CO2 levels in Capped Beer Gunned Bottles

I made a Hot Damnfelwein about 2 months ago, and used by Blichmann Beer Gun for the first time to bottle it from the keg. Initially it was carbed well, but now most of the bottles are almost flat. I brewed an Oak Aged Amaretto-Bourbon Porter that I would like to bottle, but am now worried that it will not remain carbed if I bottle it with the gun.

I don't remember any capping issues when capping the Apfelwein, I didn't chill the bottles, but the gun seemed to perform well. I didn't know if in that method how much CO2 I would lose, or what other issues there may be. Any suggestions?

Luke

What psi did you set it to when using the beer gun?

I've used mine a few times. On the first go, I used 5 to 6 psi with unchilled bottles and I received scoresheets saying it was oxidized. I didn't have any carbonation issues though. The next time, I brought the psi down a little bit and my IPA scored really high in a comp...no carb issues either.

Next go round, I will chill the bottles and use as low psi as possible. I still think the IPA was a little oxidized.

You need to compensate for the head space. I've learned to bump the kegs up 3-4 psi a day or two before I bottle. The CO2 in the beer will equalize with the head space. By overcarbing slightly you can still have carbed beer. I release the CO2 when I fill the bottles and push the beer with about 5 psi. No chilled bottles. Never had a problem with oxidation from my beers that I bottled with the gun. I always make sure I cap on foam within seconds of removing the wand. I dunno....maybe just technique?

I actually bottled at about 10-12psi, I didn't change the pressure, and just left it at serving pressure. I didn't release the head space or anything like that either. I didn't have any problems with foaming. Which after reading several different threads, that kind of concerns me as well. The confusing part is that early on, most of them were carbonated pretty well. I thought there may be an issue with long term storage when using the gun, and losing CO2 out of solution. I guess when you release the head pressure in the keg, the CO2 is still in solution so that doesn't affect the overall carbonation of the beer in the bottle?

That is too high. I think co2 is coming out of solution for you. The instructions say "Use the minimum dispensing pressure possible to fill the bottle at an acceptable rate – ½ of the dispensing pressure is a good starting point."

Yes, when you release the head pressure prior to bottling with a beergun, it shouldn't affect the carb in the beer for these purposes. Basically, from what I have gathered, the best practices are:

1. Bump up the keg psi a day or two before use. Maybe 2-4 psi.
2. Sanitize and chill the bottles to similar temp as beer
3. Release head pressure, dial in psi to half of serving pressure or lower. I'm trying 4 psi next time.
4. Cap immediately after fill. EZCap/Grolsch bottles are nice for this.

I'm going to use mine tonight again and bottle maybe a 12 pack.

I am going to keg this next batch this weekend, and dial up the psi to about 16psi for the next week or 2, and then drop it down to about 5 psi to beer gun it in, and see how it turns out. I think I will chill the bottles this time as well. Last time I went straight from hot Star San to a cold rinse, and then bottled, not sure of what affect may have occurred, but it is easy to take that variable out.

I like the Beergun, because I like to cold crash all of my beers to make them cleaner. I always worry about getting good carb when naturally carbing in the bottle after cold crashing, and I don't like introducing more yeast if I don't have to. Plus then I can bottle carbonated Apfelwein with less hassle!