Why use bottling nozzle?

A bottling nozzle/wand came with my kit that is supposed to be attached to the syphon. Why can't I just syphon directly into the bottles? It seems like it's just another thing I have to sanitize, and another thing that could get bad yeast in the beer. On the other hand if it was useless, they wouldn't put it in there. Can't think of a reason to use it.

How are you going to start and stop the siphon inbetween bottles? Do you have a bottling bucket with a spigot?

Trust me. The bottling wand is well worth the effort. The wand starts filling when you push it down and stops when released. If you release it when the bottle is full and all the foam is out, you will have the perfect amount of beer in your bottle and the head space will be just right. The wand sits against the bottom of the bottle so there won't be any aeration when you fill.

Brewsmith said:

How are you going to start and stop the siphon inbetween bottles? Do you have a bottling bucket with a spigot?

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There's a plastic thing (don't know how to describe it better)on the syphon that locks when pushed down and pinches the hose shut the wand is just a plastic tube with some kind of nozzle on the end.

No "bottling bucket" I'll probably just use the bucket that was my primary fermenter to mix in the bottling sugar and syphon from there to the bottles.

You'll be much better off forgetting the hose clamp and using the bottling cane as my cognoscenti have said. It's one of the best inventions in homebrewing IMHO.

giant016 said:

There's a plastic thing (don't know how to describe it better)on the syphon that locks when pushed down and pinches the hose shut the wand is just a plastic tube with some kind of nozzle on the end.

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That "nozzle" is a valve that opens when you push down. Then, as the Chairman says, you can forget the hose clamp. Try it with water - you'll see how it works.

You also get the perfect fill (head space) in the bottle with the wand. Hold the wand down till the beer comes to the top of the bottle, lift and remove the wand, and it will be perfect.

JnJ said:

You also get the perfect fill (head space) in the bottle with the wand. Hold the wand down till the beer comes to the top of the bottle, lift and remove the wand, and it will be perfect.

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I forgot about that too! Is there anything bottling canes can't do!?!

I'm going to disagree with everyone. You should bottle without the wand, using a hose clamp or the spigot on the bucket to control the flow. This will teach you how useful the bottling wand really is. If you believe everybody else, you'll never be absolutely sure that they are right.

Seriously, try a dry run bottling a couple of gallons of water with and without the wand, and measure how much water gets spilled in each case.

-a.

Give that wand a try and you'll never look back!It practically makes bottling fun(well maybe not that much fun).It's another "cool" brewing accesssory,along with wine thiefs,racking canes,carboys,airlocks,hydrometers,hoses,tuns,etc.You gotta love this hobby .
Cheers

I agree. I did way too many batches with that stupid hose clamp. After I bought a 3 dollar bottle wand, I can't believe I didn't buy it sooner. Why make it more difficult than it has to be. It's a hoppy after all!

I would never use anything else. Makes job quite easy.

Onescalerguy said:

Give that wand a try and you'll never look back!It practically makes bottling fun(well maybe not that much fun).It's another "cool" brewing accesssory,along with wine thiefs,racking canes,carboys,airlocks,hydrometers,hoses,tuns,etc.You gotta love this hobby .
Cheers

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Hobby? Yeah, it starts out as a hobby and then before you know it you're thinking about beer all the time. You're sneaking online at work to look at brewing sites, the house has homebrew equipment in every room, you catch yourself calling out different beer types while making love...er, um...yeah, you gotta love this hobby.