Bottled my 1st batch, IPA

[Jesse D]

I bottled my 1st batch this last Thursday, the wait is killing me! Taste and color have been great. ABV is 7.99. I sure hope I bottled it right!

 

[Mike Page]

Nice! I just bottled my first batch last Wednesday and I am constantly worrying if I bottled it correctly. You are not alone! This hobby is a great way to learn patience...

 

[Smellyglove]

I bottled my 1st batch this last Thursday, the wait is killing me! Taste and color have been great. ABV is 7.99. I sure hope I bottled it right! View attachment 553712 View attachment 553713 View attachment 553714 View attachment 553715 View attachment 553716

How do you bottle them/what do you use ? That fill looks great.

 

[Jesse D]

Nice! I just bottled my first batch last Wednesday and I am constantly worrying if I bottled it correctly. You are not alone! This hobby is a great way to learn patience...

Yes it is! Let me know how yours turns out, what did you bottle?

 

[Jesse D]

How do you bottle them/what do you use ? That fill looks great.

I built a bottle tree and sealed it with a water based polycrylic to seal the wood. I purchased a Bottle Rinser off amazon, worked great! I sanitized EVERYTHING with Star San, siphoned to my bottling bucket, I had 4 1/3 gallons of beer to be racked, so I did the calculation and used 4.3oz of corn sugar in boiling water (can't remember the amount, but it was just under 2 cups). My BMB kit came with a Bottle Filler, I used it. It leaks, but because the leak was slow, I was able to let off and get the level in the bottle that I wanted.

 

[Smellyglove]

Ok, I was asking because most bottle fillers leave a bigger headspace.

 

[Jesse D]

Ok, I was asking because most bottle fillers leave a bigger headspace.

everything I read said 3/4" to an 1". I hope I left enough!

 

[Smellyglove]

I've gotten and seen a lot of homebrewed beers which are only filled halfway up the neck of a bottle of same kind as in our pic. It looks pretty disgusting to be honest.

 

[jrb1260]

I just bottled my first batch of IPA also about 5 days ago. Used a bottle filler. If u press the bottle filler to the bottom of the bottle wait till some bubbles come out the top then pull it out. U will have a consistent fill about an inch or so from the top.

 

[Jesse D]

I just bottled my first batch of IPA also about 5 days ago. Used a bottle filler. If u press the bottle filler to the bottom of the bottle wait till some bubbles come out the top then pull it out. U will have a consistent fill about an inch or so from the top.

That's what I did, I was not happy that it did not stop all the "flow" of beer when I let off, because of this, I lost a little bit, not a ton, probably 4 oz. out of the batch.

 

[jheinikel]

I couldn’t tell how long the tubing was. If it was above the beer, as it appears, consider getting longer tubing and having a coil or two
In the bottom. This will help avoid splashing and give you a calm whirlpool for mixing pruning sugar.

 

[ancientmariner52]

That's what I did, I was not happy that it did not stop all the "flow" of beer when I let off, because of this, I lost a little bit, not a ton, probably 4 oz. out of the batch.

There's two kinds of bottling wands, spring loaded and not spring loaded. If you have the spring loaded type, careful take it apart and clean out the bit of trub or molding flash that causes the leak. If it is the non spring loaded type, carefully place it in the nearest dumpster and purchase the other kind. No sense putting up with a leaky wand, IMO.

 

[Jesse D]

I couldn’t tell how long the tubing was. If it was above the beer, as it appears, consider getting longer tubing and having a coil or two
In the bottom. This will help avoid splashing and give you a calm whirlpool for mixing pruning sugar.

It's is 5', had enough to coil had a nice calm whirlpool.

 

[thehaze]

I know the wait, after you have bottled. Waiting 15-20 days is a long time, so after 5-7 days I open one just to make sure carbonation is OK and everything goes by plan.

 

[eadavis80]

You're very likely to have super carbonated beers with that amount of corn sugar. You should use this tool when figuring how much priming sugar to use: https://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator
As a rule of thumb, for hop-driven beers or wheats I usually use about a 1/2 cup, for browns and stouts I usually use about 1/3 cup.

 

[thehaze]

I do not think he overcarbonated the beers. It will give him around 2.5 vol of CO2, which is OK.

 

[Rhaop]

You should be fine using up to 1oz per gallon of finished beer (priming sugar)

Also my bottle filler usually leaves the head space slightly above halfway up the neck, your headspace looks a tad small but it could be just the photo

Relax and have a commercial craft beer in the meantime, three weeks time you’ll have some great homebrew [emoji482]

 

[eadavis80]

He said he put in "just under 2 cups" of priming sugar. IME, that's way too much as I normally get good carbonation for IPA's with about 1/2 cup, but hey - I hope it works out.

 

[grampamark]

He said he put in "just under 2 cups" of priming sugar. IME, that's way too much as I normally get good carbonation for IPA's with about 1/2 cup, but hey - I hope it works out.

He said he put 4.3 oz sugar(just over 1/2 cup) in just under two cups water.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

Congrats Jesse! I find that the best way to pass the time and to alleviate the patience stressors is to plan and brew your next batch...like now. Enjoy!

 

[eadavis80]

He said both - 4.3 oz and just under 2 cups. Whatever - hope it's good for him. I know the oz. seem pretty good, but I was concerned about his volume, as noted. Weight is a better unit for measurement however.

 

[spiff2268]

I bottled my 1st batch this last Thursday, the wait is killing me! Taste and color have been great. ABV is 7.99. I sure hope I bottled it right! View attachment 553712 View attachment 553713 View attachment 553714 View attachment 553715 View attachment 553716

I don't know, man. I'm gonna need a few bottles for testing.