Bottling after kegging

[Trobocco]

I brewed up a home brew and kegged it about 4 months ago. At that time I also force carbed it. I think I over carbed it because it comes out almost all foam.

I would like to bottle it now and am not sure if this is possible?

I have a vacuum bottling system but I'm not sure I can use it because I guess it sucks out the co2. I'm wondering if the yeast would still be active so I could transfer to a bottling bucket with sugar and than bottle from there.

Anyone have any ideas if bottling is possible at this point and how to do it?

 

[SpeedYellow]

Easy, I do it all the time. Just take a 12" piece of bev line, taper off the end with a knife then jam it into the faucet. Fire away.

The key is ice cold bottles, so I actually submerse them in a pitcher of ice water before and during filling. Helps to turn the pressure down too. Also a good idea to clean out the faucet with a brush first.

There's a sticky about " not needing no stinking beer gun", but that process is overly complicated and works no better than what I described.

 

[Trobocco]

So you take already carbonated beer and just run it into cold bottles with a faucet. Is that what you are saying? You don't lose carbonation that way?

 

[SpeedYellow]

Yes that's exactly what I'm saying. You only lose carbonation if it foams up, but it won't as long as the pressure is low and the bottles are cold. Of course, it will foam up a little bit (which you want, to fill the head space with foam instead of air) plus some co2 is lost in pressurizing the bottle. But it's not much. Some folks will over-carbonate a couple psi for a few days to try to compensate.

 

[Hello]

So you take already carbonated beer and just run it into cold bottles with a faucet. Is that what you are saying? You don't lose carbonation that way?

Well, don't forget to use tubing so you fill from the bottom.

My process is to dunk bottles in star san, stick them in the freezer for a few moments while I sanitize my tubing and get everything ready for the bottle fill, turn the CO2 tank pressure down, bleed the keg itself and let the small amount of pressure (about 3PSI) build back up, spray star san up into the faucet (the faucet itself sits with brushes in it when not in use anyway), then fill the bottles, stick caps on top and seal them when done. I've only bottled 3 bottles at one time max, but that is my process. I also do the exact same with growlers.

 

[rekoob]

(the faucet itself sits with brushes in it when not in use anyway)

Come again? what is your pour process and after pour process to keep the faucets clean?

I spray out the faucet with star san or RO water after the pour or after a few if it's being used, when not in use and the faucet has dried I put on some rubber caps.

 

[Hello]

Come again? what is your pour process and after pour process to keep the faucets clean?

I spray out the faucet with star san or RO water after the pour or after a few if it's being used, when not in use and the faucet has dried I put on some rubber caps.

My pour process and after pour process? I pour a beer, drink a beer.

There are faucet brushes that fit in the the faucet. I dunk them in star san and put them in the taps when not in use. I pull the faucet brush out, pour a beer and put it back in. Nearly every day that I've poured a beer I just toss them into a 8 oz glass of star san, to be specific, and place back into the faucet. Rinse and repeat...as used.

I don't use RO water or fancy water. Just star san.
Here is the brush/cap.

 

[LLBeanJ]

I brewed up a home brew and kegged it about 4 months ago. At that time I also force carbed it. I think I over carbed it because it comes out almost all foam.

I would like to bottle it now and am not sure if this is possible?

If the beer is overcarbonated, you'll have to fix that before you can bottle it. Once you can pour a beer from the tap without excessive foam, then you can bottle per the instructions given by the posters above.

 

[rekoob]

My pour process and after pour process? I pour a beer, drink a beer.

I don't use RO water or fancy water. Just star san.
Here is the brush/cap.

hmmm, I haven't seen those or not that I recall. Nice.

We have a water cooler, the RO water is from refilling water cooler 5 gal bottles.

 

[AnOldUR]

There's a sticky about " not needing no stinking beer gun", but that process is overly complicated and works no better than what I described.

I disagree with both points!

Bottling from a hose stuffed in a faucet is not something I would do for beer that's going to remain in the bottle for any length of time. BMBF is simple and allows you to control the back pressure in the bottle as it fills. This helps hold the CO2 in the beer and cuts down on ambient air exposure.

 

[SpeedYellow]

If the beer is overcarbonated, you'll have to fix that before you can bottle it. Once you can pour a beer from the tap without excessive foam, then you can bottle per the instructions given by the posters above.

Sure you can bottle an overcarbonated beer just fine. Carbonation level makes no difference using this process. Just keep the keg pressure low, like 3-5 psi. And pour a few ounces into a glass first, to make sure the lines are cold (they usually aren't since they're up high in the kegerator).

 

[SpeedYellow]

BMBF is simple and allows you to control the back pressure in the bottle as it fills. This helps hold the CO2 in the beer and cuts down on ambient air exposure.

That's actually not true at all. The "no beer gun" process does not involve purging with CO2 like a beer gun does, so there's still the exact same air exposure. And the bottle isn't filling while under back pressure, because the beer doesn't flow until you burp the bottle by releasing the stopper. By burping the stopper, the pressure immediately returns to 1atm, then beer flows, then beer stops, then repeat. So you're still filling at 1 atm, exactly as if you just opened up the tap. It's just such a silly process.

 

[AnOldUR]

So you're still filling at 1 atm, exactly as if you just opened up the tap. It's just such a silly process.

That only true if you release all the pressure which would not be the best way to use the system. By slowly releasing a small amount of the pressure that builds, you can control the fill rate and maintain constant pressure in the bottle. Except for the outward venting process the bottle is sealed and not exposed to ambient air and the laws of diffusion.

Filling a bottle in an open air environment and expecting longevity, now that's silly.




edit to add:
Burping is not a good descriptor. By slowly venting, you can hold a constant pressure. Think of it like purging a keg through the PRV. You can either pull the ring all the way and release the pressure quickly or pull it just a little for a slow hiss. It's not the all or nothing thing that you describe. The BMBF thread was started in 2007. There are a lot of posts to read, but the process has evolved. Many are filling at serving pressure and keeping most of that pressure in the bottle until the filler is removed. The bottle fills quicker, far less CO2 comes out of suspension and it eliminates the need to chill the bottles before filling.

If longevity is the goal, both methods are suboptimal. Purging and filling with a beer gun is best.

Correct. A beer gun is best, but BMBF is a close second and filling with a hose in your keezer's tap is a distant last.

 

[SpeedYellow]

That only true if you release all the pressure which would not be the best way to use the system. By slowly releasing a small amount of the pressure that builds, you can control the fill rate and maintain constant pressure in the bottle. Except for the outward venting process the bottle is sealed and not exposed to ambient air and the laws of diffusion.

Filling a bottle in an open air environment and expecting longevity, now that's silly.

Both methods ("no beer gun" and a 1-ft tube from the faucet) fill from the bottom in unpurged bottles, so both have the same air exposure. Sure the "no beer gun" is "sealed" but that's air sealed up in there. Then it's burped and unsealed.

And regarding pressure, remember you're not really "maintaining constant pressure" in the bottle since you have to burp it for beer to flow. Look at it like this: to get your desired flow rate, you need a pressure difference of say 3 psi. So my method uses 0 psi in the bottle and 3 psi in the keg. Your method may use 3 psi in the bottle and 6 psi in the keg. Neither is better, they're effectively the same. Both can result in zero foaming.

If longevity is the goal, both methods are suboptimal. Purging and filling with a beer gun is best.

 

[Stealthcruiser]

Sure you can bottle an overcarbonated beer just fine. Carbonation level makes no difference using this process. Just keep the keg pressure low, like 3-5 psi. And pour a few ounces into a glass first, to make sure the lines are cold (they usually aren't since they're up high in the kegerator).

This one I would love to observe!

 

[jeffc]

Both methods ("no beer gun" and a 1-ft tube from the faucet) fill from the bottom in unpurged bottles, so both have the same air exposure. Sure the "no beer gun" is "sealed" but that's air sealed up in there. Then it's burped and unsealed.

And regarding pressure, remember you're not really "maintaining constant pressure" in the bottle since you have to burp it for beer to flow. Look at it like this: to get your desired flow rate, you need a pressure difference of say 3 psi. So my method uses 0 psi in the bottle and 3 psi in the keg. Your method may use 3 psi in the bottle and 6 psi in the keg. Neither is better, they're effectively the same. Both can result in zero foaming.

If longevity is the goal, both methods are suboptimal. Purging and filling with a beer gun is best.

Correct. The only thing I don't get is why you don't just purge with the beer gun after filling. The beer will purge the air up to the air/beer interface. I don't think the short exposure time between filling and capping will matter.

Or just fill and cap and drink within a few months.