Am I the only guy that actually enjoys bottling ?

[jfr1111]

I bottled my seond batch today. It took all of an hour and a half, from brewing my morning coffee to actually rinsing the carboys outside. It wasn't a ten gallon batch, but I did fill around 30 bombers.

Maybe that's the secret: bombers that have been baked in the oven the night before. I just had to rip the foil off, fill, place a cap and seal with the bench capper. The actual bottling phase took all of 30 minutes...

Now, cleaning bottles and getting the labels off. I still have three cases of bombers to do plus another of 12 ouncers to have enough bottles for my next batches and I can tell it is going to suck immensely.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Yes. Yes you are.

 

[Revvy]

Yes you are.

I hate bottling, but since I can't keg due to space limitations, and the fact that I like bottles, rather than be a whiney ****** about it (like most keggers are ) I decided to be a man about it and conquer the bastard and come up with a system that was less onerous, and that I could get done in less than an hour.

Most keggers run screaming from it like the gurly gurls they are, then they complain about it and come onto bottling threads acting like the poster is too dumb to not have ever heard about kegs...but they're the dumb ones, they were DEFEATED BY BOTTLES...that's the same as being beaten by a gurl. If you look in the dictionary under WUSSIE you see the words KEGGER the thirs entry down.

That's why I created this thread...Not because I particularly loved it, but I wans't going to let it get to me. I was gonna beat the process senseless. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

Besides, the ladies dig guys who bottle and don't whine about it. That's why you don't see hot chicks doing this with a keg.

 

[sagnew440]

bottlings okay unless you have about 20 gal that need to be bottled within a week, and you have to do it with a 10 month old and 3.5 year old. Could be worse I guess

 

[Hannable1975]

Bottling is a family activity at my place - we always have fun being silly. I enjoy the time with the kids.

 

[passedpawn]

Yes you are.

I hate bottling, but since I can't keg due to space limitations, and the fact that I like bottles, rather than be a whiney ****** about it (like most keggers are ) I decided to be a man about it and conquer the bastard and come up with a system that was less onerous, and that I could get done in less than an hour.

Most keggers run screaming from it like the gurly gurls they are, then they complain about it and come onto bottling threads acting like the poster is too dumb to not have ever heard about kegs...but they're the dumb ones, they were DEFEATED BY BOTTLES...that's the same as being beaten by a gurl. If you look in the dictionary under WUSSIE you see the words KEGGER the thirs entry down.

That's why I created this thread...Not because I particularly loved it, but I wans't going to let it get to me. I was gonna beat the process senseless. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

Besides, the ladies dig guys who bottle and don't whine about it. That's why you don't see hot chicks doing this with a keg.

Revvy you have me smiling here.

<-- bottled 20 gallons this weekend and hating it. [But where to put a keezer?]

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

That's why you don't see hot chicks doing this with a keg.

No. It's cause chicks who can do THAT to a keg are scary.

 

[Homercidal]

I don't mind bottling. Although when I actually sit down and think about it more, kegging always seems much easier...

If you are prepared and have a good system, bottling is not that hard nor time consuming. Cleaning bottles is the worst part and that really isn't, (or shouldn't be) part of bottling day.

 

[Special Hops]

I bottled my seond batch today. It took all of an hour and a half, from brewing my morning coffee to actually rinsing the carboys outside. It wasn't a ten gallon batch, but I did fill around 30 bombers.

Maybe that's the secret: bombers that have been baked in the oven the night before. I just had to rip the foil off, fill, place a cap and seal with the bench capper. The actual bottling phase took all of 30 minutes...

Now, cleaning bottles and getting the labels off. I still have three cases of bombers to do plus another of 12 ouncers to have enough bottles for my next batches and I can tell it is going to suck immensely.

Come back after your 20 the batch or so and let us know if you still love it.

It's not that I really hate it. But it was the least favorite part of my brew process. So I switched to kegging. I would rather be doing something else with my time.

 

[JetSmooth]

The secret to bottling is getting into your rythym and not being distracted.

I bottled eight gallons of Belgian golden strong ale this weekend using the traditional bottles, corks, and cages and it was a very pleasant time.

Sure, I would love to keg. I will when I restore this old fridge in the basement. But I suspect I will always bottle some. Heck, I plan on doing eight gallon batches., so I could always keg five and bottle three for "archival purposes"

 

[robertvrabel]

I don't mind actually bottling the beer. Its cleaning all the bottles later is what is a pain. I have a box I use down in the basement that I toss all my bottles into (I ofcourse rise them well and dry them before putting em in there). But its such a hassle to clean a case or two with a brush. That is what I dislike most.

So now I just bottle stuff that is high in alcohol that I don't drink everyday. All my kegged stuff is more "easy drinking" stuff. Saves me from having to clean a lot of bottles

 

[IrregularPulse]

Now, cleaning bottles and getting the labels off. I still have three cases of bombers to do plus another of 12 ouncers to have enough bottles for my next batches and I can tell it is going to suck immensely.

This is part of bottling so no, not even you like bottling. It's like saying, Am I the only one who enjoys having sex with with incredibly ugly women? Now if only they weren't so ugly, that part sucks.
I don't mind bottling, I just prefer to have a single dirty glass at the end of the night instead of a pile of bottles to worry about rinsing out

Yes you are.

Most keggers run screaming from it like the gurly gurls they are, then they complain about it and come onto bottling threads acting like the poster is too dumb to not have ever heard about kegs...but they're the dumb ones, they were DEFEATED BY BOTTLES...

That's like saying the I was defeated by the handsaw when bought the DeWalt

 

[smokjunkee]

Being a chef by trade you would think that I love the brewing process,
not so much(recipe formulation maybe). but, other than cleaning & delabeling,
I accually enjoy the bottleing & capping off of my hand-crafted brew. Then the hard part...
the wait for bubbles!
MB

 

[kuelhof]

On my first batch, I had SWMBO helping me and the process went smoothly...My second batch I just bottled last week by myself, but I have added a bottling tree and vinator to my arsenal of ever growing brewing equipment and the process went super smooth (minus my forgetting to crimp a bomber that I had filled)! I really don't mind bottling, and it makes it easier for me to travel with a 12pk of my homebrew back to Missouri so the family can try it out! No kegs in the trunk for an 18 hr drive!

 

[Zamial]

I really never minded bottling full batches. It was always kind of a zen experience and I got help from SWMBO.

My last batch I used my new kegging stuff and TAD stuff (well it was new to me). It worked out good but I do not think it that much different than bottling. Instead of doing 12oz at a crack you wait and wait and wait for the keg to fill. It is darn near the same amount of work IMO! at least with bottles you DID something vs. sit and watch...it takes the same amount of time to move the same volume of beer from fermentor to the vessel.

IMO the ONLY advantage to kegging is the ability to force carb.

I and especially SWMBO will not miss the old oxyclean free filled tub of bottles soaking outside, besides winter is a coming (not trying to point this out, it is a fact of life up here...) I will also get to be much more discriminating with the bottles I keep.

I will never give up on doing up some bottles anyways so it is MORE work because I need to drag EVERYTHING out instead of just the bottling stuff.

 

[jfr1111]

Come back after your 20 the batch or so and let us know if you still love it.

It's not that I really hate it. But it was the least favorite part of my brew process. So I switched to kegging. I would rather be doing something else with my time.

If I count all the batches I helped bottle on a crappy wing capper in a single bedroom appartment, I'm not too far off the number.

 

[tunoffun]

It's like saying, Am I the only one who enjoys having sex with with incredibly ugly women? Now if only they weren't so ugly, that part sucks.

What an incredibly fitting analogy!!!!

Because while you may be having sex w/ an ugly woman... you're still having sex. So for all the pain, there is still some joy in it. Moreso when you add beer (goggles) into the equation

 

[phatuna]

Bottling is a lot like mowing the lawn. Some people find it to be a chore while others find it an opportunity to zen out.

 

[jfr1111]

With ugly women, you can just close the lights and think of Jessica Alba. I tried closing the lights and the labels don't come off.

 

[Special Hops]

It is darn near the same amount of work IMO! at least with bottles you DID something vs. sit and watch...it takes the same amount of time to move the same volume of beer from fermentor to the vessel.

IMO the ONLY advantage to kegging is the ability to force carb.

That and you only clean one big bottle (keg) vs 50 or so 12 oz

 

[northernlad]

There is a difference between bottling and bottle maintenance.
I set up my brews to coincide with bottling time so I bottle a batch during the mash and bottle a batch during the boil. That gets me 10 gallons bottled and brewed in about 5 hours. The gear is out anyway and it makes better use of time than sitting around waiting. Plus, I can put on the headphones and tune everyone else out.

Bottle maintenance sucks.

 

[Teaman]

Once the bottle invasion starts they take over your house.
Find the happy spot.
Bottle AND keg.
That way you only need 200-300 bottles and 4-5 kegs.

 

[passedpawn]

Once the bottle invasion starts they take over your house.
Find the happy spot.
Bottle AND keg.
That way you only need 200-300 bottles and 4-5 kegs.

zactly my plan. soon I hope. SWMBO is usually in a good mood around the holidays, so that is when I introduce additional things around the house. Keezer build is gonna raise an eyebrow.

 

[l1ranger]

to me, bottling is part of the process, and as such I love it.

it takes me about an hour from start to finish to do 5 gallons in a mix of 12s and bombers.

if i had the room and money, I'd keg also. looking for a new house now, so hopefully its not too far in the future.

 

[IrregularPulse]

I too don't mind filling bottles. I just hate cleaning all the bottles. That's part of bottling, therefore I hate bottling.

 

[BendBrewer]

I kegged 10 gallons this weekend in about 25 minutes.

Storing bottles sucks. Cleaning bottles sucks. Filling bottles isn't so bad. Emptying bottles is fun. Dealing with empty bottles sucks.

 

[JetSmooth]

Yeah. It's the storage that I need to nail down. I really need to build a bunch of wooden crates that stack neatly and compactly to store bottles in. And ones to store my Belgians on their sides.if I could stack them in the corner of the closet instead of ain a bunch of different boxes, I'm sur emy wife wouldn't mind so much.

 

[Revvy]

Yeah. It's the storage that I need to nail down. I really need to build a bunch of wooden crates that stack neatly and compactly to store bottles in. And ones to store my Belgians on their sides.if I could stack them in the corner of the closet instead of ain a bunch of different boxes, I'm sur emy wife wouldn't mind so much.

1 milk crate = 1 case of 12 ounce bottles. And you can stack them to the ceiling.

 

[JetSmooth]

1 milk crate = 1 case of 12 ounce bottles. And you can stack them to the ceiling.

Sure. But it lacks that certain aesthetic quality.

 

[chapa]

I started out kegging, just because I was dreading the bottling process, and while it is a pain, I have been recently brewing 10g batches and splitting it between 2 carboys, one gets kegged, the other gets bottled. Sometimes my kegs get tapped within the first few weeks, and then I feel like I never really got to enjoy it at its full potential. When you do both, you KNOW you'll have some bottles that have had plenty of time to fully condition. Plus its nice to set the bottles to the side for enjoyment even later down the road. I'm also considering on the 5g batches that I do, just bottling a handful and using the priming sugar tabs for the individual bottles, and kegging the rest. I know one thing....the bigger the bottles, the easier it is!!