Automatic beer bottling system DIY

Hello to you eager Homebrewers,

After a couple years using my Automatic Boulanger Bottling System and never seen the concept around any forum, I’d like to share the idea with the community. So the concept of the ABBS is simple, it’s a system that allow to bottle conditioning big batch of beer in a fraction of the time. I do bottle 100 liter in about 4 hours but I’m a bit lazy. By the way ABBS can stand for Automatic beer bottling system as well .

So let’s get to the point, ABBS is a gravity feed multi bottle that automatic fill to the desire level your bottle. The key to the system is a float valve (I use the blichmann AutoSparge™ that I already own for my brew session), that level the uncarbonated beer in a second vessel before filling your bottle. I did forgot to say the most interesting part of this ABBS, the bottle stop filling when they are full so no more over filling and you can do other things while it fill, like sanitizing bottle or caping.


Here what you will need for this project but you probably own most of those equipment if you brew big batch:

-A bottling bucket (19$) get one as big as your fermentor
-A Stainless Steel Kettle Valve Kit with Barb (50$)
-A Oval Stainless Roaster (26$)
-A blichmann AutoSparge™ (70$)
-1 Female Stainless 1/2" NPT x 1/2" Barb (10$)
-2’ of tubing ½’’ (I use silicone high temp tubing that I already own) (3$)
-4 Spring Tip Bottle Filler (12$)
- 5’ of 3/8" ID Siphon Hose (7.5$)
- 4 1/2" Auto Siphon Clamp (16$)
- 1 2"x4" 8’ wood studs (5$)
-some tool and some time

First drill a 13/16 hole (ideally with a step drill bit or a knock out punch) on the side of the bottling vessel (oval stainless roaster) the center is at 4" from the bottom. This is the hole for the AutoSparge™. Then drill a 13/16 hole in the bottom of your bottling bucket if it’s not already done.

Then the lid need 4 oval shaped hole for the bottle filler. I did drill 2 hole distant of 1 inch and then cut the center piece with a jigsaw. On my setup the hole are 3 1/2" apart.

Then you need to build the frame for the bottling system. 2x4 stud with a couple screw will do the trick. Cut down 2 pieces of 25" for the bottom piece, 2 pieces of 15" for the roaster pot holder, 2 piece of 12 inch for the vertical part of the frame and screw that together as on the picture. The last piece, the clamp holder, is going to hold the siphon clamp and is a 1"x1" by 18" long and need a angle of around 25 degree on one side, so use a table saw at that angle. Pre drill then screw at 12" from the bottom as on the picture.

After that the siphon clamp need to be modified to fit on the clamp holder, just cut down the curved part of the clamp, drill one hole and chamfer it, then pre drill the clamp holder and screw it on the clamp holder as on the picture.

Last part is the modification of the four spring tip bottle filler, which need to be cut to 9". Clean and chamfer the cut end. Cut three - 15" 3/8" ID Siphon Hose and one - 26" 3/8" ID Siphon Hose and plug it in the spring tip bottle filler. The longer one is use to empty the bottling vessel at the end of the bottling session, so just lower the longer bottler filler to finish filling the not full bottle due to the lower level of beer in the bottling vessel.

Gear up with Teflon the Stainless Steel Kettle Valve Kit with Barb on the bottling bucket and the AutoSparge™ with the Female Stainless 1/2" NPT x 1/2" Barb on the bottling vessel. Put on the bottle filler on the clamp holder and then in the oval hole of the lid. Put some water on the bottling vessel and then start the siphon as on the picture. Then you need to adjust the AutoSparge™ for your water level to be just as high as the top of your bottle. Fill your bottling bucket with water plus all together and make a test. When you find the right level on the AutoSparge™ make a mark to easy adjustment next time.

Then empty everything, clean and sanitize. Transfer your beer and prime. Then enjoy the easiest bottling day ever.

Thanks for reading and let me know if there is some error or if you need help. And feel free to adjust and modify to your need and let us know your improvement.

Guillaume Boulanger

If your beer contain too much hop debris as it's sometime happen, you gonna have to filter that hop first (i use a bazooka screen in the bottling bucket) or sometime the bottle filler will clog up.

This looks interesting and a good write up. If I understand correctly you would need to use the same kind of bottles (or at least same height) because the auto sparge shuts of the beer from the fermenter at a level just below the rim of the neck, so gravity won't allow it to over fill?

Mike_kever_kombi said:

This looks interesting and a good write up. If I understand correctly you would need to use the same kind of bottles (or at least same height) because the auto sparge shuts of the beer from the fermenter at a level just below the rim of the neck, so gravity won't allow it to over fill?

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That's right! Fill only bottle with the same height at a time and change the autospage seting, rack height or shim the bottle for different height of bottle.
I use 9'' 500ml and 341 brown bottle.

The bottling vessel and the beer will end up at the same level by commucating with the bottle filler. It's explain by the concept of the Communicating vessels .
Here wikipedia description of the concept: communicating vessels is a name given to a set of containers containing a homogeneous fluid: when the liquid settles, it balances out to the same level in all of the containers regardless of the shape and volume of the containers. If additional liquid is added to one vessel, the liquid will again find a new equal level in all the connected vessels.

I like it, and it is scalable. I suggest submitting this to Austin for presentation on the front page. May need some clarification, to explain it to the masses, but the process is sound.

This is great! Very resourceful...





In unrelated news...

Jesus brews beer in Quebec!!!

Neat idea, but what keeps this from oxygenating the beer excessively?

Using the abbs sure add one transfert from the bottling bucket to the roaster pan but done properly doesnt had a lot more movement then a normal bottling bucket with a spigot, but it will increase o2 in the beer
If someone transfert all is beer from fermentor to bottling bucket, blanketing all the container, then this might introduce a significant o2 ppm to the beer.
I can get a oximeter form the lab and I'm planning on bottling in about a week, I will test the difference reading from before and after bottling and will see exactly the difference.

Here a video about the ABBS.

http://youtu.be/zpjC6VoOYWY

I like this idea also, but I'd like to avoid using a grant and an autosparge.
I'm thinking just having the line between the bottle filler and the vessel and just trying to keep the level. Maybe hook the vessel to a winch or a jack, so you just raise it a bit as the level drops.

ModestBrewhouse said:

Here a video about the ABBS.

http://youtu.be/zpjC6VoOYWY

Click to expand...

AWESOME. DIY of the month for sure!

for anyone not wanting to drop a ton of money on a blichman auto sparge, you can just get a regular float valve.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=23099&gclid=CNf7zZff_cICFceVfgodrREAcA

This look interesting as well
http://www.amazon.ca/Industries-109...x89605-20&ie=UTF8&refRID=0AP86JYRDHJ6X8G4JFN4

Done some bottling today,
And I got my oxymeter, truly I'm a bit disapointed with the result.

Here what I got:
Directly out of the keg (which I use as a bright tank for cold crashing) : 0.6ppm o2
In the bottling bucket after adding the hot water and sugar mix for priming: 0.8 ppm o2
At the end (bottle filler) : 1.7 ppm o2

So yes it does take some o2, I dont know the real effect on the oxidation of the beer and I will have another test in the final product when the beer will be ready (the yeast will certainly use some o2 while carbonating the beer)
Most of my uptake of o2 seem to come from the bulkhead valve of the bottling bucket from which I can see a lot of bubble in the silicone tubing. Gonna find a way to minimise that and run some other test when the next batch will be ready which gonna take at least a month since I'm cellaring the next high gravity beer that I'd just made.

Yep, there is still some work to do.

poptarts said:

for anyone not wanting to drop a ton of money on a blichman auto sparge, you can just get a regular float valve.
http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/item.aspx?sku=23099&gclid=CNf7zZff_cICFceVfgodrREAcA

Click to expand...

PVC is only rated for 140F.

Btaz said:

PVC is only rated for 140F.

Click to expand...

What temp do you normally bottle at? Agree though that it's not really the best option for an actual autosparge

mattd2 said:

What temp do you normally bottle at? Agree though that it's not really the best option for an actual autosparge

Click to expand...

Ha, you are correct. Certainly don't need the temp rating for bottling. I've been trying to find a cheap hot side auto sparge too lately and keep coming across these. If only there was a cpvc version.

You should check o2 from bottling single bottle direct from bottling bucket then compare to o2 from your method to see if end result is better or worse than the traditional method

hi ModestBrewhouse
first things first
this is brilliant idea and needs more attention
well done its great job

have you been able to reduce the o2 coming from the bulck head valve? or any o2 at all?
is 1.7 ppm o2 that bad that would ruin the beer?

This is inspired. Lovely simplicity and flexibility.

Gravedigger makes a good point. Have you compared o2 saturation from "normal" bottling practice? This would be the key figure to orientate the other readings you have.

I love the creativity of this method. A very easy and elegant way to control bottle fill level at the homebrew scale.