Absolute disaster bottling day...

Well, where to begin....I do not consider myself an expert or even close to one for that matter, however I've done a few batches so far and all have gone well...until now!

I got all of my supplies ready to bottle on this past Saturday 4/9. Cleaned every bottle and sanitized and so forth, set them up on the table upside down(bad idea by the way), most were 22 oz swing top bottles which I like a lot. I had my carboy sitting up on the table as well so that it's above the bottling bucket. Once adding the priming sugar to the bottling bucket that's when things began to spiral out of control. For the life of me I could not maintain suction in the racking cane and the hose for the siphon. Never had a problem before with this. I tried and I tried and I tried. I used the sterile method by filling the hose part with starsan/water mix and then starting the suction, it would fail and loose everytime. I even put a clamp on the connection to make sure there wasn't air leaking in but to no avail. After doing this for over 30 min and still not even close to filling the bottling bucket I finally resorted to what I thought was my last measure which was to start suction via my mouth. That worked for a very little while, however I had to do that about 20 times. Which of course I was dreading due to possibly contaminating my beer. Only consolation is that this was a Tripel with around 10% ABV so at least that would help kill the bacteria from my mouth. Then again I gave up and finally just picked up the carboy and slowly dumped it into the bottling bucket without getting to much of the sediment. (this was a secondary and there was a very small amount of yeast and trub on the bottom) Of course I tried to minimize the splash but had issues with that as well so I'm sure this batch will be oxydized and taste like cardboard when it's done. Ok getting back ot hell day.....I then proceed to fill the bottles and that went well until I knocked the table and made all the bottles topple over and then broke one of my prized 22 oz swing tops on the floor when it fell sending glass pretty much everywhere. Besides beer dripping from the ceiling and all over the walls and floor from my earlier trials with the racking cane, now the glass everywhere really sent the SWMBO over the edge and was going ape s*** and telling me that I will never brew in this house again. To which I probably didn't reply as nicely as I should have. So by the end I ended up with 17- 22 oz bottles and 17- 12 oz bottles. To make things even more entertaining I also cut both of my thumbs when I was cleaning up the glass which I didn't realize until I felt my hands get sticky and saw that now both my hands and the floor were covered in blood.

Lessons learned:

-Be nice to the SWMBO, it's not her fault things went bad.
-Don't place bottles upright on table without having them in a container of some sort.
-Use an autosiphon! I would have paid a $100 for one at that time.
-Don't shake the racking cane everytime you take it out of the carboy so that you don't get beer on the ceiling and the walls.
-Preferrably bottle when the LHBS is open so that you can go down and get last minute supplies if you need them.
-Have a backup plan in case of s*** hitting the fan.
-Don't cut your fingers on glass and use a dustpan even for the bigger pieces.

rant off.....

beerloaf.

That's what we call a character-building learning experience. The beer will be all that much better for it.

One thing I'd add to your list of lessons learned would be to invest in a small bottle tree. Those are very convenient for storing and drying bottles, and keeping them within safe yet easy reach during the bottling process.

Hope the beer turns out okay after all that! Cheers!!!

Oh, BTW. If it were me I'd pro'lly take the SWMBO to dinner or pick up some flowers after work or something like that.

This is exactly why I moved my brewing operation into the garage. No matter how wrong things go, or how much of a mess I make, swmbo never has to deal with it, which makes everything go so much smoother.

Hope everything turns out well

I guess I'll find out about the beer in a few months, when it's done carbing up. SWMBO is doing better and is a lot more understanding and patient than I ever could be. She was just simply responding to my anger and pissy attitude at the time. So it's all good on that end. I still have to finish cleaning up the dining room where all this took place. I did move out my brewing into the garage a few brews ago and that seemed to help keep things a lot cleaner in the house. I suppose I will have to move the bottling out there as well. I will also look for a deal on the bottle tree. Those might be worth their weight in gold as well considering what happened. I think I will also look for a cornie keg as well.

beerloaf

Sounds like you just got permissions to build a brewhouse!

Sorry to here about all that. Yikes. Ohh, how I wish I had a garage. My swmbo helped out a lot on bottling day. (only time for me so far). I think it helped that I brewed her favorite style. I did a bunch of research before going through with bottling, though. I don't have a bottling tree, but I sanitize in the dishwasher and fill from there, so no dry time needed for my process. My kit came with an autosiphon and I attached the filling wand to the spigot on the bottling bucket. Every bottle gets put in a box when full. Then, after the last bottle is filled, I start capping. This allows CO2 to fill the head space of the bottle. I forgot to allow for this on the first 3 bottles, but I couldn't tell a difference in taste when conditioning was complete. SWMBO actually preferred the immediately capped beer when I had her do a blind taste test. My palate is not as sensitive, so I didn't notice.

Tough day.

I figured out that if you are using an auto siphon that sometimes the gasket at the end of the cane leaks slightly so it lets air in and loses pressure. I usually put a slight amount of beer above the gasket to help make the seal better and if it does leak, then it is just putting the beer back in.

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

Thanks for the info on the autosiphon. I'm going to run down to the store to get one today since I have another batch ready to bottle later this week... I will bottle that one in the garage.

beerloaf

Pilgarlic said:

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

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I offered to clean up the kitchen as well when I started however when I moved into the dining room and made a huge mess it all went out the window. I was also supposed to be done in about an hour and instead went around 3+ hours.

beerloaf

My wife actually helped me bottle in the kitchen last night. She rinsed and capped while I filled. She actually enjoyed the process which took her mind off the mess. . And I used an auto siphon which is the way to go for sure!

SWMBO LOVES when I brew in the kitchen.... Although she doesn't know I do it.. she just thinks I mop the floor from time to time for no reason.

For what it is worth, i just bottled my first batch of all grain this weekend and I used all the hints given by Revvy and others, one of the best of which is to simply use a short piece of tubing between the bottling spigot and the bottling wand and then simply pushing the bottle up into the wand rather than sitting on the floor with a long tube, pushing the wand into the bottle. I used a zip tie to hold the tube in place on the wand (it was tight on the spigot) and worked like a charm. I put the bottling bucket on top of an upside down milk crate on the kitchen counter so everything was at a comfortable height when lifiting the bottles into the wand. I used a bench capper ($9 craigslist) and things went pretty well...EXCEPT every so once in a while, i daydreamed and over filled the bottles, and on to the floor it went and twice the doo hickey on the bottom of the wand kept open even after dropping the bottle down, and onto the floor it went, until i tapped the wand lightly and fixed the problem..Next time i will bottle over the open dishwasher door as also suggested on this sight because i am now a believer.

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

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Mine too. I leave it very clean and I have convinced her that I mist everything with starsan to sanitize the kitchen.

they have auto siphens and bottle trees at Mr Steve's on Centerville Rd and also on Whiteford Rd in York.

I went to Mr Steves and picked one up. I have a stout that will need to be bottled later this week. I will do my best to prevent what happened last weekend. I also got some more ingredients for the next brew....so on it goes.

beerloaf

when ever I go into Mr Steve's for somethin small, I feel like I need to buy something else. The other day I went in there and just bought some yeast and felt like, I need to spend lots of money.. but I have two more kits in waiting at home. I don't need anything else... but I must, because I am at Mr. Steve's and I just can't buy yeast, I have to buy more. I used to be into hiking and backpacking and had a similar issue when I went into gear stores. Is there counseling for this?

ENS said:

when ever I go into Mr Steve's for somethin small, I feel like I need to buy something else. The other day I went in there and just bought some yeast and felt like, I need to spend lots of money.. but I have two more kits in waiting at home. I don't need anything else... but I must, because I am at Mr. Steve's and I just can't buy yeast, I have to buy more. I used to be into hiking and backpacking and had a similar issue when I went into gear stores. Is there counseling for this?

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Same here. Unfortunately for my wallet, I work within walking distance of their Lancaster location.

Was a bit turned off during my last visit though, asked what srm their pale malt was, as I'm trying to make a lighter beer, and the salesman there did not know.

Pilgarlic said:

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

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+100

To the OP, what a nightmare! As a new brewer, things like this scare me. On my first bottling day, I couldn't get the autosyphon attached to the bottler to have a good seal. I discovered that I was using too thick of a hose, and swapped it out for a smaller diameter hose. The only way I could get the hose to fit on the autosyphon and the bottler was to heat both ends in boiling water and really focus on wedging that little sucker on. When it cooled, I finally had a good seal. Its these little things that make me feel like I am gaining something!

Was it a brewer's best or true brew kit or an actual Mr Steve's recipe? I know they started boxing Steve's recipes. I go to the York store, haven't been to the Lancaster store. I know some of the staffmembers know more than others. When Steve is in there, I usually try and talk to him and get some good info and he likes to talk. haha

I haven't tried any of his kits yet. I am pretty much done with BB and not interested in True Brew. I like northern brewer and AHS and asked him if he could get kits from them, but said they won't sell to him, he has tried. I don't think he is happy with brewers best, so switched to true brew. I think his main goal is to offer only his own kits.

I am starting to think about trying to move towards my own recipe building though. I have a 3 year old, so I don't know if I will be able to do that. My most recent beer I brewed was a vienna lager, which I broke down and got a brewer's best kit from Mr Steve's, but the recipe seemed really weak once I got the kit home and opened it up. So I did some research and figured out what ingredients to get to make it close to right. I called Mr. Steve up and as always, he was happy to talk and said I had the right idea. I can't lager, so I needed to buy an ale yeast that has lager characteristics. I went in there Friday and a guy was working who I have tasted his beers before and they were amongst the best I have ever had (he brews all grain and did a tasting at Shankesmere on the River down below Wrightsville). He suggested I get European Ale yeast. The next day I came back in and let a less experienced (but still knowledgable and one I respect) sales member talk me into San Francisco lager yeast and which I ultimately pitched. I wish, however, that I went with the euro ale yeast, I think that would have been closer to the taste of a vienna. Still, I think the beer will turn out awesome and I am looking forward to paring it with some mexican food this summer! But the main point, I know what you mean about the sales members, and I guess it is like that at any store, but not everyone is an expert, some are more experienced than others. Still, I think the store as a whole is a good store and I am glad it is there.

Tip on Siphoning: raise the source vessel up higher if your having issues this easy solution has always worked for us. When the distance is too short then yes the siphon can slow, stop, or be very difficult to start. Practice with the different height distances using water first and this also helps the great autosiphon.

The bottle bucket spigot idea with a bottle filler is the best bottling idea.

So you have trippel with spit, blood, and glass in it?

BEST BEER EVER!!!

ArcaneXor said:

That's what we call a character-building learning experience.

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Did you watch The Masters?

shorty said:

For what it is worth, i just bottled my first batch of all grain this weekend and I used all the hints given by Revvy and others, one of the best of which is to simply use a short piece of tubing between the bottling spigot and the bottling wand and then simply pushing the bottle up into the wand rather than sitting on the floor with a long tube, pushing the wand into the bottle. I used a zip tie to hold the tube in place on the wand (it was tight on the spigot) and worked like a charm. I put the bottling bucket on top of an upside down milk crate on the kitchen counter so everything was at a comfortable height when lifiting the bottles into the wand. I used a bench capper ($9 craigslist) and things went pretty well...EXCEPT every so once in a while, i daydreamed and over filled the bottles, and on to the floor it went and twice the doo hickey on the bottom of the wand kept open even after dropping the bottle down, and onto the floor it went, until i tapped the wand lightly and fixed the problem..Next time i will bottle over the open dishwasher door as also suggested on this sight because i am now a believer.

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My setup is very similar to this except that I put my fermenting bucket on the kitchen counter and then place my bottling bucket on top of it. This gives me plently of height so that I can stand while bottling. I also slide the buckets right up to the edge of the sink and align the spigot over the sink, thus allowing me to fill bottles over the sink. It is a lot more comfortable than filling bottles on the floor and it makes for very easy clean-up.

I also use that Vinator that Revvy suggests on his bottling post. Between that, the bottling tree, and the bottling want attached to the spigot, bottling day has become much more convenient. I'll also put my bottling bucket on top of another bucket or something, to raise it to a comfortable position while bottling(the bottling wand just hangs from the spigot)

I love my auto-siphon, and can't imagine never having it(I got it initially with my kit-never realized how valuable it was until hearing posts like this). The main trouble I have is losing a siphon due to trub. I always use a filter bag over the siphon, which is great, but it can restrict the flow quite a bit when it sucks to the bag around the inlet of the siphon. I've seen some posts where people put a sink drain on the bottom of the inlet, then wrap the filter bag around it, with a rubber band at the bottom. This opens up the bag at the bottom, to where the trub doesn't suck to bag by the inlet and stop the siphon. This method wouldn't necessarily work when using glass carboys, but I'm sure there are alternatives that would work with a carboy as well.

beerkrump said:

So you have trippel with spit, blood, and glass in it?

BEST BEER EVER!!!

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That made me laugh! Thanks! No it's only spit, I broke the bottle later on and cut my thumbs as I was cleaning up the mess.

I agree about Mr Steves, I was in there today to pickup an autosiphon and ended up walking out with another fermenting bucket, and more ingredients for my next brew. Oh yeah, when I got back home I got online and ordered a cornie keg. This hobby is worse than crack. I think crack might be cheaper.....

beerloaf

Perhaps I'm the only person on here who actually finds it easier and more comfortable to bottle sitting on the floor. I'm also notoriously bad about cleaning up afterwards.

My first batch I tried using the sanitizer in the hose to siphon and had the exact same problem. Only did that once. Bought an auto-siphon immediately.

beerloaf said:

Well, where to begin....I do not consider myself an expert or even close to one for that matter, however I've done a few batches so far and all have gone well...until now!..............

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Been there, done that! Thanks for sharing your bottle day. I have had many a BREW day go that way.

beerloaf said:

That made me laugh! Thanks! No it's only spit, I broke the bottle later on and cut my thumbs as I was cleaning up the mess.

I agree about Mr Steves, I was in there today to pickup an autosiphon and ended up walking out with another fermenting bucket, and more ingredients for my next brew. Oh yeah, when I got back home I got online and ordered a cornie keg. This hobby is worse than crack. I think crack might be cheaper.....

beerloaf

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I gotta get in there myself for ingredients.

I've budgeted myself to $40 a month for hobby (brewing) money. Since swmbo only works one sat this month, I only have one brew day. Between the sight glass kit from brewhardware.com and ingredients, I've spent my limit.

On the plus side, the only thing I need yet is a fermentation chamber so I can lager, which I'll build this summer using leftover materials from home renovations I am doing, so that budget is more than adequate for 2 3g batches a month. Its easy to spend a lot of money in this hobby, but I think I'm finally at a point where I will only be buying ingredients and bottlecaps. Finally.

o4_srt said:

Its easy to spend a lot of money in this hobby, but I think I'm finally at a point where I will only be buying ingredients and bottlecaps. Finally.

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That's what you think... LMAO!!! Next thing you know, your buying a kegerator if you don't have one, or you will be replacing it if you do cause it broke. But here's to wishful thinking!

Cheers!

beerloaf said:

-Use an autosiphon! I would have paid a $100 for one at that time.

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This gives me a brilliant idea. Late night emergency LHBS service. Autosiphon? $100. Packet of yeast? $50. I'll even deliver, in town.

Pilgarlic said:

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

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Same here; works wonders. We have two young boys and generally have a lot going on, so the kitchen tends to accumulate...character. I clean from top to bottom on brew day and again on bottling day -- she loves the new hobby.

Great story I'm cracking up right now on the toilet (Droid)

At least you managed to get your full yield.

I was able to get a fair amount of beer out of it so that wasn't a total loss. However what it will taste like will be interesting to see. I won't even consider trying one of these for at least 2 months due to the larger bottles and high OG. I also forgot to add in the initial post that I broke the airlock and spilled the contents in when I tried to get it out of the rubber bung off the carboy. Fortunately I had vodka in it so wasn't too worried about that but did have to go get another airlock as well. It was definitely an interesting learning lesson. I tend to learn most of my lessons the hard way.

beerloaf

Pilgarlic said:

My wife thaniks me for bottling in the kitchen because 1) I clean it to prepare to bottle and 2) I reclean it when I finish.

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Same here, I bottled my IPA last night. When I got home from work I had forgotten we had company over the night before, so the kitchen was a mess. I already had my bottles cleaning in the dishwasher, so I had to taken them all out, fill the dishwasher back up. Hand wash everything else, clean off the counters....THEN prep all my bottling stuff. Then when I was finally done bottling by myself (thank the Lord I had Pandora playing in the background) I cleaned up all my stuff again and cleared it all back into my man cave closet.

the last time I bottled, I had a couple of pre-bottling beers in me and well, I was pretty relaxed on the homebrew. I bottle in the basement. Our basement is pretty close to a dungeon, so there is no harm down there. I use the drier, it is perfect height and kneel on the floor. Well, I usually only bottle 6 at a time, cap and then put away and then repeat. This time, I set out 50 bottles and got down to the bottom of the bottling bucket and the last few bottles. I was tipping the bucket to get out the last few drops of beer, the hose came off the spicket, the bucket came crashing down onto the bottles and knocked half of them over. There was a beer swamp. I ended up pouring from one bottle to another. I lost about 16 bottles of beer. It was very sad, but not as sad as a prior beer bottling catastrophe I had with my northern brewer inn keeper, which is one of my favorite beers I have made so far... that is another story. I need to limit the amount of relaxing on homebrew while engaged in homebrewing processes.

With some quick thinking, you could have used the tubing as a straw and drank as much of the liquid gold off of the floor as you could.

My passion for beer knows no bounds..,, except the floor of army barracks. While others have salvaged spilled beer off of them, that's one place I wouldn't.

I don't know about my basement floor, it might be worse than an army barracks floor.