Filling 12oz. Bottles from Tap

Just curious: Can you fill 12 oz. bottles directly from a tap (like at a bar) and cap immediately? How long would they last like that? Is it the same as filling up a growler and capping? Thanks.

If you just pour into a bottle, it will probably foam over, uncontrollably.

I keep and carbonate my homebrew in soda kegs.
I usually bottle about half of it.
I press a racking cane into a picnic tap and fill from the bottom, then cap.

See BierMuncher Beer Filler (BMBF) or "We don't need no stinking beer gun".

I've found that if the beer and bottles are cold (33F) and the head pressure is low (5 to 8 psi), then I dont need to use the stopper to create counter pressure.

HairyDogBrewing said:

I've found that if the beer and bottles are cold (33F) and the head pressure is low (5 to 8 psi), then I dont need to use the stopper to create counter pressure.

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Whether or not you're able to forgo the stopper is dependent on a lot of factors in my experience, the majority of which I haven't been able to identify ha ha. It has been trial and error with each beer on my system, so make sure you have the stopper handy.

It's well worth the effort though, especially when you bring your homebrew to a buddy's place who still bottle carbs his beer. They almost snatch it out of your hand when you start drinking it from the bottle! It's as though they feel responsible for saving you from the evil yeast deposit they're accustomed to finding in the bottom of their bottles. Ha ha ha

This works best if you have a piece of hose long enough to go from the tap to the bottom of the bottle. Most brewpubs use one. Last time I got a 1L growler filled, they couldn't find the hose and it took ten minutes and a lot of wasted beer.

I have been doing this lately with pretty good results. I have drank beers that were up to 2 weeks stored like this so far and if anything they tasted better than when I filled them. What I do is vent the keg and turn the psi all the way down to like 1-3, just enough to push out the slightest constant drip so that the beer doesnt foam up in the frozen and sanitized bottle. I tilt the bottle at an angle so that the beer will softly glide down the side of the bottle to prevent foaming and then fill to my desired level. I then put the cap on and tip it over just how biermuncher suggests so that you cap on the foam. I would be curious to see how a bottle done this way holds up to long term storage. Using a counter pressure filler or beer gun could have more consistent results, but to tell you the truth i am happy with what I have gotten out of this method so far and will continue to experiment.