Alternatives To Bottling Buckets?

What are alternatives to bottling buckets? Is there an easier way, maybe out of the carboy or?

I've been thinking about using my stainless steel kettle (w/valve) instead of the bucket.

What is everyone else using?

A bottling container? A bottling bag?

The kettle should do just fine.

You can siphon out of the fermentor but that could be a real PIA so I would not recommend it. I only use a bucket so I have a dedicated piece of equipment.

Good luck with whatever you decide on using and keep on brewing!

The bottling bucket.

What's your beef with the bottling bucket???

The problem with bottling from a primary or secondary instead of using a bottling bucket, is that since you have patiently gone and let your beer settle and clear, in order to mix the priming solution and beer effectively, you would have to stir it in the carboy which would a) kick up all that nice sediment you have patiently let fall, b) possibly oxydize the beer.

It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

Your kettle should be fine, BUT how much deadspace do you have in your kettle with you ball valve? Most folks who have kettles with false bottoms still leave a lot of wort behind it seems. Or esle they have to tip still to get the last out.

With my buttling bucket and my dip tube, I leave no more than about 3 ounces behind, which means I can get about 52 to 54 bottles per 5 gallon batch.

So what is wrong with using a dedicated bottling bucket? Go to a hardware store and get a translucent or white bucket...but look for one where the 5 gallon mark falls way below the top of the bucket. Usually it will say 5 gallons at 3rd band from the top. (oh get the lid too....I totally regret not getting it when I did.)

Then get a spigot and make a dedicated bottling bucket. It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

Mine is the translucent Leaktite brand 5 gallon container with the gallon and liter markings from Homedepot.



Here's a pic of mine from my bottling thread.



One of my dip tubes and what gets left behind.



You'll find a ton of good info here to make bottling easier.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/revvys-tips-bottler-first-time-otherwise-94812/

Whatever setup you end up using, I'm assuming a bottling wand will be involved. Try as hard as you can to set it up the way it is in Revvy's picture. It makes bottling much, much easier.

I was ready to give up brewing becuase of bottling until I duplicated almost exactly Revvy's bottling process. It really isn't that bad now. (Although I am hoping Santa lets me buy a kegging setup this year)

hey i have an idea could i put a spigot on my aluminum pot and siphon into that for use for bottling? i ask because I think it would be easier to sanitize the pot you just turn up the heat.

I don't really see why not. Just find a way to attach the bottling wand directly to the spigot. Just remove it before you go adding heat, obviously.

I syphon into a keg then use the bottling wand shoved into a picnic tap and pressurize the keg @ 7 - 12 psi (depends what it is) and fill bottles that way.

+1 for revvy's bottling thread advice. I used his methods and once the bottles were actually label free (that sucked) the process was not bad at all, and I also bought the vinator rinser... can't believe how long it would have taken with dunking the bottles. So yeah, go with the bottling bucket.

Thanks a lot for revvy's shorter bottling tube and dip tube. Makes things much easier. I also dont see the purpose of using something other than a bucket. It seems much easier then a pot, keg, etc. It also provides for good storage of brewing stuff when not brewing.

I refuse to use bottling buckets anymore after I had one leak around the spigot, doesn't get worse than that. I rack the beer to an extra carboy then attach my bottling wand (the one with the spring is sooo nice to have) to my autosiphon and bottle like that. It's super easy, I sit on the floor and line up 5 bottles, fill them, set the wand inside the next bottle, cap the 5, then move on.

At the end of bottling I tip and finish the last couple bottles, I mark those so I know to try them first to see how the beer is coming along. It's a little awkward to tip and fill on your own but it can be done. I don't leave much behind at all, just a couple ounces.

I thought about getting an extra bucket from the hardware store and skipping the spigot step but I always have an extra carboy laying around so I haven't had to do that yet.