oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh - darn lips

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.

ChickenSoop

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2008
Messages
190
Reaction score
2
Location
Winnipeg
Ok, I am about to wrap up my first batch I ever made. Almost ready to bottle in a few more days.

I made the batch first, then I read the beer making manual and realized what I did wrong ....


ok, ok, yes, I did it. When I transferred to the secondary, I primed the hose with my lips. Not the proper way at all.

Will I just end up with a batch of windshield washer fluid?

:mad:
 
Probably not, but there's always a chance about 20% chance you ruined your batch.....just learn from your mistake, buy an auto siphon and/or never prime a siphon with your lips again...

590-0140%20Auto%20Siphon.jpg


Don't need to prime at all with one of these, best 10 bucks you can spend...2 pumps and you are flowing.
 
I agree, buy an autosiphon, but I have don't it "old school" many times as well and never had a problem. If your gonna go old school you gotta gargle and swallow some whiskey or vodka. you know.....too kill your mouth nasties ;)
 
Even if you don't have an autosiphon, you can start a siphon using a plain piece of flexible vinyl tubing without using your mouth.

Fill the tube with water, keep your finger over one end and place the other end in the carboy you are siphoning from. Put the end with your finger over it below the level of the carboy over a jar or bucket and release your finger. This will get the siphon going. When the water clears the line into the jar or bucket, move the tube into your bottling bucket or secondary carboy (or whatever you are siphoning into).

Practice this a couple of times with plain water and you'll have it down pat.
 
Here's something that you may not know. Never use an autosiphon in hot water. They will crack and you will have to go spend another $15, like I will on Friday.
 
Here's something that you may not know. Never use an autosiphon in hot water. They will crack and you will have to go spend another $15, like I will on Friday.

I havent had any problems doing this YET. But I have a relatively new auto siphon (used three times) so maybe over the course of time hot water will damage it? Anyway this is something I will keep in mind. Thanks!
 
I did the lips thing on a wine I made years ago... turned into vinegar... Yuck!!!

This time I primed the siphon with Sanitizer (no rinse) and pinched the hose (hose pinch thingy) put it in a pitcher of the sanitizer (both ends) then took the cane end and put it in the kettle and then moved the hose out and let the pinch go waiting for the beer to flow. Then moved to the Primary and filled.

Granted the auto siphon looks cool!
 
Here's something that you may not know. Never use an autosiphon in hot water. They will crack and you will have to go spend another $15, like I will on Friday.

Also, when they say not to pull from the bend or it will crack........they aren't lying.

I've broken a few those suckers that way......I don't always learn from my mistakes. :p
 
Fill the tube with water, keep your finger over one end and place the other end in the carboy you are siphoning from. Put the end with your finger over it below the level of the carboy over a jar or bucket and release your finger. This will get the siphon going. When the water clears the line into the jar or bucket, move the tube into your bottling bucket or secondary carboy (or whatever you are siphoning into).

This is how I siphoned for a long long time. It does take a bit of practice but once you get it down, it is quite effective. That said, you will get my Auto-Siphon away from me when you pry it from my cold, dead hands!
 
I'll have to check around for one of those auto-siphons.

My local beer equipment 'supplier' is so welfare. Just cheap stuff, no good stuff. He even has no bottles to sell. I was hopng for 1L PET bottles, but he has nothing on the shelf as my bottling day approaches. I have 60 regular beer bottles on standby, unless I can find 1L PET bottles in the next couple days. I guess it will give me a chance to examine other local beer stores.

As a beginner, making beer is enjoyable, but my local supplier is in the dark ages, almost a hinderance to the sport.
 
Honestly I have done the suck siphon a number of times <hangs head in shame> without an infection. That doesn't make it a good idea though. This usually happens when I have a few too many before racking and am in an overly-relaxed mode. I rather expect this will bite me in the butt one day if I don't quit it... That said it certainly is not an automatic infection so cross your fingers and relax.
 
For my first brew I did suck start the siphon... although I splashed a little starsan on my face before I did that. For my 2nd brew I had a autosiphon so no biggy there.
 
Honestly I have done the suck siphon a number of times <hangs head in shame> without an infection. That doesn't make it a good idea though. This usually happens when I have a few too many before racking and am in an overly-relaxed mode. I rather expect this will bite me in the butt one day if I don't quit it... That said it certainly is not an automatic infection so cross your fingers and relax.


BADAR: Brewers Against Drinking (too much) And Racking
 
Back
Top