Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

just starsan.. should we oxyclean as well?

 

Yes. Starsan will only clean the surface, if there's a film of bacteria (or whatever) inside the bottle, the outside of that will get nice and sanitized. The underside of it, however, will continue to be viable and when it finally dissolves in the beer, you can get an infection. PBW, oxyclean, or a true cleaner will more rapidly dissolve this during washing.

There are films that can survive even fairly harsh non-mechanical cleaning, so to be absolutely sure, you would need to thoroughly brush the bottles. That's probably not very common in ordinary circumstances.

For priming solution, I think it's better to boil the sugar/water solution for a while after mixing. I usually mix the sugar into the cold water as it's heating, then put a lid on it and let it boil gently for 5-10 minutes. Then I take it off the heat and let it cool (with the lid on) until I'm ready to gently pour it into the bottling bucket.

 

I bottle almost all of my fermented beverage in 9" longnecks. I am starting my 6th year of brewing, and all I can tell you is that IN MY OWN EXPERIENCE (and, as we must always qualify it on the Internet, YMMV) the following things work:

1. Bottles must be rinsed IMMEDIATELY after pouring the beer. If this isn't done, then you're into a PBW or whatever cleaning regime. Newly acquired bottles, from whatever source, should be soaked in PBW mixed with hot water according to package directions, then rinsed thoroughly and sanitized. Most people would do this to delabel them anyway, at least if they're like me and use recycled commercial pry-off bottles.

2. When I'm ready to bottle, the evening before I spritz Star San up into each bottle using a vinator (great invention!), placing them upside-down in the dishwasher.

3. On the morning of bottling day, I run the dishwasher. By the time I've run my errands the bottles are done, and the hot rinse temperatures of the dishwasher provide (possibly too much) extra insurance of sanitizing.

4. I then bottle. This technique has been used for over four years, for dozens of batches of all kinds of beer, and, at the risk of appearing immodest, my beer is quite good and uniform from bottle to bottle. I have NEVER had an individual bad or off-tasting bottle of beer using this method. I believe that the secret to avoiding the time-consuming step of soaking / brushing in a cleaning solution each time is to ensure that step #1 -rinse bottle immediately after pouring beer- is followed religiously.

 

When I empty a bottle I immediately rinse it before its put away. Bottles that have been given to me get a solid 1 hour soak in cleaner (I use one step) to clean and get the labels off. Since I'm removing labels anyways I get a good visual inspection of the bottles and use a bottle brush if necessary.
Then on bottling day I will give ALL my bottles another quick rinse in the cleaner before sanitizing. May seem like overkill but it works for me.
As for the priming sugar, I mix it into the beer first before I start cleaning and sanitizing me bottles. That usually gives it at least an hour to incorporate and let any trub settle back down.
Little things can make a difference.

 

I generally oxyclean-soak all my bottles for 15-20 minutes, whether I think they were washed or not. I start with 3-4 gallons of hot solution in a bucket, soak a dozen bottles at a time (ensuring that they are completely filled and submerged), then immediately drain and rinse them well inside and out. A bottle washer and a sink sprayer work well for this. When the bucket is empty, I add the next dozen, etc. (If the bottles are not completely filled or immediately rinsed, you can end up with a whitish crust that can be difficult to remove. I'm not sure if it's a problem or not, but I prefer not to have it.)

At bottling time, I put about a gallon of sanitizer in a bucket and fill each bottle with sanitizer, dump it out, and let it sit until I have half a dozen ready. I then sanitize six caps, fill the bottles, and cap them. Then I sanitize the next half dozen bottles, etc.

I used to use a spray bottle to sanitize the insides of the bottles, but I had a couple batches where some bottles have harsh or clovey flavors that I suspect may be bottle-level infections. I don't yet have much data on whether the new method works better, but I'm more confident it is thoroughly coating the entirety of the bottle.

 

thanks a lot fopr the help.. i'm guessing this is theissue for sure!

 

is oxyclean free good to use or do people recommend pbw?

 

Lots of people on here use oxiclean. Lots. Make sure it's the kind without fragrance.


http://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=393276&referrerid=116293

 

I love Oxyclean as long as I remember to take the bottles out. It takes close to a week for that white stuff to start sticking to the bottles. If you do leave 'em in Oxy too long a StarSan soak will clean 'em right up.

 

I've found that I get the white residue much faster than that. At least as fast as overnight if part of the bottle is not submerged---I get a white line at the surface level.

 

My method...and I can not remember ever having a bad-tasting bottle...1 or 2 have been flat...probably a bad cap seal.

This assumes you start from clean/rinsed bottles that you already "trust".

1) Always rinse ASAP and drain...never put a dirty or moist bottle away

2) Run through the sanitize cycle of my kitchen dishwasher but with no detergent. I always open and add 1/2 cup white vinegar as soon as I hear the first "washing" cycle start. This will get rid of any white haze on the glass, even inside (although I am not convinced that much water gets inside the bottle in the washer...it's mostly a heat sanitize thing).

3) Vinator...vinator...vinator...+1 for "the greatest invention" comment...pull from washer, vinator 3 squirts, back to washer to drain.

Bottling bucket sits on the counter and hangs over the open dishwasher door. Pull a bottle, fill it, place sanitized cap on, repeat. All capping is done after all bottles are filled.

I cannot imagine trusting a "used" bottle that I didn't drink the original beer from without hot oxi soak AND brushing plus close visual inspection...and if in doubt, days of soaking (after cleaning) in a pretty strong bleach bath.

Funny thing, I've gotten a lot less anal about label removal...it's a little fun to have random labels on the bottles. They come off over time (most do anyhow). I use Avery dots on the caps to record what's in there and date bottled.

Oh, and ALWAYS drink your FG sample (at least) while bottling!!! You will be amazed at how, over time, you learn to get a feel for how the beer will taste after carbing up and conditioning.

My favorite tip...and it's a repeat but I really love it...fill one cleaned soda bottle per batch, squeeze all the air out and screw the used cap on tight. When that bottle is almost as hard as it was with soda inside...drink it. This takes a lot of the guesswork out of "when can I try a bottle"...plus you can see the beer as it conditions if you use clear. Sometimes I'm almost tempted to change over to all plastic...but no.

 

@Trainwreck;
PBW is great if you need it to be there for a while or if you need to keep the foaming as low as possible. Otherwise use Oxyclean. It's essentially the same stuff but IIRC the PBW has some stabilizing additives to keep it from causing some of the issues you can get with Oxy. I keep both but as PBW is more than double the price I lean towards Oxy first.

Also, I use a 1 part Borax for every 2 parts Oxyclean in hot water for bottles that got neglected, have nightmarish labels, and/or are growing mold or other nastiness due to neglect. It does a really good job at speeding up the process (which to be fair Oxyclean will do if you give it time). The only catch is it requires the water to be hot. Cold water doesn't really work very well comparatively. I still use the same size dose of Oxyclean for all situations though.

 

Tip: Don't bottle two batches after work. You may get distracted by hungry kids, normal family life, etc... and forget something important.

As I was cleaning up from bottling two batches last night I noticed there was a cold pot of boiled sugar water on the stove. oops! Looks like my Cream Stout may be served "still."

This may be the last time I bottle two batches after work. ;p

On the positive side, I guess I don't need to wait 'til they carb to enjoy them!

 

I have three carboys that need to be bottled. Just can't motivate to do it.

 

Exactly the setup that I assembled today. Nope, the elbow *is* the nut. I've tested it with a full 5 gallon bucket and it works like a champ. No leaks at all.

I screwed up initially by drilling a 1-1/8" hole, which was too big and caused the gaskets to crimp. I got a new 1" hole saw today and a new bucket - perfect.

FYI - if you are using the Lowe's food grade buckets for this and the 3/4" elbows, drill your 1" hole 1-7/8" from the bottom of the bucket (i.e. hook your tape measure on the bottom edge of the bucket). This puts the suction side of the elbow just shy of the bottom of the bucket when dry, but when you put beer inside the bottom pushes down about a 1/4". I tested today and was able to drain all but 2 oz. out of the bottling bucket *without tipping it*.

I cannot wait until next bottling day to test this rig.

 

In the "Patience" department, I packaged two cases of homebrew for long-term storage in my crawlspace under my house.

They have been in the bottle for 5 weeks, and temptation was gaining on me. I wrapped them up, taped them, and stuffed them in the crawlspace (PITA to get to and usually attended by big alarming spiders). I also put my bottled apfelwein down there. I'll look into it in the fall when the spiders die.

 

500 hundred years from now, some adventurous "archeologist" in a fedora is gonna be swingin' on bullwhips trying to loot that stash

 

the spigot on the bottling bucket -

is there any reason the level would stop at where the tap is, and not at the bottom of the spigot? And does it need some sort of pump/syphon to get it going?

I have a similar thing on my cooking pot and it stops where the tap stops, very annoying...

 

Here is why it empties all the way to the bottom of the elbow and you don't need to start a siphon. You start with the bottling bucket full or at least way above the spigot. There is a bottling tube attached to the spigot that goes way below the bottom of the elbow. The pressure of the full bucket forces the first bit of beer into the bottling tube and that starts the siphon and after the beer gets below the top of the elbow the siphon action takes over and empties the bucket.

 

ah that makes total sense, my tests were only done with a little bit of water. Just tried now will a good volume and it worked well, only leaving just over a pint behind!

 

Just took my new bottling bucket for a test drive with my cider. Got everything except 2 oz. (which I drank during cleanup!). Fabulous idea of using that elbow as a diptube. Bottling day rocks!

 

I have been trying to pick up an elbow but the place I usually shop only has 'em with labels stuck directly on with some awful horrible adhesive that doesn't come off. It leaves me with a choice to take a huge risk of infection, or poison myself with Goo-Gone residue....

Maybe it's time to try another hardware store.

 

This site was great help from the bottlin set up to making the dip tube ...Thanks to all who posted...

 

I would like to say I have been using thevbottling bucket from page one for 3 years and it is good to the last drop.

 

Revvy, I just bottled a batch using a system very similar to yours and am amazed at how much less of a headache it was. Thanks for making bottling less of a chore, dropping that bottling attachment right off the spigot was brilliant! I sanitize bottles in the dishwasher, and set up so I could grab clean bottles and fill them from the same chair...I probably got this batch in bottles in half the time of my normal batch. Thanks again, great post!

 

What an informative thread, I've spent a few hours reading it from the start

I stopped by Home Depot and bought the 3/4" pvc elbow that screws right onto my bucket nozzle, no modifications were required. I then put a small piece of tubing on the bottling wand and set the bucket on the counter, it worked out well.
Since I'm a few days away from doing any beer bottling my 10 year old son and I made a batch of root beer and bottled it up to test the system. Everything went well and I had maybe an ounce or two of root beer left in the pail once we were done. This was a really neat learning experience for him as well, learning about yeast, siphoning, etc. It was a science lesson that wasn't boring!
(Sorry for the dishes in the sink but since Mom wasn't home we didn't bother cleaning up before making our mess...lol)

I will put the bottling bucket up higher when I do my beer since I'm not as short and flexible as my son

 

I just bottled my first brew using this thread as guide. I wanted to thank you all for the knowledge.
I didn't end up getting a dip tube set up but I will definitely do it on the next batch.
I also was thinking about cutting the bottle wand down so won't have to raise the bucket up higher than the counter. Has anyone else done this before or have a reason why I shouldn't do it?

 

Just make sure you leave enough tube in case you want to fill bombers or wine bottles. May want to check before you cut, might not even be worth the little bit you cut off.
Other than that, I don't see any reason why not.

 

Would you mind sharing the part number? The elbow piece I got from Lowe's is too long and hits the bottom of the bucket.

Thanks!

 

I'll take a look when I get home. Not sure if the holes might be drilled at different heights depending on the brand of bucket as well. I'll try to measure that as well if I can.

Edit - Might try sanding the bottom of the fitting? I know that mine fit with just a tiny gap between the bottom of the bucket and the elbow. I think that tight fit helps siphon most of the liquid. I honestly thought it was too close at first but it works great.

 

Thanks! The elbow is so long that I can't even turn it past probably 60°. It's a Tru Brew 5 gal bottling bucket and the spigot hole center is (just guessing here) ~2" above the bottom.

 

Mine was slightly too long too, but I used a mini hacksaw to take off about 1/2" and now it fits perfectly.

 

Was thinking about that too. One thing that I do not like about my elbow piece is that it is still 3/4" ID at the bottom piece; does the ID have any impact on the siphoning effect?. That's another reason why I'd like to get something different.

 

Mine is a 3/4" to 3/4" elbow, no reduction in diameter. After bottling two 5 gal batches of beer and two 2-1/2 gallon batches of Root Beer I can tell you I leave a couple ounces max in the bottom of the bucket. As long as your working below the level of the bucket your going to have siphoning action. Once it gets real close to the bottom I do tilt the bucket slightly to keep the nozzle under as long as possible.

Honestly I would try the hacksaw/sanding method if you need to remove a little material. Just make sure to measure twice, cut once Try to keep it snug though, that way you get more product out of the bucket.

 

Thanks, I appreciate your feedback! Sounds like you know me - no matter how accurate (I think) I measure, I still make mistakes But I'm improving! Will try it this week.

 

Mine is 3/4" to 3/4" inch as well. One side's threaded, the other isn't, but it doesn't change diameter. Works like a charm.

I didn't even measure before cutting, but CooperBrew's advice is still probably worth heeding.

 

Revvy -

Your method rocks! I've used it on 3 out of my 4 batches I've bottled this far! So fast and amazing!

 

Tried to get some decent shots but it's hard to take a picture with a phone in a bucket..lol. This piece was from Home Depot, 3/4 elbow, threaded one side, not threaded other side, schedule 40. Not sure if the UPC code will help. It also has a part number molded on it that reads "D-2466".

Take your spigot off and take it to the store with you to test it.

Hope this helps.

Found a link from Home Dept's website -> http://www.homedepot.com/p/Mueller-...x-FIPT-Elbow-407-007HC/100122677#.UYl_1aLU-So

 

My elbow is just about flush with the bottom of the bucket. When the bucket is full it pushes the bottom out about a 1/4" inch and I get a good flow. There is less than an 1/8th inch gap between the opening of the elbow and the bottom of the bucket when dry. Get low!

 

Just bought the elbow; I'll try it tonight! Thanks again!