Basic siphoning technique

[Mothman]

I'm hoping to bottle my second ever homebrew batch this weekend.

My first batch bottling attempt was a mess... Sucked up a bunch of crud... Air bubbles... Loss of siphon... Made a mess... And I want to do better this time.

I'm going to have my SWMBO with me this time as an extra set of hands, and will make sure I have more time so as to not be rushed.

I'll be using an autosiphon.

But, a question for those with experience...

When siphoning from the primary bucket to the bottling bucket, do you folks typically hold the siphon input such that it is slightly below the surface and move it down as the beer drains?

Or do you lower it down near the bottom right from the start, trying to judge the depth so the tip is just above the trub?

Or, do you put the tip right down to the bottom of the bucket, and just allow it to suck up a bit of trub right near the intake and don't worry about it, figuring it'll settle out in the bottles anyways?

Or some other technique?

 

[cswis86]

Autosiphons make life a lot easier. I start the siphon and lower it until I start seeing yeast get sucked up then slightly raise it from there. Then when it gets low I'll tilt the bucket/carboy to get as much beer as possible out. If you cold crash your beer for a couple day (Just stick it in the fridge if it'll fit) the yeast compacts much better so you'll suck up less yeast/trub and end up with clearer final beer.

 

[chumpsteak]

Tip the bucket by putting a stopper or something under one side. Put your autosiphon all the way into the yeast/trub on the bottom furthest away from the stopper where it will suck up every last bit of beer. Start auto siphon and walk away. You will only get a little yeast/trub from the bottom and then the rest of the beer will be clear if you don't touch the siphon again.

 

[Mothman]

Tip the bucket by putting a stopper or something under one side. Put your autosiphon all the way into the yeast/trub on the bottom furthest away from the stopper where it will suck up every last bit of beer. Start auto siphon and walk away. You will only get a little yeast/trub from the bottom and then the rest of the beer will be clear if you don't touch the siphon again.

This seems like the simplest way, and I might try it. On my first brew the trub layer was super deep and loose and full of hop debris. This time the trub layer appears more compact and I used hop bags so no hop debris... So this may work.

The siphon doesn't continually pull trub once it's cleared it's immediate area? I have images in my mind of the suction action continually pulling trub across the bottom of the bucket.

 

[Mothman]

Autosiphons make life a lot easier. I start the siphon and lower it until I start seeing yeast get sucked up then slightly raise it from there. Then when it gets low I'll tilt the bucket/carboy to get as much beer as possible out. If you cold crash your beer for a couple day (Just stick it in the fridge if it'll fit) the yeast compacts much better so you'll suck up less yeast/trub and end up with clearer final beer.

This seems simple too... I think I was trying too hard to avoid all trub the first time, which just ended up with me fumbling around, didn't have enough hands.

 

[flars]

Tilt the fermenting bucket with a piece of 2" × 4" one to two days before racking. This will let the disturbed trub layer settle. Follow the side of the bucket down with the auto siphon until you start seeing yeast on the opposite side. Stopping at this point will leave enough beer in the fermentor to harvest the yeast.

 

[chumpsteak]

This seems like the simplest way, and I might try it. On my first brew the trub layer was super deep and loose and full of hop debris. This time the trub layer appears more compact and I used hop bags so no hop debris... So this may work.

The siphon doesn't continually pull trub once it's cleared it's immediate area? I have images in my mind of the suction action continually pulling trub across the bottom of the bucket.

As mentioned before you can cold crash to solidify the yeast cake, but that stuff will already be pretty set up from the weight of the beer on it. If using an auto siphon it has a cap on the end that pulls beer about 1" from the bottom of the siphon. This will pull a small area of yeast/trub around the siphon but then if you don't disturb it the beer will be clear from then on. The more you root around and try to avoid the trub, the more you usually end up stirring it up. Or you follow the beer level down until you get close to the trub and end up leaving 1/2 gallon of beer in the carboy. Practice makes perfect and remember that anything you suck up will end up in a cake at the bottom of the bottle after refrigerated.

 

[Revvy]

I usually start the autosiphon half way down the fermenter and lower it down as the volume goes down. The usually when I can see the bottom is when I pop the base of it into the trub layer, it only picks up a little bit then, enough to make sure you transfer over a good amount to insure there's plenty to carbonate the beer.

Back in the day I would use something like a small c clamp to help hold it.. But nowadays the sell for a couple of bucks a little clip that holds it to the side of a bucket or lip of a carboy... and you can slide the AS up and down to adjust the depth.

 

[Mothman]

Thanks for the tips everyone!

Revvy, I have one of those clips.

Going to take my first fg reading tonight, then again Saturday, see if its done. I noticed this morning the airlock still looks to be bubbling a very small amount, which surprised me as it's been pretty dormant for the last 4 or 5 days.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I used to just plop it on top of the trub, but I had one siphon that went horribly wrong with the autosiphon getting partially clogged with crap and enough made its way through the tube into my keg coupler that I had to take stop the siphon, clean the sanke coupler and start over. Even then I had issues with the siphon and lost a gallon and a half of beer to frustration.

Now I eyeball the trub depth, use just above that as a starting depth on the autosiphon and then move it down as it gets close. At least this way if I suck up enough crap to screw up the siphon I've already gotten 95% of the beer.

My last transfer I think I left about a quart in the fermentor.

 

[SlitheryDee]

There does seem to be a bit of technique involved with this. I think I'm in favor of starting the siphon about halfway in and lowering until you start to see a bit of trub getting sucked in, and then backing off a hair from that. That way you get at least some yeast resuspended in the beer, but not so much that you get a ton of trub in the bottles.

In my last batch I just planted the siphon in the trub and let it go, but I found that I didn't like the amount of detritus that ended up in the bottles with that method. This time I'm going to be more careful. I'm going to have to leave some beer in the bucket to harvest the yeast anyway.

 

[Revvy]

There does seem to be a bit of technique involved with this. I think I'm in favor of starting the siphon about halfway in and lowering until you start to see a bit of trub getting sucked in, and then backing off a hair from that. That way you get at least some yeast resuspended in the beer, but not so much that you get a ton of trub in the bottles.

In my last batch I just planted the siphon in the trub and let it go, but I found that I didn't like the amount of detritus that ended up in the bottles with that method. This time I'm going to be more careful. I'm going to have to leave some beer in the bucket to harvest the yeast anyway.

Usually, especially if you've done an extended primary or cold crashed and the yeast cake is hard on the bottom, you can drop it in, and it will initially pick up some yeast but only after a few second the beer will make, for lack of a better term, "runnel" and find the path of least resistance through the muck and the beer will run clear.

 

[Mothman]

Usually, especially if you've done an extended primary or cold crashed and the yeast cake is hard on the bottom, you can drop it in, and it will initially pick up some yeast but only after a few second the beer will make, for lack of a better term, "runnel" and find the path of least resistance through the muck and the beer will run clear.

This is what worries me a bit as I am planning on only a 2 week primary and no cold crash. Not even sure I CAN cold crash. No room in the fridge. I do have the Cool Brewing cooler that I start my primary in... Maybe If I throw all my frozen bottles in it would be enough to do a half ass cold crash.

Or maybe I won't and I'll just see how it goes. Lol

 

[cswis86]

You don't need to cold crash. You'll just end up with a little bit more sediment in your bottles. It won't effect the beer flavor.

 

[Mothman]

Just wanted to update, today was bottling day, and it went so much smoother than last time.

No real problems this time around.

I ended up planting the auto-siphon right down to the bottom of the bucket, along the side, and left it there the whole time.

The trub was nicely compact this time around, and I got very little into the bottling bucket... except really right at the end... I gently tipped the primary bucket to get the last bit of beer, and let the siphon go just a tad long, and realized a little too late that I was sucking up a bit of the goop... but no worries, it'll help carb the bottles.

I ended up with about 16 bomber bottles filled (used a few different bottle sizes, including one plastic pop bottle to monitor carbonation), which was a bottle or so shy of what I was hoping for, but still, way better than my fiasco last time. lol

Because my volume into the bottling bucket was very close to what I predicted, my priming sugar should be much closer than last time. I did 2.9 oz of corn sugar for 3 gallons, was aiming for about 2.7 volumes, and with being only very slightly short on final volume, I should be pretty close to that.

Looking forward to tasting this in a few weeks.

I think one of the best parts was my 8 year old daughter watching me and helping me to move bottles around, helping with the capping process, etc. It was a good afternoon.

 

[BigStew84]

Glad it all went smooth this time around! It's a lot of trial and error half the fun of it is making mistakes (as long as the finished product is drinkable) and being excited to not make the mistake again! Can't wait to hear back in a few weeks!! [emoji482]

 

[Mothman]

Hey, one question.... I misjudged on when to switch to smaller bottles and the final bottle was left only about half full before I ran out of the liquid goodness.

I figured I'd use that as my first carbonation test bottle, but I'm wondering now.... It won't carb properly, due to the excess headspace, will it?

Will it be any kind of decent carb test bottle, or will it be a write off?

 

[BigStew84]

Hey, one question.... I misjudged on when to switch to smaller bottles and the final bottle was left only about half full before I ran out of the liquid goodness.

I figured I'd use that as my first carbonation test bottle, but I'm wondering now.... It won't carb properly, due to the excess headspace, will it?

Will it be any kind of decent carb test bottle, or will it be a write off?

Honestly that's a solid question...I only bottle 12oz bottles and if I end up with one that's half full I just drink the warm uncarbed beer...I call it the sacrificial lamb haha tho I'm sure it'll carb up ok regardless

 

[Mothman]

Well either way I guess I'll find out...it'll be the first bottle I try.

 

[kh54s10]

Hey, one question.... I misjudged on when to switch to smaller bottles and the final bottle was left only about half full before I ran out of the liquid goodness.

I figured I'd use that as my first carbonation test bottle, but I'm wondering now.... It won't carb properly, due to the excess headspace, will it?

Will it be any kind of decent carb test bottle, or will it be a write off?

I don't think it will carbonate the same as the rest. It also has a lot of oxygen in the extra headspace, so it may get a bit oxidized. If it is you have only lost a little, if not you got a little extra. I don't waste a cap on those and save a penny or so.....

I just drink a warm, flat, young half a beer....