Bottling for first time and have a question!

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Stu Sturtevant

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I need your advise, my fellow brewmasters. As I am filling my bottles (I am using 22oz bottles and a hand capper) do I fill them all, then cap or fill one-cap one?

Thanks for your help!
 
You can do whichever you want. I use my dishwasher door as a holding place. I put about a dozen bottles on the open dishwasher door, fill them, then stop filling while I put them on the counter and cap them. ( I put the bottling wand tip back in the bottling bucket while I do it, to keep it sanitized). Then repeat. 3 more times.

Filling one, stopping, capping, and starting again sounds like a huge PITA to me. You'd be dripping beer from the bottling want and trying to keep the tip/tubing sanitizied. If you have a helper, that's the easiest. I fill while he caps. But his working for a living totally interferes with my bottling plans usually. So, by myself I do it a dozen at a time.

Lorena
 
I used to fill then rest the cap on top and cap them all after I was done. After you fill, you will release a little bit of CO2. Since its heavier than O2, you will start to push the oxygen out, and not cap it in the bottle.

Well in theory it should work anyways. Maybe it does, maybe it doesnt, but I always had good results.
 
I always filled then capped. Never had a problem. By that point, you have a high enough ABV to thwart most nasties and once you put the top on, you create an anaerobic environment where they can't really survive.
 
I bottle the same way as Lorena and have never had a problem. I just reach into the bottom dishwasher rack and pull out clean bottles, one at a time. Once the dishwasher door gets relatively full I slip the wand back in the bucket and cap the ones I just filled.

The only problem (for the OCD purist, at least :p ) is that you will get air in the line each time you stick it the wand in the bucket. Not any big deal though. Just keep the line pinched a bit more when filling the first bottle from each batch.
 
I always fill about 12 bottles, place a cap on and then actually cap when all are filled. works great for me, since I haven't found a helper yet.
 
I fill a bottle and place a cap on the bottle. After doing 6 bottles, I then cap w/ the hand capper. Goes pretty fast for me that way.
 
Chimone said:
I used to fill then rest the cap on top and cap them all after I was done. After you fill, you will release a little bit of CO2. Since its heavier than O2, you will start to push the oxygen out, and not cap it in the bottle.



I do it the same way as Chimone,
Fill a bottle and set it on the counter and set the cap on it,
than do the next one.
Yesterday I filled the whole batch before I tightened any caps,
Then tightened them all.
I suspected gasses would force the oxygen out from under the cap before it was tightened and now I have evidence that it does.

Thanks Chimone Dude,

Knife
Click to expand...
 
In my vast experience (I've brewed and bottle 2 whole batches so far!), I've filled all of the bottles (15 at a time because I put them in a paper towel lined 9X13 pan), then lined them up on the counter, then capped them all. This has worked fine, so far. At least, it worked fine for the first batch. I haven't popped a top on the second batch, yet.
 
Time to get an assistant brewer. When I work alone I usually fill 4-6 then cap them, then fill another set. Whatever works for you.
 
I fill and cap at the same time. I have a bench capper I put on the counter beside my bottling setup, and it's easy to just cap them as I fill.
 
  1. Fill a bottle
  2. Take cap out of StarSan bowl
  3. Place cap on bottle
  4. Set on counter
  5. Repeat 1 - 3 until all are done.
  6. Clean up area and put away bottleing bucket.
  7. Cap all bottles
I figure this gives a little extra time to produce CO2 and drive the O2 out of from under the cap and I use the time well.
 
I fill all bottles and then cap them in one go.
Caps come straight out of the bag from the HBS.

No problems here with my 'system'. I think sometimes that some people do somethings that are above the amount of things that have to be done. ;)
 

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