First Batch Ever! Question about bottling

Hello Everyone! I joined this forum on the suggestion of a Co-Worker, and I have found a bunch of threads both helpful and interesting already, but I have yet to find one pertaining to my question, so I apologize if this is a repost:

I am due to bottle my beer in ~12 days. It is currently fermenting in my cold dark basement. As I understand it, when I bottle, I:

1. take off the airlock
2. Attach the siphon + tube to the rubber stopper
3. Pour the beer into my bucket
4. Add sugar
5. Using the tube again, pour it into bottles, with some sort of spill catcher underneath.
6. Cap the bottles as they fill.

My confusion stems between steps 3/4/5. I know air can oxidize beer, so how do I ensure an airtight environment if my beer is moving from the fermenter, to the bucket, to the bottles?

What do you mean by rubber stopper? You should simply syphon it out into a bottling bucket (a bucket with a spout). Then use a bottling "wand" and tubing... attach to the spout.... start filling.

When syphoning... the end of the hose emptying into the bottling bucket, put it on the bottom and against the side so it swirls...

By doing what Tbhootie said, you'll also be sure to get your priming sugar mixed in.

You may want to dissolve the sugar in 16oz of water that has been boiled. Should help it mix into solution easier

I also add the priming sugar solution into the bottling bucket first then let the beer mix it while it siphons.

Hi, I just started brewing too. I have an auto-siphon and tubes and a springless bottle filler. Also, my bucket has a spigot in it. You can use the spigot or the auto-siphon to bottle.

When I bottle, I:

0. Have boiled water and dissolved the sugar into it, then cooled the water to room temp, keeping a lid on the pot.
1. Pop the top off the fermenting vessel and put in my clean and sanitized autosiphon in.
2. Pour the water-sugar mix into the bottling bucket
3. Siphon the beer into the bottling bucket
5. Using the siphon again, or the handy bucket spigot, I attach it to another tube that has the bottle filler.
6. I place sanitized caps on the bottles. When I am done filling, I cap.

The only thing I would add is that you dont have to let your 16 ounces of syrup cool before you rack on to it. I rack my beer straight on to the liquid that's still really hot and there is no issue with it damaging yeast or anything. you're pouring 5 gallons of cool beer onto 2 cups of hot water. I figure less chance of infection if you dont wait for it to chill. Just make sure you sanitize EVERYTHING. Bottles included.

I go for the .... Dunk in a bucket w/ starsan in it, drain, then fill.

There is usually foam still inside the bottle, I fill right on top of it, no taste, no worries, just good beer

bottling wand makes things soooo much easier.