Correct procedure???

Fill and cap or fill all the bottles and then cap?

I will be bottling my very first batch wed. or thurs. So, do I fill all the bottles and then cap them or do I fill one and cap it and then repeat?

FACT: The longer you wait to cap the better chance there is of infection.
OPINION: Right after I finish bottling one, I place a cap on top. I do this to 6-10 bottles, then I crimp the caps on those 6-10 and put them in a box. I repeat this procedure until the entire batch has been bottled.

I used to fill 12 bottles or so then cap those while the others were draining from the sanitizer on the dishwasher rack.

I cap in batches of 6....fill one, set cap on it, then when I reach the end of the 6, I go back and crimp number 1 and so on....

You or friend fills and while your filling, your friend caps...cuts your time in half!!

Arneba28 said:

You or friend fills and while your filling, your friend caps...cuts your time in half!!

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That is the only way to bottle. I've never bottled on my own and really do not want to.

When I bottled, I'd sit down and fill an entire case. THen move to the bottling bench and cap. Never had any problems.

Overall, the process is quicker and smoother than jumping from filling, to capping, back to filling...etc. Any delays in filling the bottles leads to air bubbles forming in the line which need to be purged.

The shorter the entire process, the better.

Don't know if this is right or not and I have not had any problems yet, but I usually keep my caps next to me in a star san solution and just place them on each bottle after filling. Once all my bottles are full I crimp them on. If this is not a good way to bottle then somebody please chime in.

You should do this:
1. Fill your bottle with beer
2. Place a cap on the beer bottle.
3. After finishing all the bottles, should take about 15-30 minutes or so depending the number of bottles, you cap them all with your capper.

One of the reasons why you should not cap your bottles immediately is because you will want a little layer of carbon dioxide just beneath the cap which pushes out the oxgen. Then cap it.

I use a piece of foil and keep it over the bottles and fill them all and then cap. Too many motions otherwise and it takes a lot longer.

If I had help I could trust I'd just split the job. My 11 year old helper tends to not stay sanitized. Kids can just be gross, even my otherwise perfect children :cross: :cross:

solidghost said:

You should do this:
1. Fill your bottle with beer
2. Place a cap on the beer bottle.
3. After finishing all the bottles, should take about 15-30 minutes or so depending the number of bottles, you cap them all with your capper.

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That's what I've been doing with the last couple of batches. I figure the sanitized cap on top protects from airbornes while letting it outgas a bit.