bucket of solution.

Also:

1. Wet the tube and seal with sanitizing fluid before use.

2. Do not assemble the 2 parts for storage. This will prematurely wear the seal.

-1 on the autosyphon. I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this but here it goes:

If you have a 2-finger carboy cap, put your racking cane through the main finger. Put your priming solution in the bottling bucket then push the beer through the racking cane by attaching a hose to the other finger of the carboy cap and blowing into it.

If you are using a stopper instead of a cap, connect your racking cane to your racking hose, fill it with no rinse sanitizer (bottled or boiled water works fine), put your thumb over the hose end, stick the cane in the beer and release the end of the hose below the level of the beer into an empty bucket. Once beer begins to come out of the hose, plug it with your thumb again, stick the hose in the bottling bucket that already contains your priming solution and let it fill.

It’s real easy, it doesn't cost any money, and it has no extra moving parts to break.

Good luck,
wild

As a newb, I just tried a "dry" run with the 2-finger cap method, and somehow, I seem to get a lot of bubbles in the line.

What am I doing wrong?

Replying to my own bubbles inquiry here... a search here indicated that the tubing size (3/8 vs. 5/16) has something to do with it. Correct?

As with many things they can be done in any number of ways. However follow the directions per post #2 and make it easy on yourself.

EinGutesBier said:

What I'm asking you folks is this: am I going to want to use a siphon (and buy an autosiphon attachment to avoid infecting the beer as it passes through the tubing from me sucking on it) and transfer it to a bottling bucket and give it some time to settle out (number of days?), then bottle it?

Click to expand...

Sorry, I missed the second part of this before. The most common way to bottle AFAIK is to dissolve your priming sugar in some boiling water, and then pour this into the empty sanitized bottling bucket. Then rack your beer into the bottling bucket so that it mixes with the priming solution. Then bottle straightaway - definitely don't wait a few days, because then the yeast will eat all the priming sugar before you bottle. You want to ensure the yeast has a little bit of sugar to eat whilst in the bottle so that the CO2 it gives off will dissolve into the beer - this is how beer is carbonated.

wild said:

-1 on the autosyphon. I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this but here it goes:

If you have a 2-finger carboy cap, put your racking cane through the main finger. Put your priming solution in the bottling bucket then push the beer through the racking cane by attaching a hose to the other finger of the carboy cap and blowing into it.

If you are using a stopper instead of a cap, connect your racking cane to your racking hose, fill it with no rinse sanitizer (bottled or boiled water works fine), put your thumb over the hose end, stick the cane in the beer and release the end of the hose below the level of the beer into an empty bucket. Once beer begins to come out of the hose, plug it with your thumb again, stick the hose in the bottling bucket that already contains your priming solution and let it fill.

It’s real easy, it doesn't cost any money, and it has no extra moving parts to break.

Good luck,
wild

Click to expand...

I say +10 to the Auto-Siphon and -1 to each of those options.

I don't like blowing into the beer. I mean there is a tiny chance of contaminating it with your breath, but its still a chance...unless you are blowing through a filter.

As far as using sanitizing solution to get started...what happens if you lose suction and have to start over again? Or have to stop for whatever reason...then you gotta suck on it, or take it apart and fill it back up with solution.

The auto siphon costs $10 and is the easiest, most trouble free way to go about it. At least in my opinion anyway.

yeah, before I got an auto-siphon, I tried the old 'filling the hose with sanitizer' trick to get the siphon started...

it works, but can be a bit of a mess if your timing is even slightly off... or you can end up dumping a hose full of sanitizer into your beer...

getting an auto-siphon was the best 10 bucks i ever spent. makes everything go SO much smoother... pump, pump and your are siphoning!

Get them all.. autosiphon / standard racking cane / beer wand / 2 hole orange carboy cap / racking cane clips...get them all..there cheap / nice stocking stuffers.

brewer stockings that is

Cheers
BeerCanuck

bigben said:

I say +10 to the Auto-Siphon and -1 to each of those options.

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I knew I'd spark somebody.

bigben said:

I don't like blowing into the beer. I mean there is a tiny chance of contaminating it with your breath, but its still a chance...unless you are blowing through a filter.

Click to expand...

I agree, that's why I use my CO2 injector to start my siphon.

bigben said:

As far as using sanitizing solution to get started...what happens if you lose suction and have to start over again? Or have to stop for whatever reason...then you gotta suck on it, or take it apart and fill it back up with solution.

Click to expand...

If you lose your suction, then I'm sure that'll be the last time. It's not rocket science and shouldn't take more than another try to do it right. There's nothing to take apart. Just put the open end of the hose under a slow running faucet and put the cane below water level.

That's the trouble with kids now-a-days, since they put springs in unleaded gas tanks, the art of siphoning has been lost.

Wild

I've had the same auto-siphon nearly 10 years. never broke it. never had it fail.

+infinity for the auto-siphon. I even bought a mini-siphon for my little carboys and jugs.