Bottling directly from the fermenter (Fear of Oxidation by Iron Maiden)

[mashdar]

Lately, though, I've just been putting them in the fridge and trying to remember which was which. From now on, I'll be using that white gel pen.

I can definitely relate to lifting a few brown bottles up to the light to peer through and wonder which is 7srm and which is 5srm.

 

[bike2brew]

My system evolved over time. The 1st evolution was the Avery disk labels for legible recording of the brew data. The soda cases were the final solution to the cardboard 6 pack cartons. I'm just lucky that I didn't experience a collapse and big mess stacking the cartons.

 

[worlddivides]

I took another gravity reading and it was the exact same as the previous one from 3 days earlier, so I bottled this yesterday, and I can definitely see why I've never bottled from the fermenter before now. On the very first bottle, the bottle filler just stopped after maybe 100ml. I'm guessing that it got plugged by dry hops. After not much luck, I just shook the fermenter a bit and managed to get the bottle filler to start working again. The problem, though, was that the bottle filler started leaking from that point on. In the entire 11 to 11.5 liters I was able to get out of the fermenter, I'd say between 300ml and 500ml was lost to that slow leak. I ended up bottling about 1 bottle less than I expected. A Google search indicates that bottle fillers leaking is extremely common, though this is the first time it's happened to me. I'll probably just buy a new one since they're not exactly expensive, but it'd be nice if there was an easy way to fix it (especially if I could use that to fix a leaking bottle filler if it started leaking after I started bottling like what happened yesterday).

I'm not sure why, but the gel that came out of the white gel pen was not working well, and I was brewing another beer at the same time, so I just used a black Sharpie to write on the black caps. If I turn the bottle sideways so the light hits the cap right, I can see what I wrote on it, but it's not clear like with the test bottles in my fridge. I think I'll try again later with a bottle when I put it in the fridge since right now all the American Pale Ales from the same batch are in the same box.

I do think this is a valid way to bottle, but I definitely plan to go back to my typical method of transferring to a bottling bucket and then bottling from there, especially since I can see that each bottle has more hop residue and yeast than I've ever had bottling before.

 

[mashdar]

Thanks for the update and have experienced leaky bottle fillers. One dripped every ~2 seconds, but the worse one would jam and stay wide open until you realized what was happening and pushed it back down on the bottom of the bottle.

My worst bottling experience, though, was a spring-loaded bottle filler on the end of an auto syphon. Nigh impossible with only two hands.

 

[worlddivides]

My worst bottling experience, though, was a spring-loaded bottle filler on the end of an auto syphon. Nigh impossible with only two hands.

Yikes, that sounds awful. I've had my share of bad bottling experiences and yesterday was probably the most annoying (albeit not the worst period). Yours sounds a lot more unpleasant, really.

When I was Googling about leaking bottle fillers, I did see some people where the filler would just jam in the open position. I'm glad that mine yesterday was just a slow leak and not a full-on open position. Otherwise I would have lost a lot more beer.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Auto siphons with spring tipped bottle fillers. On bottling day: prime / test the siphon in water (or maybe star san). Verify a clean flow of liquid, adjust as necessary. tilt the fermenter slightly. If this disturbs some of the settiment, give it time to settle and don't be greedy (trying to get the last drop of beer from the bottom. Transfer the siphon to the fermenter. Transfer enough beer to clear the water. fill bottles avoid disturbing the trub There are some dry yeast strains that flocculate well and compact tightly on the bottom. With those strains, one can often be successful at being 'greedy' (try to get the last drop of beer in the fermenter).

 

[worlddivides]

prime / test the siphon in water (or maybe star san). Verify a clean flow of liquid, adjust as necessary.

View attachment 881354

I did this with a separate fermenter filled with 14 liters of StarSan solution and it didn't leak at all.

Normally I leave 2 liters in the fermenter every time I bottle or keg, so I'm definitely not "greedy." I think this time bottling from the fermenter with a dry hopped APA fermented with US-05 (which does not flocculate particularly well) may have factored into it.

Do you think my current bottle filler is salvageable? If it is, I'd try any advice to see if I can get it to stop leaking before buying a new bottle filler.

 

[bike2brew]

You haven't noted but the filled bottles need to sit @ room temperature for 2 weeks to carbonate other wise the cold refrigerator temperature will arrest the yeast/sucrose action.

 

[bike2brew]

 

[bike2brew]

Actually works pretty well once you get the hang of it. My 93 year old father-in-law in action on the bottle wand.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Do you think my current bottle filler is salvageable? If it is, I'd try any advice to see if I can get it to stop leaki/1/ng before buying a new bottle filler.

I've got nothing better to suggest than: take it apart, clean it, and try using it with water.

I think this time bottling from the fermenter with a dry hopped APA fermented with US-05 (which does not flocculate particularly well) may have factored into it.

I've been brewing mainly with Lallemand yeast. I find that Nottingham and BRY-97 are much easier to work with at bottling time than US-05. I did brew a couple of times with US-05 recently - and confirmed that for me, US-05 is OK, but I prefer Nottingham, BRY-97 (and WLP-001 dry) /1/.

Dry hopping is also a consideration. With APAs / IPAs, I brew mostly early 2000s style recipes - generally skipping the dry hop and using a slightly larger 'flame-out' addition.

---

edited to add
/1/ much of that preference is likely dependent on my situation. Brew day is in the kitchen using an induction cooktop. Fermentation / bottle conditioning is in the basement (room temperature is ~65F in late summer, ~55F in late winter) so there is a seasonal aspect to my yeast selection.

 

[bike2brew]

This is the one I use. Can take it apart for cleaning and sanitation.
https://www.hopcraftsupply.com/prod...ZIygANx1ZLtCQUChv7wWEedoil-r32BxoCMkEQAvD_BwE

 

[mashdar]

My auto syphons (2) always drip if lifted out of the carboy. I like the idea of priming it with star san or similar, but it might still be trouble and/or put a bunch of star san in the beer.

I had good luck pumping the auto syphon when the dang bottle filler would stay open. The spring-loaded filler was an unpleasant surprise.

TBH I can't remember why I was skipping the bottling bucket. It was likely something aging in secondary, but wouldn't I have added yeast? Maybe I was throwing dry yeast granules in the bottle.

 

[worlddivides]

You haven't noted but the filled bottles need to sit @ room temperature for 2 weeks to carbonate other wise the cold refrigerator temperature will arrest the yeast/sucrose action.

Everyone says that, but I've found that the carbonation generally finishes within 3-5 days. That said, it does depend on how much yeast is in suspension when you bottle and what the temperature is. Since it's been in the high 90s Fahrenheit outdoors lately, I have the bottles at the coolest location in my house, which is around 77F to 82F with the air conditioner at full blast. I usually try refrigerate as many bottles as I can as fast as I can, but I just don't have that much refrigerator room. When I don't have the AC on, it can get into the 90s on the first floor and over 110F on the third floor. That's specifically why I do tend to keep bottles on the third floor in the winter. It might be 50F on the first floor with heating off, but with no heating on, it might still be 68F on the third floor.

 

[worlddivides]

I've got nothing better to suggest than: take it apart, clean it, and try using it with water.


I've been brewing mainly with Lallemand yeast. I find that Nottingham and BRY-97 are much easier to work with at bottling time than US-05. I did brew a couple of times with US-05 recently - and confirmed that for me, US-05 is OK, but I prefer Nottingham, BRY-97 (and WLP-001 dry) /1/.

Dry hopping is also a consideration. With APAs / IPAs, I brew mostly early 2000s style recipes - generally skipping the dry hop and using a slightly larger 'flame-out' addition.

---

edited to add
/1/ much of that preference is likely dependent on my situation. Brew day is in the kitchen using an induction cooktop. Fermentation / bottle conditioning is in the basement (room temperature is ~65F in late summer, ~55F in late winter) so there is a seasonal aspect to my yeast selection.

Roger that. I'll try taking it apart, cleaning it, and using it with water before buying a new one. It's possible that my initial thought that it just got clogged with hops might be the cause.

I have Nottingham and BRY-97 in my fridge. I see US-05 and BRY-97 as very similar, but I see Nottingham as a completely different yeast. Yes, they're all clean yeasts, but US-05, BRY-97, and Nottingham do have their own particular flavors. I tend to use Nottingham for English IPAs, Russian Imperial Stouts, and stuff like that. I use US-05 and BRY-97 for anything I'd use Chico strains for (when I first started brewing, my main yeast was White Labs WLP001, but after using a lot of different Chico variants, I ended up just using US-05 the most. It does have a relatively long lag time and it doesn't flocculate that well, but it's incredibly popular for a reason).

I started brewing in 2014, so my IPA and pale ale recipes are definitely very much influenced by what was popular at the time, but I do tend to do a lot of whirlpool hops and dry hopping for APAs which might have more traditionally only been boil hops with no whirlpool or dry hopping. I used to do a lot of flameout additions, but I've found that I prefer whirlpool or hopstand over flameout.

 

[worlddivides]

This is the one I use. Can take it apart for cleaning and sanitation.
https://www.hopcraftsupply.com/prod...ZIygANx1ZLtCQUChv7wWEedoil-r32BxoCMkEQAvD_BwE

That looks the same as the one I'm using, though I imagine there isn't a ton of variation between bottle fillers.

 

[BrewZer]

Do you think my current bottle filler is salvageable? If it is, I'd try any advice to see if I can get it to stop leaking before buying a new bottle filler.

Try a gentle twist on the valve end of the filler and see if that will separate the spring-loaded plug from the long tube. If so, pry the spring/plunger out and clean thoroughly. Put it back together (friction should hold it) and press on. Remember to disassemble it for sanitizing next time you bottle...

 

[worlddivides]

Try a gentle twist on the valve end of the filler and see if that will separate the spring-loaded plug from the long tube. If so, pry the spring/plunger out and clean thoroughly. Put it back together (friction should hold it) and press on. Remember to disassemble it for sanitizing next time you bottle...

I'll try to do this sometime when I'm free over the next week or two. If it does work, that'll mean I can keep using it. If it doesn't, I'll just buy another one. I've never taken apart a bottle filler before, and I've also never gotten an infection, so I think just running sanitizer solution through the filler has been working. But experiencing a leaking problem for the very first time, I definitely need to see if disassembling and reassembling it can fix the problem. I also never had a need before now because nothing but beer ever got in there, but this time, I think dry hops got in there.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I've never taken apart a bottle filler before, and I've also never gotten an infection, so I think just running sanitizer solution through the filler has been working.

If it's clean, sanitizer is effective.

but this time, I think dry hops got in there.

So it may not be clean.

---

FWIW, I experienced this situation a couple of years after I started home brewing. Batches were OK early, but went sour over time. A local home brew club (RIP) member (still alive) suggested disassembling, cleaning, and sanitizing siphons, hoses, and bottle filler tips. Problem solved.

Also FWIW, I have an auto-siphon and a bottle filler that I can completely disassemble. At the end of each bottling session, I disassemble the siphon and bottling filler. On the next bottling day, I sanitize the pieces and then re-assemble them.

 

[worlddivides]

So it may not be clean.

Yeah, probably not. Taking it apart will definitely let me know for sure whether dry hops got in there and also whether the filler is salvageable or not.

 

[worlddivides]

So it seems that dry hops getting in there is PROBABLY the cause. When I took the bottle filler apart, there were some dried-up dry hops in the main plastic part. I cleaned up everything, then tried again, and it still leaked. I thought maybe it was no good and I just needed to buy a new bottle filler. But I took it apart again, and pulled the rubber off the decompressing mechanism and there was an almost invisibly small hardened dry hop clump back there. I cleaned it up, put the rubber back, put the bottle filler back together, and then tried, and now it didn't leak.

So dry hops were likely the cause. But the bizarre thing is that the dry hops in the main part that made up 99% of the material in there did not resolve the leaking, but the 1% behind the rubber on the decompressor that I couldn't even see did.

I probably will buy another bottle filler just as a backup, though, but this bottle filler seems to have been salvaged so it no longer leaks. I imagine this probably won't happen again unless I bottle directly from the fermenter, which I don't plan to do... at least not anytime soon. The bottles I bottled from the fermenter are CRYSTAL CLEAR, but they have more bottle dregs at the bottom than any time I have ever bottled before now. I suppose it's what I expected, though.

 

[mac_1103]

the bizarre thing is that the dry hops in the main part that made up 99% of the material in there did not resolve the leaking, but the 1% behind the rubber on the decompressor that I couldn't even see did

I don't find that bizarre. The little rubber thing is what makes the seal.

 

[worlddivides]

I don't find that bizarre. The little rubber thing is what makes the seal.

It looked perfectly sealed and it wasn't until I pulled it back that I saw there was any hop material there, albeit it very small. My guess, though, is that since I had dry hopped the beer quite a bit and was bottling from the fermenter instead of transferring to a bottling bucket and then bottling from there, some hop material first clogged up the filler, but once I got it unstuck, some of that material got into the rubber part, which left it leaking throughout the entire bottling process.

"Bizarre" might not necessarily be the best word, but it's that it didn't visually appear any different from normal until I pulled it back.

 

[sixstring]

Actually works pretty well once you get the hang of it. My 93 year old father-in-law in action on the bottle wand.

Before i switched to kegging, that's exactly how i bottled. Was quick and easy.