Bottling Bucket Question

So I have two 6.5 gallon buckets, each with a spigot (most basic MoreBeer starter kit). One is obviously being used as my primary fermenter, the other can be used as the bottling bucket. When it's time to bottle, can I just attach the 3/8'' tubing to the spigot and pour the beer from the fermenter into the bottling bucket or do I need to siphon from the top? The instructions that came with the kit for bottling were pretty horrendous, so I'm pretty unclear on how this all works.

Also, what exactly is the point of the bottling bucket? Is it just to get the beer in a new container without the yeast cake so that the bottles will have less sediment?

If I add the priming sugar to the primary, stir it up, then wait to let the sediment fall back down to the bottom, do I even need to transfer to a bottling bucket?

quick answer is yes you can just attach the tube from your fermenting bucket to you bottling bucket. You dont want to spash/agitate/get O2 into the beer.
this video should answer the rest.... welcome to the addiction. youtube has a tone of great videos

If you add the sugar to the primary it may never settle again, it will be too busy eating all your new sugar...

Thanks, I was trying to figure out whether I should get an auto-siphon or not, and it's looking like that won't be necessary.

If you rack to the bottling bucket from the primary using the spigot you will most certainly suck up the trub. Use a racking cane, auto siphon or just plain hose but rack from the top down.

unionrdr said:

Def not true at all. I've always done it that way,& I don't suck up the trub. I get clear beer into the bottling bucket by letting the beer sit 3-7 days after FG is reached. It settles out clear,or slightly misty in primary. By then,the yeast & trub are compacted rather tightly on the bottom of primary. Just don't jostle or move it,& it'll rack out clear.

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+1
The spigot is usually slightly above the trub, so no problems transfering to the bottling bucket. Also, my ferm bucket is on a sloped floor. I turn the bucket so the spigot is uphill, and after a few weeks I get even more clearance.

Very helpful post... Was wondering myself. Always contemplating on which bucket should I do what with! Got a couple with and without spigot but have yet to use a spigot.

Is there any concern about the sigot being unsanitized?

For example, on brew day, you sanitize the fermenting bucket and the spigot. You add your wort and let it ferment for 3 weeks or so. Then you open the spigot and flow the beer to your bottling bucket through the spigot which was sanitized 3 weeks ago on brew day.

Is there any way to re-sanitize the spigot on bottling day without disturbing thr content of the bucket?

Am I over-analyzing this?

Anything from the point of cooling wort to, and including the bottles should be sterile. No, you are not over analyzing. Put a gallon of StarSan mix in your bottling bucket, shake it so everything gets coated, drain thru the valve and cover it all with the StarSan wet lid until ready. Then add the boiled/cooled sugar water and siphon the beer into it. You''ll be good.

RESANITIZE the bucket.. 3 weeks, 3 days, three hours isn't worth ruining a good brew. It only takes a minute to do. Don't worry about the StarSan wet coat or the foam. It's OK

HbgBill said:

Anything from the point of cooling wort to, and including the bottles should be sterile. No, you are not over analyzing. Put a gallon of StarSan in your bottling bucket, shake it so everything gets coated, drain thru the valve and cover it all with the StarSan wet lid until ready. Then add the boiled/cooled sugar water and siphon the beer into it. You''ll be good.

RESANITIZE the bucket.. 3 weeks, 3 days, three hours isn't worth ruining a good brew. It only takes a minute to do. Don't worry about the StarSan wet coat or the foam. It's OK

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Did you really mean a gallon of Star San?

duboman said:

Did you really mean a gallon of Star San?

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a gallon of star san once mixed. you usually put in an a tablespoon or so per gallon to make one gallon of mix. you don't want to put in a gallon of concentrate

wormraper said:

a gallon of star san once mixed. you usually put in an a tablespoon or so per gallon to make one gallon of mix. you don't want to put in a gallon of concentrate

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I know, just correcting/clarifying, thought it was a typo. It's 1oz per gallon proper dilution.

As to the condition of the spigot on the primary, I run sanitizer out of it when sanitizing the bucket. I will also use a paper towel or rag soaked in santi and thourghly soak the outside of the spigot at this point. I will then close the spigot and wrap it thoroughly and tightly with cellophane. On the day I xfer out (in this case to a keg, but it could be to a bottling bucket) I remove the cellophane and spray it with sanitizer, both the outside of the valve and into the spigot itself. I keep a spray bottle filled with iodohphor for just such applications. This is, albeit on a different scale, exactly what you would see at a commercial brewery. The racking ports or bottom valves of the tanks get sanitized when the tanks are cleaned and then are covered with a cap of some sort to maintain the sanitary condition. Typically, when hooking up a line out at a later time, the valve is hit with a blast of santi out of either a hand held bottle or a pressure/pump bottle like you would use for Roundup or something.

Yes, I meant a gallon of diluted StarSan.. thought that would be obvious.. grin.

Anyhow, Regarding the outside of the spigot.. and up in the orifice.. I have a small, 1 qt I believe, handheld garden type sprayer that I bought at Lowes. It has a pump on top. I fill it with (diluted StarSan) and spray a lot of things on brewing/racking day. Some things, like hoses and canes are submerged.. but other things are sprayed. One of the nice things about StarSan is that if has very minimal contact time for sterilization.

I'm gonna ask my own newbi question here. for those who have a spray bottle of star san/Iodophor are you using diluted or undiluted Sanitizer when you spray things???

wormraper said:

I'm gonna ask my own newbi question here. for those who have a spray bottle of star san/Iodophor are you using diluted or undiluted Sanitizer when you spray things???

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Diluted to use concentration, just as you would for any other santi purpose

wailingguitar said:

Diluted to use concentration, just as you would for any other santi purpose

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sweet, that answers that question. appreciate it