Am I the only one who enjoys bottling?

[GnenieGone]

All the complaints that I read about bottling...kept me from ever getting into it. But when I do have the occasion to share some of my beer, I inevitably ask if they have a growler I can fill because filling up a bottle from the kegerator is a complete PITA and it seemingly wastes a lot. Granted...I know I could probably buy some hardware to make it a little less so...but..nah. I don't fill up bottles often enough to warrant any additional spend on it.

So trade HB sometimes then also need to empty a keg to refill so this is a big plus. Worth every penny.

https://www.blichmannengineering.com/beergun.html

 

[dochawk]

or am I the only one?

Yes.

You pervert.

My abhorrence for bottling pushed me into kegging and so far have never looked back.

It was the trip to the ER that did it for me . . .

The rest of the club was trying to convince their wives they need to buy a begging system, and mine ordered me to buy one . . .

(and it cost a lot less than the ER trip!)

These days, my idea of "bottling" is putting a PET bottle to the tap before I go somewhere . . .

Or if it's for a couple of days away, add a bit of sugar and close the car once it foams up and starts oozing out . . .

(for that matter, my idea of *kegging* is to pull the blowoff from the gas line after two days, and blowout the first pint or so . . .)

I've heard a story (or two) of such a device (DYI home brew equipment to fill 12 bottles at the same time) but haven't found anything on the interwebs.

shooting from the hip, a 14" turntable/lazy Suzan, 13 bottle-size holes around the perimeter, and a hand crank with with a set of teeth on part to turn the turntable, and other teeth or electrical tabs to lower wand into it, insert gas, insert beer, lift up.

For bonus points, the subsequent position can be a capper run of the same crank!

 

[brewmanStan]

I too only know bottling, and don't mind it at all. Actually look forward to it as it means the beer is close to being ready to drink, and I have an empty fermenter to fill back up! Sure it takes an hour or so longer than kegging, but who cares? If we love this hobby what's an hour.

I also really don't understand why people think there's oxidation issues with bottling, I actually think the opposite (even for IPAs). Any oxygen introduced is going to get scrubbed during the re-fermentation. My IPAs stay bright and hoppy for months, have two bottles left of one that turns 4 months old next week.

Back to the time issue, with bottling all your beer is in bottles right away. With kegging, you'd have to set up your beergun or whatever and sanitize everything to bottle some beer for competitions, friends/coworkers, to take to parties, etc. I think that would be quite annoying.

I hope new homebrewers don't think they need to progress to kegging to improve the quality of their beer. In the last full national competition season here in Canada (in 2019), I finished 5th with all bottle conditioned beers, and the top 3 have been the same for years and pretty much impossible to bypass.

Sure filling one vessel is quicker and easier than filling 30-40. But for that extra hour and to not deal with leaky/empty CO2 tanks, keg issues, stressing over oxygen while kegging, etc, I'll keep on bottling. I also brew a lot of mixed fermentation beer which I would always bottle anyway, so might as well just bottle everything

And I also enjoy washing dishes by hand.

I've never done anything but bottle, and according to my records I have brewed 86 batches of beer (mostly 3 and 4 gallon batches) since I started brewing. I've only had a few bottles that I had a problem with and most of those was when I was using a hand held capper. Like a lot of the bottlers here, I rinse my bottles out immediately and allow them to dry before storage. I then run them through a dishwasher/dry cycle with no detergent on or before bottling day and then sanitize with StarSan before bottling. All of this is a pain in the ass, true, but so far I have only had those few isolated bottle problems I attributed to when I didn't get a good seal for some reason. I've had a few gushers and couple with no fizz, but never, so far, a problem with a whole batch. I keep thinking that surely that day will come, but I hope it never does.
Some of the beers I make are as much as six or seven months old before I start drinking them, such as my Oktoberfeast that I usually bottle in the spring and don't really start drinking much of until autumn, and continue to drink into a throughout the winter.
Just today I opened a beer in one of my flip-top Grolsch bottles that was almost completely dead and I went "hum". I just happened to have another cold one in a Grolsch bottle and opened it to a hiss and a beer with a good head, flavor, etc. Go figure. The dead one had a new seal installed before bottling just like the one that was good. This is the stuff that drives you crazy.............

 

[porterguy]

I don't bother with such extensive cleaning. I just make sure to triple-rinse my bottles soon after pouring the beer from them, let them dry, and put them away. Then on bottling day, they get dunked in Star San. In 30+ batches done this way, I have not encountered an infection.

Exact same process here. Only a LOT more batches over past 14 years. And never a problem.

 

[Immocles]

Exact same process here. Only a LOT more batches over past 14 years. And never a problem.

I use a similar process as well. Rinse out that gunk immediately after pouring a beer, then the bottles end up on the fast rack thingy in the basement (my beer fridge lives down there anyway). But I do wash them with PBW about once a month or so as the empties pile up. Then they all get stored until bottling day where they get hit with some starsan just prior to getting filled with more beer.

 

[day_trippr]

I have lots of respect for anyone brewing over 100 gallon per year that is still bottling. I think they're crazy, but I respect that

I ordered a thousand bucks worth of t-tower, six shanks, six faucets, lots of QDs, plenty of beer and gas tubing, lots of worm clamps and swivel nuts, a dual body regulator, my first (5#) CO2 cylinder, used ball lock kegs - and a chest freezer - the evening after bottling 40 gallons of beer on the hottest day of the year (iirc, it was the first week of May 2005). The trauma was that deep

Cheers!

 

[Immocles]

Admittedly if I had the room, I’d have a tap or two. I just think it’d be a bad idea for me, personally haha. I also think I’d have driven myself nuts if I was bottling more than a case at a time. I randomly brew 4-5g batches, and it definitely gets a little annoying, but hammering through the 2.5-3g batches is a breeeeeeeze

 

[Doctordregz]

First post here, started about a year ago when Brexit and the pandemic cut my supply line to my favourite uk ales as we live in France. Have brewed about 40 extract kits since, only had to get rid of 3 and I know why. I bottle in 75cls as we have an old pressoir with hundreds of them, I use plastic corks and cages, hard to get off but I don’t think I have had a dodgy bottle. I stérilise the night before and dry overnight on a large bottle tree to dry. I had a few incredibly lively bottles at the beginning but I used to put the 400ml of priming sugar solution for 23 litres in a second bucket through a filter to remove grub then bottle from that but found it gave uneven carbonation, so I now put 12ml of the prepared solution with a syringe into every bottle, seems to give a good result with even carbonation. Love brewing, and this forum is great!

 

[macbrak]

I definitely understand the draw of bottling and it has many perks I sometimes miss. There is something about holding back a couple and letting them ride out time. Having said that, I am too lazy to go back. Too much time and extra stuff to worry about. I kept saving bottles after moving to kegging with the noble intention of bottling a size pack off of every batch. Two years ago I traded 24 cases of bottles to the local homebrew store.

 

[Tancred the Brewer]

I have been brewing for over 15 years, 3-5 5-gallon batches a year. I started kegging about 7 years ago and now mix between kegging and bottling, as well as using the Beermuench DIY beer gun. Either my palette isn't very good or I have never had any issues with oxidation, and have never seen any evidence of infection. I have never had to throw out a batch. So I am either very lucky or just can't tell if the beer is bad. I age beers in bottles for over 2 years and they still taste wonderful. The flavor does change over time but I don't find it unappealing. So the moral of my experience is "relax and have a homebrew." If you want to bottle and enjoy it, go for it. If you want to keg and can invest in the upfront costs, go for it. Good sanitation practices go a long way. Enjoy the beer.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

While I stand by my statement that you can make great beer without kegging, and that I don't really mind bottling, I wanted you guys to be the first to know that I bought this beauty on Craigslist, with four kegs, for $800 tonight.

 

[hout17]

While I stand by my statement that you can make great beer without kegging, and that I don't really mind bottling, I wanted you guys to be the first to know that I bought this beauty on Craigslist, with four kegs, for $800 tonight.

View attachment 728947

Hell yeah looks nice!

 

[D.B.Moody]

@3 Dawg Night, I applaud your rapid progression. Shouldn't there be a thingy to catch the drippings?

 

[3 Dawg Night]

@3 Dawg Night, I applaud your rapid progression. Shouldn't there be a thingy to catch the drippings?

That will be my first add-on.

 

[D.B.Moody]

That will be my first add-on.

and probably not your last!

 

[QuadConPana]

I sold my kegerator because I had trouble consistently getting the proper carbonation level. With bottle conditioning, I can easily dial that in.

I brew 5 gallon batches, and can easily finish bottling on brew day during the boil. This also saves me on Star San since I can clean and sanitize my fermenter while my wort chiller is doing it's thing.

The bonus is that bottled beer is easier to share with friends and coworkers.

(As an aside, since so many of my favorite breweries have switched to cans, bottles have become more scarce. However, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, and Founders still sell some amazing brews at great prices in bottles. But, they don't work with a wing capper. Since investing a mere $40 on a bench capper, I've gained the ability to bottle in those. And all three of those breweries' labels remover easily.)

 

[bwible]

Sierra Nevada bottles actually have a decent lip and work well for me with a wing capper. Others like you mentioned, Founders, Lagunitas, Abita and some others have the other kind of lip that doesn’t work well with wing cappers. I don’t know why different companies use one over the other.

The 2 photos I’m attaching show the difference. One is a Sierra Nevada bottle (I actually like those). The other I didn’t get the label off of before taking the photo is from an Anchor bottle - thats the type that doesn’t work well with wing cappers. You can see the difference.

 

[bwible]

I’ve found Sierra Nevada labels to be a bear to get off by the way. Even soaking in pbw those seem to take 3 or 4 days to fall off, long after others.

 

[Steveruch]

I don't love it, but I don't hate it. Not having the financial means to get back into kegging makes how I feel about it moot.

 

[SFC Rudy]

I brew6- 1/2 gallon batches; keg five and bottle a 12-pack. Some batches I bottle the whole thing. I look at it as part of the process, especially when I'm enjoying the end product.

 

[bwible]

All my years of brewing and bottling I never owned a bottle tree. I’m getting one of those and the sprayer/rinser attachment (vinator) that goes on top next week. I’ve been using Star San to sanitize bottles, I think I’m going to try Iodophor in the rinser since it wont stain glass and the bottles are brown anyway. I have a batch that will be ready to test it out on right away.

 

[hout17]

All my years of brewing and bottling I never owned a bottle tree. I’m getting one of those and the sprayer/rinser attachment (vinator) that goes on top next week. I’ve been using Star San to sanitize bottles, I think I’m going to try Iodophor in the rinser since it wont stain glass and the bottles are brown anyway. I have a batch that will be ready to test it out on right away.

I have a tree and the vinator. You won't regret it I love that thing.

Edit: I use Starsan in the vinator with no issues. I give all of my bottles a quick squirt then back on the tree just before bottling.

 

[grzrk]

I've been meaning to ask this - does anyone have a simple way to mark the bottom of bottles by scratching or etching? I'd like to date and identify bottles for tracking to keep track of those that I bought clean and new, and those that were label pulls, along with what brand they were. I tried keeping things separated by container but that fell apart quick

 

[davidabcd]

"Really like?"
Not "really like" but I like it well enough. I would say bottling falls into the "relaxing/easy chore" category.
The idea of needing refrigeration, kegs, etc. plus cleaning is unappealing, personally.
If you keep the bottles maintained, it's easy and fast to bottle. I've never used a capper, only flip-tops.
The bottom dishwasher rack put on the stove (use a towel underneath) works great and holds 40, 500ml bottles.

 

[bwible]

I've been meaning to ask this - does anyone have a simple way to mark the bottom of bottles by scratching or etching? I'd like to date and identify bottles for tracking to keep track of those that I bought clean and new, and those that were label pulls, along with what brand they were. I tried keeping things separated by container but that fell apart quick

I don’t but thats an interesting idea. I haven’t bought many bottles. Almost all of mine are from beers I drank. Some you know because they are already maked: Sam Adams bottles, Fullers bottles, Sierra Nevada bottles you can tell most of the time, New Belgium bottles have raised rings, etc. You’re just not supposed to send those to competitions. Speaking of competitions thats another good place to get bottles. Most of the people in my club don’t bottle and I can usually get a bunch of cases after our competition because they are just going to throw them out.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

I've been meaning to ask this - does anyone have a simple way to mark the bottom of bottles by scratching or etching? I'd like to date and identify bottles for tracking to keep track of those that I bought clean and new, and those that were label pulls, along with what brand they were. I tried keeping things separated by container but that fell apart quick

"Let's see. How can I make bottling even MORE work?"

 

[khannon]

I think I would maybe use nail polish to write the date on the bottom with some complex lookup table or mnemonic like silver for Sam Adams, hot pink for Harpoon, Neon yellow for new, green for Grolsch and so on.. That way if you ever lose your lookup table you can remember. My plan does fall apart when you adding things like Sierra Nevada etc...

 

[GBRbrew]

No your not alone.....but I'm definitely not one of them.


Cheers

 

[Gorm]

I use flip tops, store bottles in milk crate in the old cold cellar, label crates with scrap cardboard with date and type of beer.

 

[Yesfan]

I used to have dozens of bottles and a few of the Fast Racks. I sold all the Fast Racks I had except one with its drip tray and gave all the bottles away. I kept a case of bottles that I'll rotate in/out as needed for competitions, but no more than a case at a time.

I don't mind bottling, so I don't totally hate it. I just don't have the time, nor desire, to bottle and store 2 cases of homebrew of every batch I brew. A sixer here and there? No problem.

 

[Beermeister32]

I've been meaning to ask this - does anyone have a simple way to mark the bottom of bottles by scratching or etching?

Not sure why this is necessary. If you want a quick color coded label go find some colored electrical tape. You can also write on them with a Sharpie, and the tape is waterproof.

Don’t start scratching you bottles, they are pressure vessels. Last thing you need is a stress riser forming to produce bottle bombs.

 

[Yesfan]

Not sure why this is necessary. If you want a quick color coded label go find some colored electrical tape. You can also write on them with a Sharpie, and the tape is waterproof.

Don’t start scratching you bottles, they are pressure vessels. Last thing you need is a stress riser forming to produce bottle bombs.

The Sharpie won't wipe away from condensation on the electrical tape? Pretty slick idea.

 

[ST1300]

Re For how to mark your bottles there are a few ideas in addition to those above:
1) You can etch them. I used a product called Armour etch to mark my glass carboys. Worked great. May be a bit time consuming on bottles.
2) Use an oil based Sharpie
3) Use an acrilic based pen/paint

Re Bottling in general: I have found that 16 once bottles are the sweet spot for me. Overall less time cleaning and filling. Also just the right amount of beer after allowing for the crude on the bottom.

About a year ago I added a 3 gallon keg to my beer arsenal to split up my 5 gal beer batches. Half in the keg for drinking now and the rest in bottles for longer term storage.

 

[T Murph]

I sold my house and had to move. Doing so I tossed out a garbage can full of bottles as I have no intention to bottle again. Haven't in years except an occasional mead to give away. But when I bottled regularly I simply made labels for them. Kegging is so much easier. And if someone wants to drink my beer they have to come to my house and have it straight from the keg.

 

[Johnnytt]

I've been meaning to ask this - does anyone have a simple way to mark the bottom of bottles by scratching or etching? I'd like to date and identify bottles for tracking to keep track of those that I bought clean and new, and those that were label pulls, along with what brand they were. I tried keeping things separated by container but that fell apart quick

Acrylic paint pen works well

 

[Gilbert Spinning Horse]

Its a bit like mowing the lawn. Some people put in the work, cut their grass, and then sit back with an enormous sense of satisfaction and admire their beautiful lawn. Others see mowing the lawn as a pain and a waste of time, and go out of their way to avoid it.
Keggers are generally idle people with concrete back gardens, fact!

 

[T Murph]

Keggers are generally idle people with concrete back gardens, fact

I ont thank so Scooter. Bottling is a beginners entry level introduction into producing ones own homebrewed beer. As your experience, equipment and ingredients evolve you get over that labor intensive desire to replicate the product which commercial breweries produce. Reality is bottling is too labor intensive, it adds an extra opportunity to introduce micro organisms and oxygen to your brew, takes up far too much space and increases cost. Unless you are entering it into a competition or giving it away, bottling is an unnecessary step. IMO, if you enjoy bottling (I did too years ago) by all means bottle it. There is pride in showing off your creations and its quite satisfying to apply your custom created labels etc. The only concrete in my garden is the concrete used to anchor the vertical poles for my hop trellis. This year I'm planting a quarter acre of barley. You see this hobby is very addicting. As you grow older you simply don't have time nor energy to waste on bottling.

 

[Beermeister32]

The Sharpie won't wipe away from condensation on the electrical tape? Pretty slick idea.

Works great, I use it for keg and carboy marking too. Plus you can wipe Sharpie off with acetone if needed.

 

[Yesfan]

Very nice! I'll definitely use that. On my kegs I had been using painters tape/Sharpie to write down the empty and full weights of my kegs because that's what I had. Never even considered electrical tape.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Packaging (and solving packing problems) is a personal preference. And it's not "either/or": for many people, it's both.

Numerous ancedotals mention brewing six gallons, kegging five, and bottle conditioning the the other gallon (sometimes after adding additional flavorings )

@Murph4231 : you make many solid points as to why kegging is right for you. That being said ...

Bottling is a beginners entry level introduction into producing ones own homebrewed beer.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, after all these decades of brewing, still comes in bottles.