Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

[D0ug]

I don't know if anyone has posted a variant of this idea here yet, so apologies for repeating something if I have. I'm assuming (I know, I know..) that most bottling bucket spigots are set up like mine.

So, if you have an air bubble trapped between your dip tube and spigot one thing you can try is purging that air.

After you fill your bottling bucket with beer, but while the bottling cane still has sanitizer in it (it will work with beer too, but who wants to waste that?),
rotate the spigot 180* so the whole assembly is pointing up.

Making sure the spigot is fully open depress the button valve on the bottom (now temporarily the top) of the bottling cane.

The sanitizer now flows up through the cane and draws the air bubble out from behind the spigot and allows it to flow out the end of the cane. By the time the beer gets into the cane the bubble should be gone.

Once the air is purged, I release the valve, close the spigot, and rotate the assembly back into position. A couple of shots of Starsan on the end of the bottling cane and your good to go, no air and beer ready to hit the bottles.

You can wait for the air to rise on its own and spill less fluid, but I work in my basement with a concrete floor and a floor drain, so I don't worry about spills to much.

The key is to rotate the spigot so it points up, leaving the outlet from the spigot higher than the air pocket and giving it some place to go, then opening the spigot up to let it escape, then closing everything up once it is primed so air can't get back in.

Try it, change it, laugh at it, but it's working for me.

 

[manhattanksbrewer]

Not sure if this has ever been asked but here goes. Is it possible to rack half of contents into bottling bucket and leave rest in secondary to sit and just bottle half ?

 

[Revvy]

Not sure if this has ever been asked but here goes. Is it possible to rack half of contents into bottling bucket and leave rest in secondary to sit and just bottle half ?

If you have, for instance a 3 gallon water jug or better bottle to use as a secondary you can. I do it often. Like if I decided to fruit or oak half a batch of beer, and bottle the rest of it. You really want the smallest container possible to eliminate too much headspace.

 

[drewbop]

I'm currently racking out of my bottling bucket using the old fashion siphon. I saw this thread a couple of months ago and went to my LHBS to find the spigot but they didn't have anything that remotely resembled the one in this thread. I plan on placing an order with Northern Brewer later this week and just remembered to tag these parts onto my order. Just wondering if someone to confirm that I'm ordering the right parts before I have them shipped to Canada.

Part Numbers (searchable on the NB website):
7125
SD2
7200

I'm sure I can find something for the dip tube around here.

Thanks.

 

[iijakii]

Tips for warming up bottles that are carbing slowly partially due to the cold? I don't have much room on my fridge! Put a case on the dryer last week, but due to ducting that doesn't get too warm. I need to get an electric blanket for my beer I think

 

[Koduolu]

Thanks for this thread Revvy, I will leave my baltic porter alone and let the yeast do its farting!!

 

[Sean]

Tips for warming up bottles that are carbing slowly partially due to the cold? I don't have much room on my fridge! Put a case on the dryer last week, but due to ducting that doesn't get too warm. I need to get an electric blanket for my beer I think

I have used a heating pad. I have also put the beer around the heating vent and covered it with a towel.

Never used to be a problem in Fla. Luck!

 

[Sean]

I don't know if anyone has posted a variant of this idea here yet, so apologies for repeating something if I have. I'm assuming (I know, I know..) that most bottling bucket spigots are set up like mine.

So, if you have an air bubble trapped between your dip tube and spigot one thing you can try is purging that air.

After you fill your bottling bucket with beer, but while the bottling cane still has sanitizer in it (it will work with beer too, but who wants to waste that?),
rotate the spigot 180* so the whole assembly is pointing up.

Making sure the spigot is fully open depress the button valve on the bottom (now temporarily the top) of the bottling cane.

The sanitizer now flows up through the cane and draws the air bubble out from behind the spigot and allows it to flow out the end of the cane. By the time the beer gets into the cane the bubble should be gone.

Once the air is purged, I release the valve, close the spigot, and rotate the assembly back into position. A couple of shots of Starsan on the end of the bottling cane and your good to go, no air and beer ready to hit the bottles.

You can wait for the air to rise on its own and spill less fluid, but I work in my basement with a concrete floor and a floor drain, so I don't worry about spills to much.

The key is to rotate the spigot so it points up, leaving the outlet from the spigot higher than the air pocket and giving it some place to go, then opening the spigot up to let it escape, then closing everything up once it is primed so air can't get back in.

Try it, change it, laugh at it, but it's working for me.

I have had the same problem in the past, that is a great solution.

Some solutions are so simple.. Especially when someone else figures it out first!!!. Thanks

 

[iijakii]

I have used a heating pad. I have also put the beer around the heating vent and covered it with a towel.

Never used to be a problem in Fla. Luck!

Nice. I'm going to have to look into something. I have two batches of beer that aren't carbonating that nicely at all and I can only think it's due to the colder weather. But my apartment is only staying at the low 60s, so I can't see how that's effecting it for multiple months. Really wanting to start kegging due to this.

 

[agenthucky]

Nice. I'm going to have to look into something. I have two batches of beer that aren't carbonating that nicely at all and I can only think it's due to the colder weather. But my apartment is only staying at the low 60s, so I can't see how that's effecting it for multiple months. Really wanting to start kegging due to this.

Hah, the whole point to this article was to make it easier for bottlers, and to avoid that conclusion.

Bottoms line, that is a conclusion for most people. I still love the convenience of bottles, but since I started kegging, have rarely bottled. The beer is super clear because you don't need the yeast to carbonate. I still fill bottles and growlers up regularly to bring to peoples houses. AND I can have a half of a beer, or just see how it's coming along.

You still need to age kegs in my opinion, but the whole process is carefree. A $20 co2 cartridge add-on and you have a portable keg.

Kegging FTW

 

[Stubbeez]

Yes, I made a dip tube for my bottling bucket out of a 3/4" PVC 90deg elbow. I think it cost $0.39 at Lowe's and threads right onto the tail piece of the bottling spigot. It couldn't be simpler. Check out my gallery for a poorly done schematic and/or PM me and I'll verify the part number. Or do what I did and bring the spigot with you to Lowe's and see what threads onto it. When I fill bottles with this I am usually left with about 2 or 3 oz. of beer in the bucket.

Revvy - First of all, thank you for being so cool about answering so many "repetitious" questions. It seems like every time I looked at a thread that pertained to a question I had as a new brewer, you were always on there dropping knowledge. I appreciate that and I really appreciate you putting this bottling thread together.

I just bottled my first batch on the 16th and had this thread up on the laptop as a safety net! I didnt need it (because I had already gone through it several times) but still...

BrianP - your 90 degree PVC elbow was an awesome suggestion! I went to Home Depot and picked one up, cleaned and sanitized it, but when I put it on, I thought it might be a little too close to the bottom of the bottling bucket. I twisted it a bit so that it was not parallel to the bottom of the bucket (to allow more liquid in) and it worked perfect. When I got to the bottom, I just moved the dip tube back down so it was parallel to the bottom and got nearly all of the beer out with no issue! I didnt think there was enough room between the tube and the bottom, but apparently there was!

The auto siphon is awesome and I don't quite understand why others might not choose to use it when they rack. It was very easy to use, so long as you take advantage of gravity during the process.

I have the beers (stouts) bottled and ready to go - three weeks from now. I will taste one at the end of each week to see how the "aging" process goes and how the taste and carb progresses.

I owe all of the success I have on this and future brews to you guys here at HBT.

Seriously, Thank you.

Now on to the Keezer... :rockin:

 

[Stubbeez]

But my apartment is only staying at the low 60s, so I can't see how that's effecting it for multiple months. Really wanting to start kegging due to this.

DANG! Low 60's is really cold. Funny thing is, before we had our son, SWMBO and I had the thermostat set on 65 and we were good. Once our son was born... lets just say that it is set on 72 today... baby gets cold...

But back on topic, it was mentioned earlier in the thread by Revvy that the beers should be around 70 degrees during carb (correct me if I am wrong).

It just takes longer for the yeast to work their carb magic when the environment is cooler.

 

[jblack1036]

I love the idea for the bottle tags! Too often I have to sit and explain what things are (apfelwein for example) when I bring them to gatherings.

I simply use a memo book detailing the process of a specific beer. At the top of the page I put a "Lot #". On each of the caps I put the lot number. So when asked, I simply get out the book and hand it to them. Also, if I'm not around, they can grab the book themselves and see what was done, how long it was aged, and what it is that they are actually drinking.

Sorta puts a little mystery in it when reaching into the cooler or fridge to grab a beer. Just gotta hope they enjoy the lucky "Lot #" they pull out.

 

[rack04]

Thanks for all the tips. I have one question for now and probably many more once I actually start bottling.

You mention:

"The first thing I do is set the fermenter on my dining room table, and open it (briefly) to take a gravity reading, so I can calculate the amount of priming sugar I need. (I carb to style and use beersmith to tell me how much I need.) Most of you in your first few batches will be using the stock 4.5 - 5 ounce packets that came with you ingredient kit."

How is the gravity a function in determining the amount of priming sugar required? From what I've found this is a function of beer style, volume, temperature, and priming ingredient.

 

[laxsoccerguy]

and one more quick question - if I just dunk the bottles in a sanitizer solution before filling, will this be okay for the sanitizing process?

 

[rico567]

and one more quick question - if I just dunk the bottles in a sanitizer solution before filling, will this be okay for the sanitizing process?

As long as the bottles are CLEAN first, yes.

 

[D0ug]

and one more quick question - if I just dunk the bottles in a sanitizer solution before filling, will this be okay for the sanitizing process?

It might be obvious, but, you have to make sure the sanitizer gets in side the bottles too.

Sometimes a quick dunk won't wet out the insides, but a little sanitizer in the bottle and a vigorous shake with your thumb over the mouth will do the trick.

 

[AugustDerleth]

and one more quick question - if I just dunk the bottles in a sanitizer solution before filling, will this be okay for the sanitizing process?

I usually fill a 5 or 7 gallon bucket with iodophor solution and hold the bottles in there until they fill with enough solution to fall to the bottom, leave them for two minutes/while I get other things ready, and then they go on the tree. Obviously this is with bottles that have gone a round through my dishwasher previously, the iodophor is just to make sure! Don't wanna ruin a batch of beer over something so easily and cheaply avoided.


Unrelated to above:
I set up a dip tube with a drilled stopper and a piece of racking cane, what I've noticed is that when there is a lot of liquid in the bucket, it flows just fine-pretty quickly- but once the liquid level gets down to the bottom, the flow either drizzles out or stops flowing completely. I imagined this was because near the end there isn't the pressure forcing the liquid through as there was when there was a bunch of liquid present. I thought though that the wand attached would help to create a suction which would keep the wort flowing. The spigot nor the wand is the culprit for the slow flow. I knocked loose the dip tube with a sanitized spoon and just tilted the bucket to get the dregs, no problems. Considering buying a pvc elbow and trying that. Thoughts on what may be the problem? Thx Revvy for the thread!

 

[Twofox]

I usually fill a 5 or 7 gallon bucket with iodophor solution and hold the bottles in there until they fill with enough solution to fall to the bottom, leave them for two minutes/while I get other things ready, and then they go on the tree. Obviously this is with bottles that have gone a round through my dishwasher previously, the iodophor is just to make sure! Don't wanna ruin a batch of beer over something so easily and cheaply avoided.


Unrelated to above:
I set up a dip tube with a drilled stopper and a piece of racking cane, what I've noticed is that when there is a lot of liquid in the bucket, it flows just fine-pretty quickly- but once the liquid level gets down to the bottom, the flow either drizzles out or stops flowing completely. I imagined this was because near the end there isn't the pressure forcing the liquid through as there was when there was a bunch of liquid present. I thought though that the wand attached would help to create a suction which would keep the wort flowing. The spigot nor the wand is the culprit for the slow flow. I knocked loose the dip tube with a sanitized spoon and just tilted the bucket to get the dregs, no problems. Considering buying a pvc elbow and trying that. Thoughts on what may be the problem? Thx Revvy for the thread!

I don't remember that issue (switched to kegging). But are you bottling below the bottom of the bucket, iow, are you using a bottling wand and a length of hose? You need some gravity there.

 

[AugustDerleth]

I don't remember that issue (switched to kegging). But are you bottling below the bottom of the bucket, iow, are you using a bottling wand and a length of hose? You need some gravity there.

My setup looks just like Revvy's pics. It's my bottling bucket with a 1" piece of 3/8" hose as a bridge between the spigot and the bottling wand. The wand hangs down, and I place the bucket on the counter. The only difference I can think of, is that I don't put it on top of something else on top of the counter. With the wand on, or off, the flow basically trickles with the dip tube in place. It works, but bottling would take hours. When the dip tube is removed, wand on or off, the flow picks up dramatically. I'm thinking of just trying a PVC elbow, does anyone know exactly what size piece I should purchase? I was thinking a 1", as that's the size drill bit I used to make the hole in the bucket, and the spigot is a tight fit. Obviously, if the problem isn't my particular dip tube and something else, the elbow won't help either. But they're cheap, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

Note: I created a dip tube out of a drilled stopper and bent a piece of cane over a kettle's steam.

 

[imreallycrazy]

/\ I've used the pvc elbow three times now and have had no issues with slow flow, but for some reason I lose siphon with about a cup of beer in the bottom of the bucket The best way I found when finding the right part for the job, is to go buying prepared. Pull your bottling valve from your bucket and take it with you to the plumbing department so you get both the right size and right thread pattern.


Okay time for my question, I bottled my last batch 2 weeks ago and put it in my basement where I carbed my last batch, because I have no room elsewhere to put it where it can be left alone for a few months. I pulled one of my carbed bottles from the past summer out of the same cabinet I put the new ones in a few days ago and it was cold, not quite drinking temps but definitely 50-40 degrees, which is below the well known carbing temps.
So I am wondering if I need to mess with them, or if I just leave them there till warmer temps come in the spring and let them have time to carb then, or will that long kill the yeast?

Thanks
Ben

 

[Revvy]

/\ I've used the pvc elbow three times now and have had no issues with slow flow, but for some reason I lose siphon with about a cup of beer in the bottom of the bucket The best way I found when finding the right part for the job, is to go buying prepared. Pull your bottling valve from your bucket and take it with you to the plumbing department so you get both the right size and right thread pattern.


Okay time for my question, I bottled my last batch 2 weeks ago and put it in my basement where I carbed my last batch, because I have no room elsewhere to put it where it can be left alone for a few months. I pulled one of my carbed bottles from the past summer out of the same cabinet I put the new ones in a few days ago and it was cold, not quite drinking temps but definitely 50-40 degrees, which is below the well known carbing temps.
So I am wondering if I need to mess with them, or if I just leave them there till warmer temps come in the spring and let them have time to carb then, or will that long kill the yeast?

Thanks
Ben

First and foremeost when it is cold yeast don't DIE, they go to sleep. The only way ever to kill your yeast is to drop it in boiling water. Yeast has lasted and proved viable after being encased in amber for 45 million years, 45 million year old yeast ferments amber ale and still manages to brew beer, we need to get outta the mindset that yeast is killed. Most of the time folks think their yeast is dead it is DORMANT....

So having said that, all you need is to wait til it's been above 70 for a couple weeks, and your beer will carb fine. I tend to have that happen a lot in my loft in the winter, but once spring temps rasie the ambient in my place, the bottles start carbing up as if nothing ever happened.

So yeah, your beer will be fine once the temps get into their wake up range.

 

[D0ug]

FWIW, I now it's not ideal, but my cellar is about 57F right now and my beers are still carbing up just fine in the bottles, they just take a week or two longer. YMMV

 

[centsworth_II]

RE: 45 million year old yeast ferments amber ale
The link doesn't go directly to the article.

Fixed link:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-08/ff_primordial_yeast

 

[Revvy]

RE: 45 million year old yeast ferments amber ale
The link doesn't go directly to the article.

Fixed link:
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/magazine/17-08/ff_primordial_yeast

You know, they keep frigging moving that story around. I have updated that link 3-4 times in the last couple years. Thanks.

 

[rack04]

Bottled my first batch this weekend. I read all the tips before hand but I wanted to stay true to the methods of the tools to see how they could be improved.

First and foremost: Attaching the bottling wand directly to the spigot is a must! Having a long section of hose between the bottling bucket and the wand make the whole process very awkward.

Second: Titling the bucket to get the last remaining beer isn't that difficult. I have already bent a small piece of copper tubing into an elbow for the next batch. I'm interested to see how this effects the flowrate.

Basically the whole process using the standard method wasn't bad at all. Next time using the modifications mentioned in this thread I'm sure it will be a breeze.

 

[iijakii]

I actually like using a long piece of hosing so I don't have to hold a bottle up right under the spigot. But, that's solely dependent on how your rig is setup.

 

[Bill_in_VA]

I just read the whole 39 pages and didn't see this mentioned...
A few of the pry off bottles I've saved have a very short "shoulder" (at the neck/bottle crown not the other shoulder) on them and since the red barron style capper indexes off this "shoulder" will it be able to properly seat a cap on those?

Thanks,
Bill

 

[agodfrey11]

I just read the whole 39 pages and didn't see this mentioned...
A few of the pry off bottles I've saved have a very short "shoulder" (at the neck/bottle crown not the other shoulder) on them and since the red barron style capper indexes off this "shoulder" will it be able to properly seat a cap on those?

Thanks,
Bill

What type of bottles are you talking about? I use the red barron type of capper and have not had any bottles that had a problem.

 

[D0ug]

My friend Ed has two different "wing cappers" for just this reason, a red one and a black one. They both work ok on different bottle crown/shoulder styles Like say a Bass bottle vs. a Sam Adam's bottle, but one definetly works better than the other for particular crown/neck proportions. I just can't remember which is which.

It should be ok though.

 

[Bill_in_VA]

I'm not at home right now where I can snap a pic so I googled these up to illustrate.
This is like the one I'm concerned about:

And a standard looking one for reference:

 

[D0ug]

Yup, the top one is like a Bass bottle, and the bottom is like a Sam Adam's.

Your capper should work on either style, it just might be a little more difficult to use on the one as opposed to the other. I think it had a harder time releasing from the Bass style.

But it still seals the caps just fine on either type.

 

[muse435]

It was kinda by accident that i stumbled onto this thread and saw the bent tube for the bottom of the bottling bucket. I just finished bottling my IPA and right before I started I saw this. It took me about 5 min to take an old racking cane, cut it, and bend it in boiling water. It made getting that last little bit of beer much easier. Thank you very much!

 

[BeerIsDelicious]

It has a section on carbonating with books and other things.

How does one carbonate with books, exactly?

 

[Revvy]

I just added some more info to the top of this long thread...sort of an update of my current bottling setup, and some info on adding different ingredients to the priming sugar boil for flavor and aroma.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/#post1030378

 

[commonsenseman]

I just have one question. Since your bottle caps are sitting in the sanitizer until you put them on the bottles, wouldn't a small amount of sanitizer get in the bottles? Couldn't that ruin the flavor?

 

[Revvy]

I just have one question. Since your bottle caps are sitting in the sanitizer until you put them on the bottles, wouldn't a small amount of sanitizer get in the bottles? Couldn't that ruin the flavor?

You want your sanitizer coming in contact with your beer and anything you've sanitized. Most of the sanitzers we use, especially Starsan and iodophor are No rinse/wet contact sanitizers. They are literally double edged swords. They kill two ways. They kill everything on the object prior to sanitizing, and then as long as they are still wet they form a sanitizer barrier that kills everything that comes into contact with object.

If you let the sanitizer dry any micro organism that comes in contact with the sanitized object, rather than being killed by it, makes the object no longer sanitzed.

If you let it dry you are reducing it's efficacy by 50%

You really want to sanitize right at the time you are using the thing you are sanitizing. And let the wort/beer flow on top of it.

I put a lot of good info and tips of effectively using sanitizers in here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/sanitizer-question-54932/[/QUOTE]

At proper dillutions no rinse sanitisers do not affect the taste of the beer, if they did, they wouldn't be no rinse now, would they? In fact starsan breaks down to some of the ingredients in coca cola. Really benign.

Remember don't fear the foam.

 

[commonsenseman]

You want your sanitizer coming in contact with your beer and anything you've sanitized. Most of the sanitzers we use, especially Starsan and iodophor are No rinse/wet contact sanitizers. They are literally double edged swords. They kill two ways. They kill everything on the object prior to sanitizing, and then as long as they are still wet they form a sanitizer barrier that kills everything that comes into contact with object.

If you let the sanitizer dry any micro organism that comes in contact with the sanitized object, rather than being killed by it, makes the object no longer sanitzed.

If you let it dry you are reducing it's efficacy by 50%

You really want to sanitize right at the time you are using the thing you are sanitizing. And let the wort/beer flow on top of it.

I put a lot of good info and tips of effectively using sanitizers in here. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/sanitizer-question-54932/At proper dillutions no rinse sanitisers do not affect the taste of the beer, if they did, they wouldn't be no rinse now, would they? In fact starsan breaks down to some of the ingredients in coca cola. Really benign.

Remember don't fear the foam.

Thanks Rev, very helpful! I don't have any starsan or iodophor, just one-step (hopefully that won't add an "off" flavor). I may look into getting some though as it seems to be regarded pretty highly around here. Good to know that it won't affect the flavor of the brew, I guess I was just worried about a nasty sanitary aroma when I open my first bottle.

 

[Whut]

While I didn't read all of it I did read enough to learn a ton. I used an old racking cane to make a pickup tube for my bottling bucket (it leaves only about 2 ounces behind) and especially enjoyed learning about how to add flavor when bottling (adding to priming sugar). So thanks Revvy and every other contributor.

Trace

 

[muse435]

Just a thought, I made a racking cane pick up for my bottling bucket like many others and it works great. I read that others had comments/complaints about bubbles going down there bottling wand and i found a great solution with my set up. When I am sanitizing my bottling bucket I turn the valve so it is facing up and attach the wand, when i open the valve the wand fills pushing all of the air out of the valve. Then just turn the wand so it is facing down and your good to go. I never have any bubbles in my wand. Make sure the water level in your bucket is not higher than the tip of your wand.