Bottling 1st batch tomorrow... any last minute tips?

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HB92649

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Going to bottle the first batch tomorrow evening after work.

I think I got the obvious covered... avoid aeration, avoid too much priming sugar, make sure bottles are clean. Going with a scrub and oven sanitizing on the yet to be purchased 22oz bombers.

Any suggestions on additional equipment or watchouts greatly appreciated. Would really appreciate perspectives on how to best get from a bucket fermeter with a spigot to bottling bucket without too much crap coming along for the ride, even if it means buying additional equipment.

Thanks in advance for any pointers and hopefully two weeks from now I'll be telling you how awesome everything turned out.

Cheers!
 
My first mistakes involved not mixing the priming sugar well enough so I had an uneven carbonation problem. Just dont splash the wort and you will be fine.
 
Add the priming sugar to the bottom of the bucket, and rack the brew onto the sugar so it gets mixed well.

As for not getting a lot of crap through the spigot, just watch what comes through the tube. Once it starts getting chunky you should probably shut it off.
 
My buckets have a spigot but the dip tube reaches way down to the bottom. Great to get every drop out of a bucket but bad because the yeast cake is usually covering it when it's time to bottle. Get an auto-siphon (about $10) so you can suck all the beer out right down to your yeast cake w/o getting any trub.

For priming sugar don't measure it by volume like most beginner recipes say to do, measure it by weight using how much beer you will bottle and what temperature you're bottling at. Here's a good calculator: http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html

Oh, and be patient once it's in the bottles :) I know you'll want to drink it after only one week but trust me, it needs a LEAST 2 and it's not at its best until 4+ Good things come to those who wait.
 
Great advice so far. I would add that in the future obtain or make an inverted back nut (http://www.williamsbrewing.com/INVERT-TUBE-BACKNUT-P179C104.aspx) to the inside of the spigot that you can adjust the angle of in the fermenter. When using as a primary or secondary... I angle it 90 degrees from the bottom so as not to pick up yeast or trub and so none can fall in it either. When using in my bottling bucket I have it pointed straight down to get the last few drops. Also sanitize everything well and have the hose connected to the spigot go to the bottom of the bottling bucket to avoid splashing. I add in the sugar a bit at a time as it is filling...probably don't need to but it has worked well so far. Good luck and have fun. I really enjoy bottling beer...but I'm strange that way.
 
have fun and enjoy the addiction. if you don't become obsessed, something is wrong. seriously, starsan and patience.
 
Pro Tip: put your bottling bucket over your dishwasher and open the door. That way any drippings end up in the diswasher and not on your floor. SWMBO will be happier :)
 
If you have to buy bottles then buy a bottle of starsan while you're at it. You won't be sorry:mug:
 
I made my own bottling bucket/secondary out of one of those 6.5G ale pales with the beer mug & grapes pictured on the front. I used a heavy lugged Italian spigot that fits the 3/8" hose I have,with a Fermtech bottling wand. I drilled the hole for the spigot just under the black line at the bottom of the logo.
That way,I can tilt it very slightly to get all but the last 1/8" or so. The crud stays behind nicely. And I prop the wand in the last empty bottle while I grab a couple more to resume bottling. That way,I don't have to close the spigot,getting a reverse suction that puts air in the next bottle when the spigot is turned on again. Easy to avoid the extra air that way.
 
Are you purchasing your bottles at your local homebrew shop? If you're purchasing your bottles on the day, and it sounds like you are, see if they'll clean and sanitize the bottles for you. My local does this.
 
Part of the used bottles I got from my LHBS were cleaned,others had labels,& were just rinsed out. Still others had dried label glue all over them. The last of the later are soaking as we speak. Finally getting my hands dried out.
But I will reiterate this one point. No more carb drops for me! I bulk primed my first time with my APA. The head & carbonation were absolutely amazing,considering it took only 8 lousy days to condition! First time for everything,you know. Pics in my gallery. Real old fashioned German head,fine bubbled snow storm. & the malt profile balancing so well against the German/Czech hops is great. Priming to 2.3 atmospheres is great for a pale ale,imo.
 
I think you are right on the money with your procedure. A Vintinator/Sanitizer injector
http://morebeer.com/view_product/15682/102377/Sanitizer_Injector is makes it easier, but sanitizer spray bottle works as well.

I like to follow my personal zen like fashion:
1) relax, it's not very hard
2) make sure you are comfortable, if you are bending over too much it'll get ya
3) keep everything (bottles, caps, capper, spray bottle of sanitizer, a beer, maybe some music, etc) is within reach.
4) make sure you have enough space to put your capped or uncapped beers
5)don't rush, just go with the flow.
I usually bottle what I have space for and then cap them, put them into the storage container.
repeat until done.
 
Since I have a bad L2 disc,& carpel tunnel,that's what I do. I have the bottling bucket on the brew stand on my right,with hose/bottling wand attached. I drape a dish towel over my 12 pack cooler below that on the floor to my right to fill bottles on. I have a short,round end table about 34" in diameter in front of me to set the filled bottles on with a small glass bowl of caps in sanitizer. With that,a small round pot holder to keep the bottle from sliding when I use my wing capper on this same table.
To my left,a wooden chair I set the bottle tree/vinitor on full of bottles. The now empty box on the floor in front of that. Everything within arms reach,& no lifting above the shoulder. Anyone with carpel tunnel knows what reaching above the shoulder feels like.
I'll have to get a short video of my system some day soon. Quicker & easier.
 
Have old towels on hand for the inevitable splashing and dripping sanitizer, etc. on the floor. And if you splash and drip anything on the floor, watch your step while carrying heavy full fermenters, bottling bucket, etc.
 
Sanitation....sanitation.....sanitation......

BUY a Vinator, Bottle tree, and STARSAN.....and sanitize your bottles that way......even if you do the oven thing.....

Make sure you soak your bottle caps in Starsan solution as well
 
dont over tighten your spigot------it will leak

test 1st with water. it usually doent leak until you open the spigot.

stir your priming sugar in. dont splash.
dont add sugar water then rack beer on top off it. it doesnt mix without stirring.

anyone who doesnt beleive it, get your hydometer out and check a sample when your bucket is full, then test the last gallon in your bottling bucket. its way higher. leading to uneven carbed bottles.
 
OK so, I am working on my first batch...two and a half weeks in the primary and I will probably bottle in another ten days. I read the 45-page bottling thread mentioned in an earlier post and got a lot of good ideas but no solution to my dilemma. I started with a beginners set with just one bucket with a spigot which I used for my primary (I do not have an easily accessable LHBS to buy a second bucket). Since I do not want to disturb the yeast bed (and it is probably covering the spigot opening any way), how should I proceed to bottle? Should I rack to a temporary vessel like my brewpot with the priming solution already in there and then rack to bottles via siphon hose and filling wand? Should I rack to the brewpot, clean out and sanitize the bucket with the spigot, add priming sugar to the bucket and rerack to the bucket and use spigot with filling tube attached to bottle? Any other suggestions?
 
ikkyu said:
OK so, I am working on my first batch...two and a half weeks in the primary and I will probably bottle in another ten days. I read the 45-page bottling thread mentioned in an earlier post and got a lot of good ideas but no solution to my dilemma. I started with a beginners set with just one bucket with a spigot which I used for my primary (I do not have an easily accessable LHBS to buy a second bucket). Since I do not want to disturb the yeast bed (and it is probably covering the spigot opening any way), how should I proceed to bottle? Should I rack to a temporary vessel like my brewpot with the priming solution already in there and then rack to bottles via siphon hose and filling wand? Should I rack to the brewpot, clean out and sanitize the bucket with the spigot, add priming sugar to the bucket and rerack to the bucket and use spigot with filling tube attached to bottle? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Good question. You don't want to rack it a few times, to much chance of getting to much O2 in the mix. You can get 5 gal buckets at Home Depot or other Big Box shops. Maybe you can find something there to use as a spigot that your plastic hose will fit to.
 
C-Rider said:
Good question. You don't want to rack it a few times, to much chance of getting to much O2 in the mix. You can get 5 gal buckets at Home Depot or other Big Box shops. Maybe you can find something there to use as a spigot that your plastic hose will fit to.
Click to expand...

C-Rider, I would love to have those options but I am currently living in Yokohama, Japan and Home Depots are not really an option. Hardware stores here have limited supplies, but I will check again. Most supplies are small Japanese size and bigger items are expensive ($50US for a 5g bucket with spigot). I would like to minimize racking for the oxygen factor you mentioned. On a side note, I like the tanker in the profile pic. I used to rent above Makiki Heights up on Tantalus. I had plenty of good waves out your way...Tracks, Green Lanterns, Sewers, Free Hawaii, Third Dip and other lesser known spots.
 
evanmars said:
Invest in kegs, CO2, regulator, and keggerator... :cross:
Click to expand...

I would love to but since our entire apartment could fit into a two-car garage, a keg system is out of the question. Once more...I live in Japan, home of capsule hotels and three-story driving ranges. Space is at a premium over here.
 
evanmars said:
Invest in kegs, CO2, regulator, and keggerator... :cross:
Click to expand...

Not this bull**** again....noone thinks it's funny whenever people are trying to have a SERIOUS discussion about bottling, and folks have to come in and say "Heh heh, keg." Like we've never heard of kegs or something. It wasn't funny the first time and it hasn't been funny for any of the 10 million times someone decides to post it. :rolleyes:

We don't go it your house and piss on your floors, so why do you gotta piss on our discussions?
 
If you have an auto siphon,& your brew kettle is over 5G,you could go that rout. Sounds like that'd be your only option not involving some serious Yen.
 
Revvy said:
Not this bull**** again....noone thinks it's funny whenever people are trying to have a SERIOUS discussion about bottling, and folks have to come in and say "Heh heh, keg." Like we've never heard of kegs or something. It wasn't funny the first time and it hasn't been funny for any of the 10 million times someone decides to post it. :rolleyes:

We don't go it your house and piss on your floors, so why do you gotta piss on our discussions?
Click to expand...

hahaha...Is there such a thing as a "keg-troll"?
BTW Revvy thanks for all the great info on the other bottling thread...
:mug:
 
unionrdr said:
If you have an auto siphon,& your brew kettle is over 5G,you could go that rout. Sounds like that'd be your only option not involving some serious Yen.
Click to expand...
These are all good suggestions...no auto-siphon, though. I haven't seen a HBS here that sells them. I'm actually making a wish list of stuff to purchase the next time I visit the USA (Vinator Bottle Rinse, AutoSiphon, Floating Thermometer, Thief Hydrometer). One thing that I can get here is a 6g Better Bottle for my next fermenter. No discount here for the Better Bottle so it will run 60$US but at least I won't have to use the bottling bucket as a fermenter (rookie mistake). An immersion wort chiller is also another piece of equipment I can and will be purchasing here for batch #2
 
ikkyu said:
OK so, I am working on my first batch...two and a half weeks in the primary and I will probably bottle in another ten days. I read the 45-page bottling thread mentioned in an earlier post and got a lot of good ideas but no solution to my dilemma. I started with a beginners set with just one bucket with a spigot which I used for my primary (I do not have an easily accessable LHBS to buy a second bucket). Since I do not want to disturb the yeast bed (and it is probably covering the spigot opening any way), how should I proceed to bottle? Should I rack to a temporary vessel like my brewpot with the priming solution already in there and then rack to bottles via siphon hose and filling wand? Should I rack to the brewpot, clean out and sanitize the bucket with the spigot, add priming sugar to the bucket and rerack to the bucket and use spigot with filling tube attached to bottle? Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

it's kinda like a puzzle. the racking to kettle on top of the priming solution and then trying to rack with the filling wand will be a job. it is possible, but you might get really frustrated.

racking twice (from primary to kettle to bottling bucket is not a bad idea...if you do it carefully. that would almost be the same as racking to secondary and then to a bottling bucket (you are just going from secondary to bottling bucket in a very short amount of time). if you do it this way, you would want to have your priming solution ready before you start any of the racking. you just don't want the beer to sit out in the open too long.

a final idea, which might make for some cloudy beer:
1-pour your priming solution into your beer in your bottling bucket
2-stir very carefully
3-prop the spigot side of the bucket on a book (1 inch maybe)
4-use your spoon (or your sanitized arm) to gently push the trub away from the spigot
5-wait a few minutes for it to settle a bit
6-sanitize the spigot from the outside
7-attach sanitized bottling wand
8-fill and cap bottles
9-purchase a primary--the better bottle sounds like a good idea.

i don't know about in japan, but restaurants or grocery stores with bakeries in the US get food grade buckets that contain icing, filling, etc. when they are finished with them, they give them away or sell them for a small amount. stay away from pickle buckets.

you can get one of those, clean it with baking soda--to help remove the lingering smell, and then use it as your primary. good luck.
 
jkatz419 said:
Pro Tip: put your bottling bucket over your dishwasher and open the door. That way any drippings end up in the diswasher and not on your floor. SWMBO will be happier :)
Click to expand...

I opted for the "wait until SWMBO goes to bed" method since I had a feeling there might be a learning curve and said learning curve could get messy. However, next batch I will definitely utilize this one.

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips, really made it easy for me to focus on the important aspects and not get caught up in he minute possibilities. My only concern is that I probably needed to do a better job with dispersing the sugar more evenly. I racked into the sugar water but it should have probably spent some time stirring or adding the solution as I transfered the wort.
 
charlesmartin said:
it's kinda like a puzzle. the racking to kettle on top of the priming solution and then trying to rack with the filling wand will be a job. it is possible, but you might get really frustrated.

racking twice (from primary to kettle to bottling bucket is not a bad idea...if you do it carefully. that would almost be the same as racking to secondary and then to a bottling bucket (you are just going from secondary to bottling bucket in a very short amount of time). if you do it this way, you would want to have your priming solution ready before you start any of the racking. you just don't want the beer to sit out in the open too long.

a final idea, which might make for some cloudy beer:
1-pour your priming solution into your beer in your bottling bucket
2-stir very carefully
3-prop the spigot side of the bucket on a book (1 inch maybe)
4-use your spoon (or your sanitized arm) to gently push the trub away from the spigot
5-wait a few minutes for it to settle a bit
6-sanitize the spigot from the outside
7-attach sanitized bottling wand
8-fill and cap bottles
9-purchase a primary--the better bottle sounds like a good idea.

i don't know about in japan, but restaurants or grocery stores with bakeries in the US get food grade buckets that contain icing, filling, etc. when they are finished with them, they give them away or sell them for a small amount. stay away from pickle buckets.

you can get one of those, clean it with baking soda--to help remove the lingering smell, and then use it as your primary. good luck.
Click to expand...

OK I managed the double rack (from fermenter to brewpot and back after cleaning out the bucket). A few little siphon issues due to poor diligence on my part (that siphon runs damn fast). Bottle washing took forever. I managed to crush only three bottle caps during crimping. Overall, it took a long time but most techniques went well thanks to suggestions on this thread and Revvy's thread on bottling. Only fail was that the pitched wort tastes a bit too alcoholic probably due to too high temps. Learned alot with this batch
 
Glad it worked out well! Only 3 caps destroyed? That is good for a first attempt!

As for tasting a bit to alcoholic; Don't judge that taste until it has time to carbonate and condition. That flavor tends to be very present at bottling time, but in 3 weeks it should have faded a bit.

Hurray for success!
 
charlesmartin said:
it's kinda like a puzzle. the racking to kettle on top of the priming solution and then trying to rack with the filling wand will be a job. it is possible, but you might get really frustrated.

6-sanitize the spigot from the outside

QUOTE]

Forgot this detail... hopefully a good idea. I have pets around the house so pet dander and hair obviously a concern. After sanitizing I put saran wrap around the spigot to keep it from picking up stuff while the primary did its thing or I moved stuff around.
Click to expand...
 
Tall_Yotie said:
Glad it worked out well! Only 3 caps destroyed? That is good for a first attempt!

As for tasting a bit to alcoholic; Don't judge that taste until it has time to carbonate and condition. That flavor tends to be very present at bottling time, but in 3 weeks it should have faded a bit.

Hurray for success!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement...with all the time and money invested in the first batch, it is kind of hard to relax and have a homebrew (especially when they are no homebrews to drink yet). It was fun and I can see how people can get addicted to the process...:tank:
 

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