Bottling directly from primary

[debaniel]

Because I had the brilliant idea of using my bottling bucket as a primary for another batch, I now need to bottle a batch directly from a glass carboy.

I just need some of you wise brewers to go over my procedure to make sure this will work well... everything sanitized, of course...


1. After boiling and cooling the priming sugar, pour carefully into the carboy, stirring it gently with the racking cane. This will also whirlpool the yeast.

2. Let the carboy settle for an hour. The yeast should settle into a pile in the middle.

3. Use the auto-siphon to bottle, keeping the bottom tip of the cane in the 'corner' of the carboy, to minimize yeast in the bottles...


Sound about right?

THANKS!

 

[Bobby_M]

How long has it been in primary? If it's been less than 3 weeks, I'd leave it alone and pick up another bucket. You're going to have some mightly cloudy brew if you mix the sugar in. An alternative would be to measure out 3/4 teaspoon of priming sugar and put it in each bottle and carefully rack out of the primary that way making sure you don't disturb the trub. Not ideal but you knew that already.

 

[RICLARK]

I would Siphon it into the carboy then wash and steralize the bottling bucket and then re-siphon into the bottling bucket.

 

[debaniel]

Thanks for the advice...

my brew kettle is far too small to rack the batch into... and if I had an available bucket or carboy, I'd use it, of course...

i'd thought about adding the sugar into each individual bottle... 3/4 teaspoon, ya say? I suppose the downside to that would be slightly inconsistent carbonation?

oh, and it's been in the primary for 3 weeks... i'm not afraid of leaving it on the trub longer, but I was hoping to have this one somewhat carbonated by Christmas...

 

[Joker]

I would spend the few bucks for a bottling bucket it will way easier.

 

[Chriso]

If it's the cost that's keeping you, you can always pick up a plain ol' plastic bucket at HD/Menards/Lowe's, wash and sanitize well, then use that as a temporary bottling bucket. After all, the quality of the plastic isn't nearly important if the beer only spends 45 minutes in it. You could get the non-beer bucket for 3 or 4 bucks instead of $10-15 at most LHBS'es

Then, you have a designated sanitizer bucket in the future!

 

[malkore]

If it's the cost that's keeping you, you can always pick up a plain ol' plastic bucket at HD/Menards/Lowe's, wash and sanitize well, then use that as a temporary bottling bucket. After all, the quality of the plastic isn't nearly important if the beer only spends 45 minutes in it. You could get the non-beer bucket for 3 or 4 bucks instead of $10-15 at most LHBS'es

Then, you have a designated sanitizer bucket in the future!

that's what I was going to suggest. $5 orange Home Depot bucket. since we're only talking about 10-15 minutes contact time, the fact that it isn't PET plastic shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I have bottled from primary w/ success. Stir very slowly yet thoroughly, so as not to rouse the yeast. It also helps to gently stir the beer and give it slight motion prior to adding the priming solution. Two solutions really mix quite easily especially w/ time, the added solution will "disperse". Try it some time w/ food coloring solution and water, a pint of colored water disperses in five gallons pretty easily.

Mike

 

[EdWort]

I'd spend 2 bucks at a the WallMart bakery for a 5 gallon food grade bucket. A soak in Oxiclean followed by Starsan and you are good to go. Put a spigot in it and bottling just becomes even easier. No siphoning.

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

that's what I was going to suggest. $5 orange Home Depot bucket. since we're only talking about 10-15 minutes contact time, the fact that it isn't PET plastic shouldn't be a big deal.

+3

That's what I was going to suggest. Oh. In fact, that's what I use. Except mine is white. It makes scratches easier to see.

 

[FlyGuy]

Yeah, seriously. Get another bucket for bottling. It sounds like you could use it in the future if you plan to be brewing more than one batch at a time.

Otherwise, go get some Muntons carbonation drops to prime your bottles. I have used these before and they work great, and if you are careful you can siphon straight out of the primary and into the bottles. A 1" or 2" spring clamp helps to hold your racking cane or autosiphon off the bottom of the fermenter, too, to avoid sucking up too much yeast and decomposing trub (you don't want that in your bottles).

 

[debaniel]

Wow, wonderful advice all around. Thank you so much.


I ended up going for the $3.75 Walmart bucket... rinsed, sanitized, and siphoned...

I had an autosiphon that fit a 3/8 tube, and then a bottling attachment that fit a 1/2 tube... and the brewshop is closed for two more days.... hmmm... so i plugged 5 feet of 3/8 tube into the autosiphon, then plugged that into 5 feet of 1/2 so i could use the bottling attachment...

what a mess.

needless to say, 10 feet of tubing, plus the length of the autosiphon and the attachment, is a bit more than is really needed when bottling. it is difficult to keep the siphon going when it has that much tube to fill before the bottle.

SO - good news, got the first batch bottled - YES! my work here is done.

bad news - mess in the kitchen, and there sure seemed to be a lot of air in the siphoning hose, churning up and bubbling as the liquid made its way to the bottle... CO2 being knocked loose, hopefully?


anyway, batch #2 is sitting in the bottling bucket... (as a primary) - I will probably rack it to a clean carboy and then rack it back to the cleaned bottling bucket... i now see the infinite wisdom of bottling bucket spigots.




Thanks again for all the help - you guys rock!