Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

Great writeup Revvy, but it is missing one thing. Since you didn't mention it in the original post I'll just throw this out there.

Make sure the spigot on the bottling bucket is closed before racking into it.... I seem to forget this about 1 out of every 3 bottling days.

So far I have never put lables on my bottles, I just make and attach a lable to each case, but sometimes they fall off......the hanging tag looks like a really good idea, I'm going to have to give it a try.

Thats why this forum is so cool, as much as you know, or think you know, there is always someone who knows more or different things and you can pick up alot of good and helpful ideas.

I really wish I had read this thread yesterday afternoon. I took a bunch of Apfelwein to a couple parties last night and spent quite a bit of time reselling to each person who asked about. The hanging tag would have been perfect. I have never even thought about doing hat.

I print 1" cap labels for my beers. They work well for the house but are not too appealing for gifts.

As far as bottling I still go with the hose attached to the bucket and wand. Then I set up my bottles 12 at a time on the dishwasher door, fill them all, cap them and repeat 3 more times. Or less depending on how much of a batch I (mini-)keg.

just finished bottling with the help of this thread thanx revvy, we'll taste in 3 weeks

Well after a year of bottling (yes I keg too) this thread has opened my eyes to the most ingenious thing ever, and it can be summed up in two words: dip tube.

Not once after the countless times of tipping my bucket have I thought to add a dip tube. I figured out the part about putting the wand on the spigot, in fact I thought everyone did it that way, but the dip tube has never crossed my mind.

Thanks!

This is a very informative thread and will help stream line my bottling process.

Thanks Revvy!

I like using a keg as a bottling bucket. It's already got a dip tube.

Great post Revvy! I don't know who controls it, but this should definately be a sticky in the Beginners or the Bottling forum.

For some people (like me), bottling will always be a chore, no matter how many people say otherwise.

I will add that it certainly isn't a necessity to bottle an entire batch if you're going to be submitting it to a competition. Using a counter pressure bottle filler or the BMBF for 2-3 bottles is a snap compared to bottling an entire batch of beer.

**edit - Oops, I just re-read this and didn't mean to detract from the OP. Lots of good bottling info here, Revvy. I just wanted to clarify that it's not necessary to bottle a whole batch just to submit a few bottles to competition.

I've always bottled in the garage with the bottles on the floor and using the bottling wand (with 2-3' of hose) to push down on the bottom of the bottles.

Your technique for kitchen bottling is to have a very short hose then push up the bottles! Wish I would've done that with my last batch.

I bottled last weekend in the house 'cuz it was about 30 degrees in the garage, and I didn't cut the hose short enough so it was a big PITA!

good thread!

ohiobrewtus said:

For some people (like me), bottling will always be a chore, no matter how many people say otherwise.

I will add that it certainly isn't a necessity to bottle an entire batch if you're going to be submitting it to a competition. Using a counter pressure bottle filler or the BMBF for 2-3 bottles is a snap compared to bottling an entire batch of beer.

**edit - Oops, I just re-read this and didn't mean to detract from the OP. Lots of good bottling info here, Revvy. I just wanted to clarify that it's not necessary to bottle a whole batch just to submit a few bottles to competition.

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I'll piggy back on your comment though, since I probably didn't mention it in the first thread, that if you are bottling a few bottles for competition and they are not force carbed from your keg system, or you want them bottled carbed/conditioned any way, rather than trying to calculate the amount of priming solution required for let's say a 6 pack, or don't want to risk bottle bombs by priming with dry in each bottle...Prime tabs are a cheap and easy solution.

The only two brands that I've seen are Prime Tabs and Coopers, but there may be others.






Thanks for reminding me!!!

I just completed my first bottling session and it all went smooth and pleasantly using the tips and techniques I found here -- THANKS Revvy and everyone else!

I found that the wand's siphon action is what makes the dip tube work . . . or in other words, if you do a plain water test to see how it all works, but without the bottling wand attached, with just an otherwise unadorned spigot -- as I did -- then the flow will all but die with a ton of liquid still left in the bottom of the bucket because the level of the inlets and outlets are nearly equal. But add the bottling wand as shown in this thread's opening photos, and presto: works just like advertised!

I made a dip tube out of a section of racking cane ($1.99 at the LHBS) using a heat gun and a bowl of water. Carefully and evenly heat a ~4" section of the tubing with the gun until you can bend it, then go ahead and work a gentle radius bend into it. When it bends it flattens a little, so mash the sides gently with your fingers to make it round again. I found there to be plenty of working time, so much in fact that I got the bowl of water to dip the thing into when happy, to "lock" it in place. The first attempt was less than beautiful so I tossed it, photo below is second try. Perfect!



The cork stopper was found at the local Ace Hardware 'cuz the LHBS didn't stock more proper bungs that fit spigots. I've just ordered a couple of pre-drilled white rubber bungs from Midwest.

Update: Here it is, the new and more proper stopper. I ordered a Drilled Number 2 Stopper from Midwest Homebrewing Supply for $0.60; the hole is perfectly sized to accept the racking cane dip tube; shown here plugged into the spigot.

kinda curious. does anyone (or did i just miss it) bottle by using their autosiphon with the bottle filler attached to the and of the hose? I've bottled two batches that way and i think i like it better than my old method (bottle filler, bridge, spigot) but i'm not sure yet.

I'm bottling up my first 5 gallon batch tomorrow, and I'd appreciated any comments on my bottling plan.

I have a Sterile Siphon Starter for my 6.5 gallon carboy, and I plan to just rack my ale to my 22 quart brewpot, mix in my dissolved priming sugar, then take the siphon starter off of the carboy, stick in in the brewpot (it touches the bottom, so I will get all of the ale) and use it to fill my bottles.

I wanted to do it this way, because it uses gear that I already have (I'm running out of storage room.) Are there any potential pitfalls with this method?

Nimrod1193 said:

I'm bottling up my first 5 gallon batch tomorrow, and I'd appreciated any comments on my bottling plan.

I have a Sterile Siphon Starter for my 6.5 gallon carboy, and I plan to just rack my ale to my 22 quart brewpot, mix in my dissolved priming sugar, then take the siphon starter off of the carboy, stick in in the brewpot (it touches the bottom, so I will get all of the ale) and use it to fill my bottles.

I wanted to do it this way, because it uses gear that I already have (I'm running out of storage room.) Are there any potential pitfalls with this method?

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There's at least one person on here who does it that way...for me the spigot and the dip tube is the most convenient. You don't have to worry about maintinng a siphon for one...and buckets are cheap...my bottling bucket came from the hardware store for 5 bucka and the spigot cost two...so 7 bucks and no headaches...

If you are going to do your route...the practice, practice, practice with water and your bottles...you don't wanna have your prining sugar, and beer mixed and find you keep breaking siphon or you just hate that method..

Good, luck!

I didn't practice before I tried bottling tonight. It was my first try ever. Man do I wish I could go back and do it again. But even better, I wish i would have tired moving water a few times first before I tried to move my first born to the bottling bucket. Watching bubbles float to the top killed me.

Revvy said:

There's at least one person on here who does it that way...for me the spigot and the dip tube is the most convenient. You don't have to worry about maintinng a siphon for one...and buckets are cheap...my bottling bucket came from the hardware store for 5 bucka and the spigot cost two...so 7 bucks and no headaches...

If you are going to do your route...the practice, practice, practice with water and your bottles...you don't wanna have your prining sugar, and beer mixed and find you keep breaking siphon or you just hate that method..

Good, luck!

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Revvy, you are the man! At the last minute I decided to make a bottling bucket with a spigot and man, am I glad I did. Considering the siphoning problems I had getting the brew from the carboy to the bucket, if I had tried filling bottles that way I would have been hating life.

Thanks again Revvy.

Revvy, What is your post bottling cleaning procedure?

Tonight I pretty much sanitized before bottling the same way you outlined. With exceptions for my equipment. I used a racking cane and tubing.

Prebottling I filled about half my bottling bucket with starsan. Siphoned from the bottling bucket to another bucket. About half way through I pulled the racking cane and tubing out of the sanitizing solution and put it in the carboy with the tubing coiled up on the racking cane and not touching anything else.

Then I ran the remainder of the sanitizing solution in the bottling bucket through my short tubing and bottling wand into the bucket of sanitizing solution.

Then I used a spray bottle to spray down my bottling tree with starsan. and filled the vineator.

After bottling, I pretty much did the same process over again. I dumped the bucket of starsan back into the bottling bucket and let it sit while I collected the other tubing and stuff. Then ran about half through the bottling wand and half through the siphon tubing and racking cane. I also pulled the spigot out of the bucket and scrubbed it with a rag.

Should I be doing more?


Oh, and tonight was my bottling tree and vineators maiden voyage. It sped up my process in a mind boggling way. I had 3/4 of my bottles sanitized by the time the carboy had siphoned into the bottling bucket.

Dextersmom said:

kinda curious. does anyone (or did i just miss it) bottle by using their autosiphon with the bottle filler attached to the and of the hose? I've bottled two batches that way and i think i like it better than my old method (bottle filler, bridge, spigot) but i'm not sure yet.

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I don't use any buckets or spigots on the cold side, I like non-porous uniform surfaces on things I sanitize.

I find a closed transfer with racking canes and carboy caps from the fermenting vessel to an empty one (I use better bottles) with priming solution in it and then bottle from that.

The advantage to having the bottle filler on the end of a hose is that you can just set it in a bottle and do something else for the 30 seconds it takes to fill (like cap a different bottle or in my case pull the foil of the next bottle that has been covering it since I sterilized it in the oven). I've tried putting the bottle filler right on a spigot and lifting the bottle to it and I can't say I understand the appeal of forcing yourself to sit there and hold the bottle. It takes me much longer that way since I can't figure out how to cap the bottles with my one free hand.

Dextersmom said:

kinda curious. does anyone (or did i just miss it) bottle by using their autosiphon with the bottle filler attached to the and of the hose? I've bottled two batches that way and i think i like it better than my old method (bottle filler, bridge, spigot) but i'm not sure yet.

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That's how I do it. I hate the hose on it though--it always seems to go where I don't want it to, which is the only reason I might switch to this method of putting the filler on the spigot.

I love bottling beer. Really, I do. I usually try to get a few batches of beer at once, and sometimes 2 or 3 batches of wine are ready all at the same time. Then SWMBO and I bottle like it's 1999. I find it very rewarding to see 100 bottles of beer sitting on my kitchen table (and 60 bottles of wine on the floor) and know that yes, I made those. The only reason I'm planning on kegging next year is to have beer on tap.

Cheers!

Why is this thread not a sticky? It took me forever to find that dip tube thing. Prost

jcarson83 said:

Why is this thread not a sticky? It took me forever to find that dip tube thing. Prost

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Pm a mod if you think so...

Thanks BTW!



And post pics of your dip tube when you make it!!!

Read this a few weeks ago, and used the tips last week when I bottled. Worked great. Opened my first bottle last night! I did not get a dip tube made - will try to do that for next time, to save tipping the bucket.

BTW - what does Prosting a thread do? I did it, and voted 5 stars...

My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

Petho said:

My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

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Best bottling story I've heard yet!!!!!

I just use my 5 gallon bucket of Starsan. Dunk all of my bottles in, dump them out then line them up in the dishwasher racks. After I go through a dozen or so I sanitize some plastic wrap and put it on top. You can do several bottles at a time rather than using the bottling wand. You can do as many as your hands can hold down in the bucket. So you guys with big hands can save a lot of time.

And since they are lined in the dishwasher rack already, you can bottle them in the same spot. Just put the bottling bucket on the counter with the wand/hose and go. Roll the kitchen table up next to the dishwasher, and I can bottle all while sitting on my stool.

Only took 10 batches or so to perfect it. But no more sitting on the floor and making a huge mess.

It took me a while to find this thread again. Really, it needs to be sticky.

I bottled my first batch using this method, although I did substitute a Homer bucket for dishwasher door. I cannot believe how much easier it was. Sitting down saved my back (yeah, I am getting old) but, more importantly, kept my eyes at just the right level to know when the bottle was full. I only had one over flow.

Thanks, Revvy. It is still tedious, but it is only 30 minutes of tedium instead of an hour's back breaking labor.

This is my current bottling setup. I use a short-walled "bussing bin" that I got from a restaurant supply store (About $5.00). It will hold 35 bottles at a time, keeps them from falling over, catches any overflow/spillage, and allows for quick transfer back to the counter for capping. I set it on the ground, below my bucket, and then grab a chair, and start filling the bottles one at a time, row by row. I can easily see which bottles have already been filled, and where the fill line is while bottling.



I put the bucket on the kitchen counter, and I currently use my auto-siphon for bottling, rather than the spigot (That is soon to change - don't worry!) Once I get the siphon going (with a little help from SWMBO) I can easily fill the bottles, which are loaded into the bussing bin on the floor. I pull up a chair, and go to town! Bottling is relatively quick this way.

Revvy you are the man! Some great tips in this thread which will make my next bottling day much easier.

BrianP said:

Yes, I made a dip tube for my bottling bucket out of a 3/4" PVC 90deg elbow. I think it cost $0.39 at Lowe's and threads right onto the tail piece of the bottling spigot.

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Brilliant! I may have to run to Lowe's at lunch and see what I can find.

Thanks for the idea!

Kegging is the easy way out. Anybody can keg. I've kegged, but prefer to bottle, I like the math to find my volume, experimenting with different primers and you just can't artificially replicate what yeast can do naturally.The good and bad off-flavors. Sure it takes more time, but I love going to the basement and grabbing several bottles from my stash. Nothing beats a bottle conditioned beer. NOTHING!!!!!

JLep said:

Kegging is the easy way out. Anybody can keg. I've kegged, but prefer to bottle, I like the math to find my volume, experimenting with different primers and you just can't artificially replicate what yeast can do naturally.The good and bad off-flavors. Sure it takes more time, but I love going to the basement and grabbing several bottles from my stash. Nothing beats a bottle conditioned beer. NOTHING!!!!!

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Plus there are some cool bottles out there if you search enough

I've been collecting odd shaped ones for Belgians...Like stubbies and redstribe bottles...I have a growing collection.

tconlan25 said:

Brilliant! I may have to run to Lowe's at lunch and see what I can find.

Thanks for the idea!

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I bought one of these at Lowes for around $.50 but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it will eliminate the pocket of air in the spigot I was getting that I think was caused by the small diameter dip tube I had been using.

-TH- said:

I bought one of these at Lowes for around $.50 but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it will eliminate the pocket of air in the spigot I was getting that I think was caused by the small diameter dip tube I had been using.

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When you are testing it are you having your bottle wand or bottling hose attached? Like I said earlier, I've never experienced it before...and the one person who had a slow trickle out of his spigot hooked up a hose, and once he had a lower siphon level it worked fine.

Petho said:

My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

Click to expand...

I am on my way, 3 1/2 years of investment and the little guy wipes down the bottles and puts a small piece of painters masking tape for labeling on each bottle. I do have to be careful because this boy hasn't found a flavor he doesn't like, but that only happens when a glass is left unattended.


Thanks for the tips, bottle wand to bucket and dip tube will be made tonight!!!!!!

A bottle tree and bottle rinser for the top has reduced setup time. I also keep a spray bottle of sanitizer and clean and sanitize each bottle after pouring a home brew. That 30 seconds after each beer also saves some serious time on bottle day.

Revvy said:

When you are testing it are you having your bottle wand or bottling hose attached? Like I said earlier, I've never experienced it before...and the one person who had a slow trickle out of his spigot hooked up a hose, and once he had a lower siphon level it worked fine.

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Yes. For about 7 batches now I had connected the bottle wand to a 2 inch piece of tubing which is connected to the spigot. On the inside (of the spigot) was a drilled rubber stopper with one of these:


It worked fine for bottling, I had no problems with flow coming out of the bottle wand, the only concern I had was I always had a pocket of air inside the large diameter portion of the spigot. My spigot body is somewhat transparent so I could see it while bottling. I think it was due to the large diameter of the spigot compared to the small diameters of the input (dip tube) and output (tip of spigot). It looks quite turbulent in there when I bottled and I was concerned about oxygenation.

Any thoughts on the above post, Revvy?

-TH- said:

It worked fine for bottling, I had no problems with flow coming out of the bottle wand, the only concern I had was I always had a pocket of air inside the large diameter portion of the spigot. My spigot body is somewhat transparent so I could see it while bottling. I think it was due to the large diameter of the spigot compared to the small diameters of the input (dip tube) and output (tip of spigot). It looks quite turbulent in there when I bottled and I was concerned about oxygenation.

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I have had similar problems. Revvy suggested making sure that your dip tube extends through the cork enough that it meets up with the back of the spigot body, if I remember correctly. I'll be testing this theory today.

-TH- said:

Any thoughts on the above post, Revvy?

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Sorry, I don't....I've never had that problem....it could be the angle of the bend. or not enough depth into the area like I told Terrapin Chef...or that I've never paid attention to mine and all my beers have turned out...Just remember that may not be O2 but CO2 in that pocket you are seeing... But realistically, it takes a lot of O2 to ruin your beer. It is in that little pocket is probably no more than what gets trapped in the bend of your racking cane and hose, as it does a 1/2" free fall....

Try different configurations, bends whatever...but honestly I wouldn't sweat it...I've had to pump beer with my auto siphon and not ruined it....

Oxyidation if it does happen is a long storage problem, most people will have drunk our beers long before any of that shows up...And I've been using a diptube for nearly a year (2 different versions) and have never had a beer turn out cardboardy or anything like that.

Fantastic post. This will save lots of time.