bottling brainfart..

[bootsbier]

I use carb drops to carbonate my beers. Well this last bottling day, for some reason I forgot to put a carb drop in some of the bottles. So now its a craps shoot whether its carbonated or not every time I crack a beer.. lol

Maybe we should all rethink this have a homebrew while brewing tradition..

 

[Golddiggie]

Actually, I think you need to just prime the batch with a sugar like most of us do... That way you don't need to worry about not remembering to put drops in every bottle...

Personally, I don't see the point of using drops when you can prime the entire batch and not worry about it... I also don't see why people use the tab's for carbonating. Priming the entire batch means it doesn't matter what size bottle you use. If you're only bottling part of the batch, and kegging the rest, put the beer into the keg first, then prime what's left and bottle it up.

 

[TheSeether]

I have never used tabs but if I did I would think that I'd put a tab in every bottle before I started actually transferring the beer into the bottles.

I see absolutely no reason whatsoever to not batch prime. Also, the tabs seem rather limiting in terms of dialing in a CO2 volume.

 

[bootsbier]

carb tabbing is a good way to skip steps. I can bottle directly from my fermentation vessel instead of transferring to a secondary and/or to a bottling bucket. I would like to batch prime, but cant justify the extra steps yet.

I have never used tabs but if I did I would think that I'd put a tab in every bottle before I started actually transferring the beer into the bottles.

Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly how may bottles I am gonna fill. So, in this case, when I needed more, I just forgot the tab.

I am very happy with the results of tabbing. It is more expensive then batch priming, but worth it for my configuration.

 

[Golddiggie]

"can't justify the extra steps"... wow...

So, what I take you're saying, your brew isn't worth a couple of extra steps to ensure 100% carbonation of the entire batch, and avoid 'brainfarts'?? Along with the extra cost in funds, which could be put towards other things.

Personally, I don't see what few 'extra steps' I take to bottle up with batch priming as being all that big a deal. I don't rack to a bright tank, so I avoid steps there. I do rack to the bottling bucket, but once you start the siphon, it's very easy. Plus, I don't need to worry about getting more trub in the last few bottles.

To each his own...

 

[ayoungrad]

A bottling bucket is a must. Your fermentation bucket fits into it so it takes no more space than a fermentation bucket to store (assuming your fermentation bucket is ever empty) and the only extra step is racking into the bottling bucket. This takes 15 minutes with a small bore tube. And it also helps to avoid a horribly yeasty bottle or two when you near the end of the fermentation bucket.

 

[Golddiggie]

a bottling bucket is a must. Your fermentation bucket fits into it so it takes no more space than a fermentation bucket to store (assuming your fermentation bucket is ever empty) and the only extra step is racking into the bottling bucket. This takes 15 minutes with a small bore tube. And it also helps to avoid a horribly yeasty bottle or two when you near the end of the fermentation bucket.

+5

 

[TheSeether]

Unfortunately, there is no way to know exactly how may bottles I am gonna fill. So, in this case, when I needed more, I just forgot the tab.

I always know within 2 or 3 bottles how many it will take. I always overestimate by a couple. So, IF I were using tabs I would prep that many bottles beforehand and any leftover could have the tabs dumped out at the end.

It is EXTREMELY easy to figure out how many bottles you are going to be filling within a small margin of error. Heck, I end up filling 5 or 6 different sized bottles, too. All you do is calculate your starting volume in ounces and then figure out how many bottles add up to that many ounces.

My remarks are valid for 5-6 gallon sized batches, I suppose the larger the batch size the larger the margin of error.

 

[Golddiggie]

I agree with TheSeether here... With the bottling bucket (being graduated) I know how much total beer I have in the bucket. I know I'll lose a few ounces in the very bottom, at the end, NBD... I use 500ml and 750ml bottles, so figuring out how many bottles I'll need is pretty easy. I typically have more bottles on hand than I'll need for a batch. I make sure to sanitize a few extra (on top of what I think I'll need) to be safe.

After that, priming and bottling is a snap... Also, priming the batch means I don't need to worry about having enough drops on hand...

Maybe most of us here just got bottling buckets with our first kits, or early enough on... It does make things so much easier than trying to siphon from a carboy, or bucket...

Hardest part of bottling a batch, for me, is corking the Belgian bottles... Even there I've gotten it dialed in so that the next batch will be even easier (cork depth)...

 

[IffyG]

If you're only bottling part of the batch, and kegging the rest, put the beer into the keg first, then prime what's left and bottle it up.

I disagree about the kegging/bottling part. Sometimes I'll bottle a six pack or two of beer when I'm kegging and its far simpler to toss some carb drops into a few bottles than calculate how much priming sugar I'm going to need for a given volume of beer. This is especially true considering how inaccurate the markings are on the side of the bottling buckets are.

 

[LVBen]

Maybe we should all rethink this have a homebrew while brewing tradition..

How dare you say something so repulsive!!!

 

[just2brew]

Having to put a tab in every bottle? How does that save steps? It takes less time to boil a prime. However I do agree with IffyG in only bottling a 6 pack it makes sense.

There are 53 bottles (12 ounce) per 5 gallon batch, I'd probably loose track after 3...

 

[eanmcnulty]

I use Coopers Drops. I find them to be easy. One for a 12oz. Bottle and two for a 22-24oz. Bottle. I only brew 2.5g batches, which usually gives me about 20 bottles, so keeping track of the drops isn't difficult. I would probably use priming sugar if I brewed larger batches. The drops could get expensive then. After 41 batches (32 last year!) I have not even begun to be concerned about dialing in CO2 levels. I'm still trying to figure what hops, grains, and yeast I like. I think I'd like to learn how properly gauge priming sugar. Beer Smith handles that, right?

 

[Golddiggie]

Beer Smith does, as does this site... Usually they're within a very small amount of each other...

 

[eanmcnulty]

Beer Smith does, as does this site... Usually they're within a very small amount of each other...

Nice! Thanks.

 

[tekknoschtev]

I agree with others about the drops seeming like more work to me than batch priming. this is by no means a bashing of your process, whatever works for you, but the priming sugar is definitely cheaper and in my opinion easier than futzing around with individual tablets in each bottle. Disclaimer: I've never used the tablets, but I've priced them out and looked at 'em in the stores. I also now keg, and if I want to bottle I do so from the keg, so I don't worry too much about bottle priming.

Especially after the initial investment in ingredients, the effort of brewing, the time waiting for the beer to ferment and be ready for bottling/kegging, it just seems like falling short to let any come up flat - I mean I'd still drink 'em, but I know if I was sharing with friends, they'd not like the flat beer.

 

[bootsbier]

I built a fermenter with a spigot, so essentially I'm fermenting in a bottling bucket. This is what works for me guys, 600 square feet apartment. The original post was for laughs, but I guess everything turns into a debate in a forum.

 

[curlyfat]

I built a fermenter with a spigot, so essentially I'm fermenting in a bottling bucket. This is what works for me guys, 600 square feet apartment. The original post was for laughs, but I guess everything turns into a debate in a forum.

Well, the whole point of a forum is discussion, and discussion is often indistinguishable from debate.

That said, do what works for you. Period. It sounds like excessive sampling might not work for you. Or you're just enjoying the fun of making beer like we all do and find the foibles entertaining. Awesome! We're all doing this because it's fun. Some find the serious side entertaining, some just like making beer. Most of us go back and forth through the brewing adventure.

Sounds like you're having a good time, so I give you my blessing. For what that's worth...

 

[petey_c]

Both of my primaries have spigots. No need to expose my brew to more O2 transferring from one bucket to another. When I first started with Mr. Beer I would number the bottle caps. I could never taste any difference between the first and last (nearest the yeast). I've used carb drops and batch priming. The Muntons were the biggest pain. The drops are so small and many of them split. I've even taken the Coopers drops and disolved them in boiling water so I could batch prime. I was using 500 ml. bottles not 12 oz. and the, "one for stubbies (12 oz.) and two for the 740 ml. bottles" didn't cut it. I was thinking, hmm, bottle bombs or flat beer? I prefer batch priming, but am bottling a Coopers kit soon and will be using the drops they provided.