Bottling bucket woes?

[Jesse17]

I bottled my first cider last Sat. and just barely had enough for 48 - 12oz. bottles. I really wanted to have two FULL cases (I'm just anal that way). My problem was that the bottling spigot is about 1 1/2 inches above the bottom of the bottling bucket, and it sticks out into the bucket far enough that I could only get so much cider out of the bucket by tilting the bucket toward the spigot.

So I ended up using a funnel, and pouring the last bottle worth out of the top of the bottling bucket into the bottle. I'm sure I badly aerated the cider doing this, and marked the bottle as such for comparison later.

So short of starting out with more cider in the first place, what should I have done here?

What do you all do with the last little bit in the bucket...just pour it in a glass and drink it, or is there a special technique to get the last of your brew out of the bucket?

 

[wihophead]

I did the exact same thing with the last batch of beer... I marked it and drank it first.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

I don't think there's ever been enough left in my bottling bucket that I cared about losing it - never really measured it or anything, but it always seemed like less than a bottle, which I'm not going to lose any sleep over...

 

[Poindexter]

Got to sample every step of the way if you want to improve.

Tough job, I know.

 

[Joker]

I use a secondary then transfer to my bottling bucket, so I have no problem laying it over till I get every drop I can out of my bottling bucket.

 

[RICLARK]

Same thing happened with my cider, and did not taste any diffrence with it at all It will be fine now when I make it I buy an extra half gallon to get it up over the 5 Gal mark JIC. As far as whats left, Drink it dont waste it.

 

[malkore]

There's only, maybe, 3-4 oz max left in my bottling bucket. Unless its what I need to finish filling the last bottle, I drink it or toss it.

this hobby involves losing liquid. every time you rack, you lose some.