Counter Pressure Bottle Filler

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

OrCoastBrew

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 1, 2009
Messages
57
Reaction score
0
Location
Lincoln City, Oregon
I have a question that probably could be answered by searching the forum but I am feeling lazy today with football on. My questions are:

1. What do people recommend the Beergun or a counter pressure bottle filler?

2. How long will a beer last in the bottle when bottled from a keg with a counter pressure or beergun? The reason I'm asking is that I would like to bottle my winter spruce ale and a chocolate oak porter so that I have the option of entering them in a competition next summer.

Thanks to Everyone
:mug:
 
The bottles will last just as long as they would if you had bottled them from the beginning. I prefer the beergun, but some people like a little more "gadgety" stuff. If you like tinkering with things, then you might want to get the cpbf. To me, they're a pain to use, but they do their job well.
 
I always thought the best thing to use was the cobra tap/tube/stopper device for filling bottles. Last week Ubermick got a Blickman Beergun for his birthday and he brought it over to bottle. I almost never bottle, but we brewed a 5 gal batch of a Dark Lord clone we called Morgoth the Destroyer. It was lots easier bottling with the beergun. We're going to wax the caps for long term storage, but a year or so should be fine with just a good solid capping. The beergun is not counter pressure, but there was so little foam I'm absolutely sure we lost minimal CO2 from the beer.
 
This is embarrassing but I will tell it anyway. I purchased a Braukhunst CP bottle filler over ten years ago (probably 15) and never used it until two days ago. I would always fill a growler straight from the tap to take on the road.

Please let me know if I am inept or if this thing is crap (or hopefully something in between). I bottled 20 bottles with my son helping out and followed all of the "instructions". I think about 10 of the bottles were actually filled to the neck, not half way up the neck, just up to it. The rest were about 2/3 the way filled with plenty of foam. I estimate that we lost about 2-3 beers in the process.

If anyone has some helpful information that would make this thing useful, please share it with me so I don't feel like a total moron and retire it to the "Brewing Museum" along with my fly sparge arm and false bottom from Listermann (no offense to you flyers or Phil) :cross:

k
 
Are you chilling the bottles before you fill them? This will help cut down on foam a little, but it really shouldn't be neccissary. Also, make sure you purge the bottles with CO2 first, and turn down your pressure to about 5psi. Longer lines will help too. I use 10ft. lines with my beergun, and it works out great.
 
Suthrncomfrt1884 said:
Are you chilling the bottles before you fill them? This will help cut down on foam a little, but it really shouldn't be neccissary. Also, make sure you purge the bottles with CO2 first, and turn down your pressure to about 5psi. Longer lines will help too. I use 10ft. lines with my beergun, and it works out great.

Is a beergun really worth the money? I don't bottle from the keg too often, but maybe that's because it is messy and a pain in the ass with my bottle wand and stopper setup.
 
Is a beergun really worth the money? I don't bottle from the keg too often, but maybe that's because it is messy and a pain in the ass with my bottle wand and stopper setup.

I used the bottle wand/stopper combo for the longest time and had no problems with it or the mess seeing as how cheap it was. But...a few years back, I had a ton of beer to bottle for Xmas presents, and didn't want to hassle with it. I bit the bullet and bought the beergun, and now I'm never going back. If I have one or two bottles, I won't pull out the gun, but anything over a 6 pack, and it's a breeze to use.

It's just nice being able to do everything by yourself (although it's nice to have someone to cap so you can move very quickly) without making a mess. Concidering the amount of time I've saved and the headaches I've avoided...I would say it was well worth the money.

Another nice thing is that now I practically keg everything. I like being able to drink straight from the bottles if I'm at a picnic or the beach...and the beergun helps me avoid a ton of sediment in the bottles.
 
Back
Top