What do you consider the ultimate bottling set up

[erick0619]

I currently keg but as it stands I only have one tap and one keg. I do have plans to add two more taps in the future but I also want to start bottling again. I plan to start building a stock pile of big stouts, barley wines ect. I also want to start diving into sours as well.

 

[porterpounder]

Someone else doing it for me...
But seriously, counterpressure filler has worked best for me. I could never get the carbonation consistent or correct with a beer gun and filling from the tap for longer storage had that issue as well as oxidation in long-stored beers. I have a stainless work table, bench-top capper, bottle tree and a shallow plywood box drilled out to hold 10 bottles so I can rest the filler in one while capping without it falling over.

 

[Rye-guy]

I just use a bottling wand at the end of my auto siphon. It has its problems though. For instance if you don't have a little pressure down on the bottling wand when you pump the siphon, the siphon pressurizes and cracks itself. My next brew investment will be a bottling bucket so I don't keep breaking siphons. I've gone through 2 this year. But I do what I can with what I got and it works. I used to use my Mr. Beer keg to bottle but that got frustrating when I got to 4.5 gal batches.

 

[erick0619]

Someone else doing it for me...
But seriously, counterpressure filler has worked best for me. I could never get the carbonation consistent or correct with a beer gun and filling from the tap for longer storage had that issue as well as oxidation in long-stored beers. I have a stainless work table, bench-top capper, bottle tree and a shallow plywood box drilled out to hold 10 bottles so I can rest the filler in one while capping without it falling over.

That's a good sounding set up you have there but I'm looking to avoid legging these beers just traditional bottling. I do like the idea of a work bench and a good bench top capper.

 

[MaryB]

Kegs!

 

[erick0619]

I just use a bottling wand at the end of my auto siphon. It has its problems though. For instance if you don't have a little pressure down on the bottling wand when you pump the siphon, the siphon pressurizes and cracks itself. My next brew investment will be a bottling bucket so I don't keep breaking siphons. I've gone through 2 this year. But I do what I can with what I got and it works. I used to use my Mr. Beer keg to bottle but that got frustrating when I got to 4.5 gal batches.

How much are your auto siphons? Because for what you have paid in those you could have already purchased a bottling bucket.

 

[erick0619]

Kegs!

I already have a single tap set up but I still want to bottle beers that do well with some age.

 

[MaryB]

So keg them and set the keg away. Meanwhile that gives you time to expand your tap setup to 2-3 taps!

 

[Brewmasher]

I have converted back to bottling despite having invested in all the equipment needed for kegging. If you total all the effort involved from washing and sanitizing kegs, maintaining CO2 tanks, fussing with lines, regulators and connectors, and cleaning inherent spills, leaks and mishaps it's not all that much easier than bottling. I use my kegs for aging, and my CO2 for purging and force carbing PET bottles and bottle the rest. I actually enjoy bottling, and consider it part of the craft of brewing.

I use the Fastferment for primary/secondary and bottling using the included hose attachment with a spring loaded bottling wand. I get imported beer from Aldi's and reuse the bottles. A soak in hot water and One Step removes the labels and adhesive easily. I use the Fast Rack to store bottles until bottling day, which can be combined with brew day while you mash/ boil. A couple of squirts of Star San in the Vinator, in which I dump the caps in sanitizes before the fill. I sit in the kitchen and leisurely fill the bottles while consuming a few. I like to place the cap on top and set the bottles on the counter until all the filling is done before crimping to purge any oxygen in the headspace. Bottles go into an empty beer case and labeled with style and date. I always force carb at least a couple so I can compare it to the bottle conditioned beer. This lends an additional aspect to your brewing experience by allowing you to stash a few away to see what aging does to that particular style.

 

[Peruvian802]

 

[m00ps]

I keg all my hoppy stuff and lagers. I still bottle-carb all my belgians and sours because I find it gives them a much better shelf life.

Has no one mentioned the dishwasher setup? I sanitize all my bottles in the dishwasher and bottle with the door down, using it as a big drip tray. I have a tiny 2" piece of hose that directly connects the bottling bucket spigot to the bottling wand. This makes for mess free, efficient, one-handed bottling. I get SWMBO to due the capping and seal testing and its over in less than 30min. Plus, I can use my spare hand for a beer

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I have converted back to bottling despite having invested in all the equipment needed for kegging. If you total all the effort involved from washing and sanitizing kegs, maintaining CO2 tanks, fussing with lines, regulators and connectors, and cleaning inherent spills, leaks and mishaps it's not all that much easier than bottling.....

You sound like an infomercial...

Has this ever happened to you?

 

[orionol73]

Has no one mentioned the dishwasher setup? I sanitize all my bottles in the dishwasher and bottle with the door down, using it as a big drip tray. I have a tiny 2" piece of hose that directly connects the bottling bucket spigot to the bottling wand. This makes for mess free, efficient, one-handed bottling. I get SWMBO to due the capping and seal testing and its over in less than 30min. Plus, I can use my spare hand for a beer

THIS!

 

[agrazela]

I have converted back to bottling despite having invested in all the equipment needed for kegging. If you total all the effort involved from washing and sanitizing kegs, maintaining CO2 tanks, fussing with lines, regulators and connectors, and cleaning inherent spills, leaks and mishaps it's not all that much easier than bottling...

Your name must be Willis. Cause I dunno whatchu talkin' bout.

 

[Geronimo13]

I third what m00ps said. I'd like to get the counterpressure stuff setup but I've just sanitized the bottles in the dishwasher, put the bottling bucket next to it and just pull form there. The bottle wand on the bucket with the dishwasher door down keeps drips / any screwups to a minimum clean up. Oh and fortunately for me my wife is gracious enough to use the bench capper and cap the bottles as I fill them...

 

[55x11]

I currently keg but as it stands I only have one tap and one keg. I do have plans to add two more taps in the future but I also want to start bottling again. I plan to start building a stock pile of big stouts, barley wines ect. I also want to start diving into sours as well.

I like Blichman beer gun. Perhaps a bit pricy for some, but super easy to use. Advantages of bottling from the keg is that you can bottle once beer tastes perfect (dialing in carbonation, fruit and other additions in the keg), no sediment and because you flush bottle and headspace with CO2, there is basically no chance of oxidation.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I haven't bottled in a few years. But I always liked setting the bottle bucket up on the workbench, and attach the bottling wand right to the spigot.

Seems like you only need 1 hand to bottle instead of 3 or 4 that attaching to the auto-siphon requires :

I just have the cheapo wing capper, but I could see a benchtop working well for that as well.

 

[Brewmasher]

Your name must be Willis. Cause I dunno whatchu talkin' bout.

Ah, but young Webster, you fail to see the totality of your undertaking. Let me break down the facts and compare the totals so you may be enlightened.

Bottling

First, I wrestle the fermenter to the kitchen, gently stir in priming sugar and hump it up on the counter. OK, that was work. Good excuse to open a brew. Effort level: heavy. Time: 2 min. This step is also required for kegging.

Whenever I pour a brew, I rinse the bottle with hot water and store it upside down in a Fast Rack. All I have to do before bottling is put about a cup of Star San in the Vinrator and give each bottle a few squirts. Count out caps and dump them in the basin. Effort level: slim to none. Time: 10 min

Remove and clean collection ball, sanitize and attach bottling attachment. Effort level: slim to none. Time: 5 min

Fill bottles, place cap on top, stage bottles on counter top. Effort level: slim to none. Time: 15 min

Crimp caps, put bottles in empty beer case, store in closet. Effort level: easy. Time 10 min

There are only 2 possible mishaps that are inherent to bottle conditioning, over carbonation resulting in a gusher or bottle bomb, or under carbonation. The latter is remedied by re-capping and waiting (possible addition of sugar and/or yeast) or just using that bottle for cooking. I usually open over or near a sink, so gushers are not a problem. Bottle bombs occur in the case, so rinsing the remaining bottles and putting them in a fresh case is in order. Both of these are rare occurrences, and only a minor inconvenience.

Kegging

First you have to clean out a keg. Because of their size, this is best done outside with a hose. Usual procedure is to give it a good spray, dump, then fill partially, add detergent, roll up sleeve and reach in with preferred dishwashing media and scrub yeast and beer sediment, paying close attention to seams, dip tube, posts and poppets. Then you have to fetch your CO2 tank and regulator set up to pump detergent through the lines and connectors to clean. Dump dirty detergent, rinse, partially fill with rinse water, and hook back to CO2 to rinse lines. To sanitize partially fill with Star San, shake, swirl, and invert to get entire interior surface in contact, or if you don’t mind the extra sanitizer, fill to the top. Connect to CO2 once again to sanitize lines and poppets. This whole process involves bending, reaching, lifting, shaking, swirling and dumping. Effort level: medium to hard. Time: 15 min. If this process has to be performed indoors using a laundry or bath tub, tack on an additional 5 min or so and up the effort level a notch.

If the keg has not been use for a while, you will have to disassemble the poppets, remove the dip tubes and deep clean them. This is regular maintenance that should be performed every 6 months or 3-4 batches. Anal brewers do it every fill. Don’t forget to get a supply of O- rings and seals because they will need to be replaced. Effort level: moderate. Time: Better set aside a half hour the first time, 20 min each thereafter.

Then you can siphon your beer in, purge, and put in your kegerator. If you have the patients, you can hook up your CO2 to the prescribed PSI and wait a few days to carbonate, or you can cool, and then force carb. Force carbing effort level: easy to moderate. Time: 15 min.

The real fun is factoring in all the possible mishaps that can AND WILL happen at any time. First up-

Running out of CO2. Nothing is worse than looking forward to drawing the first pint of a new recipe that had shown so much promise of excellence during the brewing stages only to find that nothing will come out of the keg. I don’t care how carefully you check for leaks, as things cool seals and O rings will fail, connections will loosen, gauges will give false readings. This will prompt a trip to the welding supply shop for a fresh fill, and investing in a spare CO2 tank so it won’t happen again. 5# tank- $55 Fill- $15-$20. Time: could be hours depending on where you live.

What’s worse than running out of CO2? Having an equipment failure spew copious amounts of you hard earned labor all over your kegerator, walls, floor, ceiling, or face. This usually happens with thick syrupy oatmeal stouts. Effort level can range from wiping your face and a good laugh to a catastrophic ordeal.

Add beer guns and counter flow fillers into the equation and your cleaning/ sanitation time increases, as well as multiplying the chance of a mishap. The fact that user of such devices are consuming alcohol puts fuel to the fire.

So, bottling takes about 40 min of minimal effort. I leisurely perform the task during the mash/boil while listening to music or watching a game. It’s not like I have to devote more time to brewing because I bottle. Results are consistent and predictable and any mishap can be easily rectified. Bottles are free, a fraction of cleaning and sanitizing chemicals are used and priming sugar costs me less than $.50 a batch.

Kegging can be done in 15-30 min, but is much more labor intensive. Count on spending 30- 45 min every 3-4 brews to deep clean. Count on trips to the shop to fill CO2 at $20 a pop. Count on unexpected equipment failures that could range from a relatively minor inconvenience to a catastrophic loss. Add up all the time and effort that you put forth over a year because you read that kegging is easier than bottling and saves time and you will see it just is not true. I’m not even going to mention that you will end up dropping $300-500 just to get you going. Well, I guess I just did.

Don’t feel bad, I fell for it too. I also believed the guy that told me that I should tie my own flies because it’s a lot cheaper 

 

[BrewinBromanite]

I keg all my hoppy stuff and lagers. I still bottle-carb all my belgians and sours because I find it gives them a much better shelf life.

Has no one mentioned the dishwasher setup? I sanitize all my bottles in the dishwasher and bottle with the door down, using it as a big drip tray. I have a tiny 2" piece of hose that directly connects the bottling bucket spigot to the bottling wand. This makes for mess free, efficient, one-handed bottling. I get SWMBO to due the capping and seal testing and its over in less than 30min. Plus, I can use my spare hand for a beer

This is my exact setup/process. So easy and very hassle free. My almost 4 yr old is very intrigued. I think in no time he'll be my official capper! [emoji16]