Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

jcarson83 · Jan 24, 2009

Why is this thread not a sticky? It took me forever to find that dip tube thing. Prost

Revvy · Jan 24, 2009

jcarson83 said:
Why is this thread not a sticky? It took me forever to find that dip tube thing. Prost

Pm a mod if you think so...

Thanks BTW!

:mug:

And post pics of your dip tube when you make it!!!

BioBeing · Jan 24, 2009

Read this a few weeks ago, and used the tips last week when I bottled. Worked great. Opened my first bottle last night! I did not get a dip tube made - will try to do that for next time, to save tipping the bucket.

BTW - what does Prosting a thread do? I did it, and voted 5 stars...

Petho · Jan 24, 2009

My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

Revvy · Jan 24, 2009

Petho said:
My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

Best bottling story I've heard yet!!!!!

:mug:

mosquitocontrol · Jan 24, 2009

I just use my 5 gallon bucket of Starsan. Dunk all of my bottles in, dump them out then line them up in the dishwasher racks. After I go through a dozen or so I sanitize some plastic wrap and put it on top. You can do several bottles at a time rather than using the bottling wand. You can do as many as your hands can hold down in the bucket. So you guys with big hands can save a lot of time.

And since they are lined in the dishwasher rack already, you can bottle them in the same spot. Just put the bottling bucket on the counter with the wand/hose and go. Roll the kitchen table up next to the dishwasher, and I can bottle all while sitting on my stool.

Only took 10 batches or so to perfect it. But no more sitting on the floor and making a huge mess.

mikfire · Jan 24, 2009

It took me a while to find this thread again. Really, it needs to be sticky.

I bottled my first batch using this method, although I did substitute a Homer bucket for dishwasher door. I cannot believe how much easier it was. Sitting down saved my back (yeah, I am getting old) but, more importantly, kept my eyes at just the right level to know when the bottle was full. I only had one over flow.

Thanks, Revvy. It is still tedious, but it is only 30 minutes of tedium instead of an hour's back breaking labor.

newbeerpig · Jan 25, 2009

This is my current bottling setup. I use a short-walled "bussing bin" that I got from a restaurant supply store (About $5.00). It will hold 35 bottles at a time, keeps them from falling over, catches any overflow/spillage, and allows for quick transfer back to the counter for capping. I set it on the ground, below my bucket, and then grab a chair, and start filling the bottles one at a time, row by row. I can easily see which bottles have already been filled, and where the fill line is while bottling.

I put the bucket on the kitchen counter, and I currently use my auto-siphon for bottling, rather than the spigot (That is soon to change - don't worry!) Once I get the siphon going (with a little help from SWMBO) I can easily fill the bottles, which are loaded into the bussing bin on the floor. I pull up a chair, and go to town! Bottling is relatively quick this way.

RandalG · Jan 26, 2009

Revvy you are the man! Some great tips in this thread which will make my next bottling day much easier.

tconlan25 · Jan 27, 2009

BrianP said:
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.

Brilliant! I may have to run to Lowe's at lunch and see what I can find.

Thanks for the idea!

JLep · Jan 27, 2009

Kegging is the easy way out. Anybody can keg. I've kegged, but prefer to bottle, I like the math to find my volume, experimenting with different primers and you just can't artificially replicate what yeast can do naturally.The good and bad off-flavors. Sure it takes more time, but I love going to the basement and grabbing several bottles from my stash. Nothing beats a bottle conditioned beer. NOTHING!!!!!

Revvy · Jan 27, 2009

JLep said:
Kegging is the easy way out. Anybody can keg. I've kegged, but prefer to bottle, I like the math to find my volume, experimenting with different primers and you just can't artificially replicate what yeast can do naturally.The good and bad off-flavors. Sure it takes more time, but I love going to the basement and grabbing several bottles from my stash. Nothing beats a bottle conditioned beer. NOTHING!!!!!

Plus there are some cool bottles out there if you search enough :mug:

I've been collecting odd shaped ones for Belgians...Like stubbies and redstribe bottles...I have a growing collection.

-TH- · Jan 27, 2009

tconlan25 said:
Brilliant! I may have to run to Lowe's at lunch and see what I can find.

Thanks for the idea!

I bought one of these at Lowes for around $.50 but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it will eliminate the pocket of air in the spigot I was getting that I think was caused by the small diameter dip tube I had been using.

Revvy · Jan 27, 2009

-TH- said:
I bought one of these at Lowes for around $.50 but haven't tried it yet. I'm hoping it will eliminate the pocket of air in the spigot I was getting that I think was caused by the small diameter dip tube I had been using.

When you are testing it are you having your bottle wand or bottling hose attached? Like I said earlier, I've never experienced it before...and the one person who had a slow trickle out of his spigot hooked up a hose, and once he had a lower siphon level it worked fine.

heyvail · Jan 27, 2009

Petho said:
My bottling method is VERY expensive and takes many years to create but it works beautifully. First, get married and have a daughter. Second, raise her to be handy in general, we like camping, fishing and bike riding. Then, after 11 years of hard work, teach her the bottling procedure and let her go!
I enjoy bottling with her and she makes a damn fine brewery assistant on brew day too!
The big plus is that she HATES the taste of beer so I don't have to share any of it with her!!!

Bonus!

I am on my way, 3 1/2 years of investment and the little guy wipes down the bottles and puts a small piece of painters masking tape for labeling on each bottle. I do have to be careful because this boy hasn't found a flavor he doesn't like, but that only happens when a glass is left unattended.

Thanks for the tips, bottle wand to bucket and dip tube will be made tonight!!!!!!

A bottle tree and bottle rinser for the top has reduced setup time. I also keep a spray bottle of sanitizer and clean and sanitize each bottle after pouring a home brew. That 30 seconds after each beer also saves some serious time on bottle day.

-TH- · Jan 27, 2009

Revvy said:
When you are testing it are you having your bottle wand or bottling hose attached? Like I said earlier, I've never experienced it before...and the one person who had a slow trickle out of his spigot hooked up a hose, and once he had a lower siphon level it worked fine.

Yes. For about 7 batches now I had connected the bottle wand to a 2 inch piece of tubing which is connected to the spigot. On the inside (of the spigot) was a drilled rubber stopper with one of these:

It worked fine for bottling, I had no problems with flow coming out of the bottle wand, the only concern I had was I always had a pocket of air inside the large diameter portion of the spigot. My spigot body is somewhat transparent so I could see it while bottling. I think it was due to the large diameter of the spigot compared to the small diameters of the input (dip tube) and output (tip of spigot). It looks quite turbulent in there when I bottled and I was concerned about oxygenation.

-TH- · Jan 28, 2009

Any thoughts on the above post, Revvy?

TerapinChef · Jan 28, 2009

-TH- said:
It worked fine for bottling, I had no problems with flow coming out of the bottle wand, the only concern I had was I always had a pocket of air inside the large diameter portion of the spigot. My spigot body is somewhat transparent so I could see it while bottling. I think it was due to the large diameter of the spigot compared to the small diameters of the input (dip tube) and output (tip of spigot). It looks quite turbulent in there when I bottled and I was concerned about oxygenation.

I have had similar problems. Revvy suggested making sure that your dip tube extends through the cork enough that it meets up with the back of the spigot body, if I remember correctly. I'll be testing this theory today.

Revvy · Jan 28, 2009

-TH- said:
Any thoughts on the above post, Revvy?

Sorry, I don't....I've never had that problem....it could be the angle of the bend. or not enough depth into the area like I told Terrapin Chef...or that I've never paid attention to mine and all my beers have turned out...Just remember that may not be O2 but CO2 in that pocket you are seeing... But realistically, it takes a lot of O2 to ruin your beer. It is in that little pocket is probably no more than what gets trapped in the bend of your racking cane and hose, as it does a 1/2" free fall....

Try different configurations, bends whatever...but honestly I wouldn't sweat it...I've had to pump beer with my auto siphon and not ruined it....

Oxyidation if it does happen is a long storage problem, most people will have drunk our beers long before any of that shows up...And I've been using a diptube for nearly a year (2 different versions) and have never had a beer turn out cardboardy or anything like that.

USM_Eagle · Jan 30, 2009

Fantastic post. This will save lots of time.

Revvy · Feb 5, 2009

Someone bumped a thread from 2005, and this was one of the posts, some great info on priming sugars.

Arizona Dave said:
Many people have been told that priming bottled conditioned beer should not be done with sucrose. Many books state that malt extract is best for priming. Be aware that malt extract will generate break material when boiled, and that the fermentation of malt extract for priming purposes will often generate a krausen/protein ring around the waterline in the bottle, just like it does in your fermenter. Simple sugars don't have this cosmetic problem and the small amount used for priming will not affect the flavor of the beer (Based upon my 15+ years of brewing).

Here are some simple basic rules for Priming :
Using Corn Sugar (Sucrose) - 2/3 cup for bottling and 1/3 cup for Kegging.
Using Cane Sugar (Sucrose)- 2/3 cup for bottling and 1/3 cup for Kegging.
Using Brown Sugar (Sucrose)- 2/3 cup for bott! ling and 1/3 cup for Kegging.
Using Maple Syrup - 1¼ cup for bottling and 5/8 cup for Kegging.
Using Molasses - 1 cup for bottling and ½ cup for Kegging.
Using Honey - 1 cup for bottling and ½ cup for Kegging.

You can prime your beer with any fermentable that you want. Any sugar: Corn Sugar, Cane Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Molasses (if you can get them out of the ground), even Maple Syrup can be used for priming.

The darker sugars can contribute a subtle aftertaste (sometimes desired) and are more appropriate for heavier, darker beers.
Simple sugars, like Corn or Cane Sugar, are used most often though many brewers use dry malt extract too. Ounce for ounce, Cane Sugar generates a bit more carbon dioxide than Corn Sugar, and both pure sugars carbonate more than malt extract, so you will need to take that into account.

Honey is difficult to prime with because there is no standard for concentration.! The gravity of honey is different jar to jar. To use hone y, you will need to dilute it and measure its gravity with a hydrometer. For all sugars in general, you want to add 2-3 gravity points per gallon of beer to prime.

Remember, the above are measurements for a 5 Gallon batch. It is always best to heat up anything that you are using for priming with water. If you are doing less than 5 Gallons at a time, then here are some things to take into account.

5 Gallons will give you...
54 x 12 oz Bottles
40 x 16 oz Bottles
32 x 22 oz Bottles

So divide the number of bottles into whatever you wish to use for priming and that will give you the amount your looking for.

Bottom line: use the sugar that you feel most comfortable with. Each of us has their own favorites. -->

TerapinChef · Feb 6, 2009

I love the Mole Asses joke....

MajorTom · Feb 6, 2009

Well I never have used a dip tube on my bottling bucket and haven't even thought about it until I saw this thread today. Only I didn't like the idea of a bubble of air being trapped inside the spigot, and see no way to avoid this with such a small diameter tube going into a large chamber on its way to another small tube. So, I came up with this piece of PVC elbow that is the same diameter, if not larger, than the back of the spigot, and it is threaded so it screws on easily. It sits maybe an eighth of an inch off of the bottom so I will never have to tip the bucket again! This modification costs a whole 58 cents.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33697914@N08/3258371355/

Elbow Attached on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

user 19629 · Feb 6, 2009

MajorTom said:
Well I never have used a dip tube on my bottling bucket and haven't even thought about it until I saw this thread today. Only I didn't like the idea of a bubble of air being trapped inside the spigot, and see no way to avoid this with such a small diameter tube going into a large chamber on its way to another small tube. So, I came up with this piece of PVC elbow that is the same diameter, if not larger, than the back of the spigot, and it is threaded so it screws on easily. It sits maybe an eighth of an inch off of the bottom so I will never have to tip the bucket again! This modification costs a whole 58 cents.

[

That's a friggin' great idea. Last time bottling I had the bucket propped up something slipped and my favorite beer drinking glass got knocked to the floor and shattered.

Revvy · Feb 6, 2009

Awesome!!! Nice Mod...

Though honestly I still don't get a bubble or airpocket with mine...I did two batches and stared at it the whole time, and everything was fine.

But cool!!!!

:mug:

babalu87 · Feb 7, 2009

Love the diptube Idea, feel like a ******* for not doing it before.

USM_Eagle · Feb 8, 2009

MajorTom said:
Well I never have used a dip tube on my bottling bucket and haven't even thought about it until I saw this thread today. Only I didn't like the idea of a bubble of air being trapped inside the spigot, and see no way to avoid this with such a small diameter tube going into a large chamber on its way to another small tube. So, I came up with this piece of PVC elbow that is the same diameter, if not larger, than the back of the spigot, and it is threaded so it screws on easily. It sits maybe an eighth of an inch off of the bottom so I will never have to tip the bucket again! This modification costs a whole 58 cents.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33697914@N08/3258371355/

Elbow Attached on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

I use the same thing but I used the idea from BrianP (posted the same ting on the bottom of Page 3 of this thread). Dip tube or threaded elbow this is 10X better than using a siphon.

tconlan25 · Feb 9, 2009

USM_Eagle said:
I use the same thing but I used the idea from BrianP (posted the same ting on the bottom of Page 3 of this thread). Dip tube or threaded elbow this is 10X better than using a siphon.

I used the threaded PVC elbow idea in my bottling last night and it worked great. The elbow was a bit too long so I did have to hacksaw off about a 1/4 inch but other than that no problems.

I have a question for anyone who cares to give their opinion on method. To sanitize my bottles I used a 5 gallon Homer bucket filled with StarSan solution and submerged as many bottles as I could at a time. I pulled them out, poured out the sanitizer and bottled on top of any bubbles that might be in there.

Over time I noticed the sanitizer getting cloudy and I understand that means the effectiveness is begin reduced. Could this end up posing a problem with the later bottles not being sanitary enough? Probably just me being nervous about my first batch but it never hurts to ask.

Revvy · Feb 9, 2009

tconlan25 said:
Over time I noticed the sanitizer getting cloudy and I understand that means the effectiveness is begin reduced. Could this end up posing a problem with the later bottles not being sanitary enough? Probably just me being nervous about my first batch but it never hurts to ask.

You're being nervous..it's not going to loose it's ph efficacy that quicky unless your bottles where stored in a sewer and covered in crap...

But the most effective, chepest (in that you use less sanitizer) and quickest way that I have found is to use the vinator to sanitize with.

BlackRob · Feb 11, 2009

SWMBO's brother and I just bottled two batches this past week using your tips. We did the bottling at our respective houses with our own equipment that we upgraded. In both cases we did not use the clamps you recommended and had no issues what so ever with any leakage with either bottling bucket. The future health of my back thanks you immeasurably.
:rockin:

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