Do I really need to bottle everything?

[avillax]

The question arises from this:

Not enough bottles, it is tiring to bottle everything.

So I was wondering if let's say I add the sugar solution for priming to the fermenter and then bottle 2.5 gallons and leave the other 2.5 in the fermenter and just replace the lid for another one that is solid and has no hole for the bubble counter and after the priming period is done simply bottle the beer that I'm going to immediately put in the fridge and consume?

 

[Bellybuster]

1). Get more bottles
2). Get more sleep night before bottling

 

[flars]

The priming solution that you add to the fermentor can't be mixed into the beer without stirring up the trub. Without the priming solution being thoroughly mixed through out the beer will most likely result in an unknown amount of carbonation in a few bottles, but no carbonation is most of the bottles.

The priming solution in the remaining beer will be used by the yeast for a quick fermentation within a day. Bottling this beer will result in all the bottles not carbonating.

You could add a measured amount of sugar to each bottle, then fill the bottle for normal carbonation. This would be a very small amount of sugar. It would need to be carefully weighed to avoid over carbonation. I have read of some brewers using one "small" sugar cube per bottle to achieve this. There are also carbonation drops available for this purpose. Bottle carbonation may take a week or two longer because the carbonation drops take longer to dissolve.

 

[dkeller12]

Isn't it easier to set up for bottling day once and not twice? I would get more bottles and do it all at once. I view it as a labor of love.

 

[flars]

I should add that how you set up your bottling area and having the right equipment can make bottling quick and easy.

Filling bottles from the fermentor with a siphon is tedious and results in lost beer or trub in the bottles. Siphoning to a bottling bucket, with a spring tip bottling wand attached to the bucket, smooths out the bottling operation.

Capping the bottles with a bench capper is much faster than using a wing capper.

 

[Komodo]

You just need to put on the right music. I find Jean Luc Ponty - Enigmatic Ocean makes the time fly by. I'll be bottling 10g of a tripel today. I'm also installing a new kitchen faucet and running wire/drilling wall for an outdoor outlet today.

Ask on FB and you will get more bottles than you can use.

 

[eadavis80]

Get a buddy, a Vinator and buy a lot of beer to acquire more bottles. Should be able to get a 5-gallon batch done, even with a wing capper inside an hour if you have help.

 

[avillax]

Thanks, by the way, many people here in Czech Republic uses 2 litter plastic bottles for bottling the beer as well. Is that OK?

 

[flars]

Thanks, by the way, many people here in Czech Republic uses 2 litter plastic bottles for bottling the beer as well. Is that OK?

Plastic soda bottles have the strength to hold the pressures developed during natural carbonation. Plastic water bottles do not have the same strength. Plastic "Pet" bottles are also sold here for bottling beer.

 

[Gavin C]

The question arises from this:

Not enough bottles, it is tiring to bottle everything.

So I was wondering if let's say I add the sugar solution for priming to the fermenter and then bottle 2.5 gallons and leave the other 2.5 in the fermenter and just replace the lid for another one that is solid and has no hole for the bubble counter and after the priming period is done simply bottle the beer that I'm going to immediately put in the fridge and consume?

Your plan is full of holes, will do your beer harm, will add unneeded and harmful steps, is far from best practice and will in all likelihood, result in oxidized, unevenly carbonated trub-filled bottles. Get a different plan.

• Bottle the whole batch
• Don't add priming solution to the fermentor (it goes in the bottling bucket first before you rack the beer to the bucket)
• Don't stir, allow the two to mix via the racking method with a small coil of hose in the bottom of the bucket.
• There is a good sticky in the bottling section, 400+ likes

 

[Canuck137]

Yeah bottle the whole batch. Get more PET bottles... They work OK ... Play some music and view it as an activity ha-ha. As time goes by you will get better at it and it will go faster and smoother. I was in Prague for a wk once, you can buy awesome beer there for like $1 a 500ml bottle at the grocery store right? Same beer in Canada is $3 a bottle. If I live there I'm not sure if I would bother making my own beer.

 

[Chris_Primavera]

Plastic soda bottles have the strength to hold the pressures developed during natural carbonation. Plastic water bottles do not have the same strength. Plastic "Pet" bottles are also sold here for bottling beer.

Wow

What a great idea. Ever try it?

 

[pablosbrewing]

leave the other 2.5 in the fermenter and just replace the lid for another one that is solid and has no hole for the bubble counter and after the priming period is done simply bottle the beer that I'm going to immediately put in the fridge and consume?

You will likely blow up your fermenter :O

 

[Gavin C]

Wow

What a great idea. Ever try it?

It's done routinely by many. PET bottles work well for storing carbonated beverages at pressures far greater than beer.

Coke
Root Beer
Sprite
etc.

All at CO2 pressures higher than any style of beer I can think of. Even a Hefe is not going to be at the same level of CO2 pressure as a Coke.

 

[slym2none]

The priming solution that you add to the fermentor can't be mixed into the beer without stirring up the trub. Without the priming solution being thoroughly mixed through out the beer will most likely result in an unknown amount of carbonation in a few bottles, but no carbonation is most of the bottles.

The priming solution in the remaining beer will be used by the yeast for a quick fermentation within a day. Bottling this beer will result in all the bottles not carbonating.

You could add a measured amount of sugar to each bottle, then fill the bottle for normal carbonation. This would be a very small amount of sugar. It would need to be carefully weighed to avoid over carbonation. I have read of some brewers using one "small" sugar cube per bottle to achieve this. There are also carbonation drops available for this purpose. Bottle carbonation may take a week or two longer because the carbonation drops take longer to dissolve.

Not that careful - 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in each 12-oz bottle will give you carbonation in the 2.0 vols. area. Adding 3/4 tsp. will give you 2.7-2.8 vols. of CO². The square sugar cubes are almost exactly 1/2 tsp., BTW.

Carb drops don't really take that long to dissolve, as I have used them twice and within 24 hours, they were all dissolved and took no longer to carbonate the beer than any other method I've used for priming.

 

[Gavin C]

You will likely blow up your fermenter :O

Not likely with a few oz of priming solution. Still a bad idea though for many other reasons.

 

[vensik]

Instead of investing in more bottles to clean and store. Invest in some kegs, you will be glad you did 6 months from now.

Control your carbonation better, sanitize 1 vessel per batch, force-carbonate in less time if you need a beer to be ready, ect...

 

[slym2none]

...spend more money, clean more stuff...



I say, invest in more bottles and just bottle everything all at once, no matter how much of a pain it may be to you. In six months, you will save enough money not buying kegs, keezers, CO², and electricity to keep all that cool to make up for the pain of bottling.

All IMHO, of course.

 

[avillax]

OK I will follow your advice and probably get more PET bottles, by the way, last batch which was my first batch I added the priming solution directly to the fermentor, stirred, and after half an hour I bottled and one of the good things about my beer was the carbonation, it had a perfect carbonation and head.

I'm missing the racking cane for transferring, I should probably get one though.

 

[aprichman]

If you're near me come by and grab some of my bottles. I had a friend who is also an avid beer drinker save some bottles for me and haven't been brewing very much since I've been moving into a new place. Somehow that adds up to a metric crap ton of bottles that I need to remove labels from and soak in some oxyclean to remove organic matter.

Bottling isn't very fun, but it doesn't take too long if you follow everyone's advice and buy a bottling bucket and a spring tipped bottler - you should be able to buy these for like $20 at a LHBS and are absolutely necessary for making good homebrew that is bottle conditioned. Do yourself a favor and buy a bottling tree, it's another tool that will pay for itself in saved time and frustration. If my bottles are clean and just need to be sanitized I can usually get everything bottled and capped in 2 hours - a big part of that is sanitizing the equipment and boiling DME for priming. These are activities that don't require much attention so I can listen to a podcast or watch TV during the majority of the bottling process. The only part that really required my full attention is filling the bottles and then capping them. One time saver is to soak your caps in star san and place one on each beer as soon as you fill them. After they are all filled you can go through with your capper and seal them all in like 5 minutes. If you already have 6 pack holders or 12 pack boxes ready to put your beers in it makes it even easier. Spending $40-50 on equipment that makes bottling easier and coming up with an efficient plan of attack is the way to go. I think most of us can say that we would ideally keg but that's an investment of $400-500 which is a pretty big pill to swallow