Bottling from a keg

[nate456789]

Does anyone have any comments on bottling from a keg and storing it at room temp?
Will the beer go skunk like miller or Budweiser does?
Usually it is not good to warm beer after it has been chilled.

I use a bottle filler wander to fill from my Perlick faucet and it works great. I have a beer gun but have only used it once. This method is way cheaper and easier. Great for growlers and bottles Wish I knew that before I blew the cash on the beer gun.

 

[Golddiggie]

What I bottle off of keg, either via the Boowie bottler setup, or my Beer Gun (like the Beer Gun better) it's kept in a fridge until consumed. Mostly because it's what I bring to provide mom with quality brew at zero cost.

I've had more differences depending on the bottle type I use. If I bottle into long necks, and cap them, the carbonation seems to fade faster than if I put the brew into the swing top bottles (Grolsch style). I suspect that I'm either not crimping fully, or it's just the nature of the beast. While I'm at home, it doesn't matter since I just pull from tap. :rockin:

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

The "don't warm beer after it's been chilled" is an urban myth. Light can skunk beer, but letting it warm up won't skunk it.

BTW I just bought the "Bowie Bottler" and I like it a lot more than just using the bottling wand. The stopper to keep high pressure in the bottles helps a lot to minimize foaming, and ensure that the bottles themselves will retain their carbonation.

 

[Golddiggie]

I've found that chilling the bottles properly/fully is a big part of minimizing foam while filling. Plus, getting the end of the filler all the way to the bottom of the bottle. I've gotten into the habit of placing sanitized bottles into the freezer for 30-45 minutes before filling them. I also remove them from the freezer as I'm ready to fill them. This keeps the cool until just before they get filled.

Either way, I like drinking beer that's been kegged more than bottle carbonated these days. I had a couple of pints of my dark cream ale last night (second 3 gallon keg) and it's damned fine. Of course, no matter what method you use to bottle from keg (whatever works best for YOU) you're able to bring high quality beer to others, that can be had directly from the bottle. Something you don't do with almost all other bottle carbonated brews (exception being beers where you want to drink the yeast sediment).

 

[nate456789]

Thanks for the feedback.
I really like the design of the boowie bottler.
Looks like the guy can't make enough of them.

 

[Golddiggie]

I don't like how he uses two different sized o-rings that are pretty much impossible to tell apart (for us). The job probably could be done with just two o-rings instead of the four he has it use. That would make it easier to change them as needed.

 

[nate456789]

Looks like it pretty much would do the same thing as mine other than the stopper.

I have another piece of clear hose under the high temp hose that makes a nice tight seal for everything.
What does the stopper give you? I let mine run till any foam has drained out and all that is left is beer. Same way I fill my growlers. Little bit of foam is good anyway to take up the head space.
So far I haven't had any flat or under carbed beer. But I am not doing long term storage either. They are consumed in a couple days of filling.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

What does the stopper give you? I let mine run till any foam has drained out and all that is left is beer. Same way I fill my growlers. Little bit of foam is good anyway to take up the head space.

The stopper allows you to bottle under your normal serving pressure (I used to have to drop the pressure to 2-3 psi when filling bottles/growlers to avoid foam), and you essentially lose no foam in the process. (You still get a little foam to cap onto). Oh, and there's no spill.

With my old method, I was never 100% happy with the amount of carbonation I retained in the bottled/growler beers. With the bowie bottler, I tried both a bottle and a growler as I was preparing some bottles for a competition, and both were a LOT more like what I'd expect from a commercially filled beer.

--- FYI this isn't necessarily an advertisement to go buy the bowie bottler, but merely that you should try the method of buying a drilled stopper and putting it around your bottling wand to see if the method works better for you. I think the Bowie Bottler is a slick setup, and endorse it as I'm very happy with it, but it's the *concept* I'm suggesting you try, not the product.

 

[TRIPLEMSU]

Is the Bowie bottler an actual product you can buy??? And where?

 

[Golddiggie]

Is the Bowie bottler an actual product you can buy??? And where?

You can find it on the boards (ain't the search function grand?)... https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f41/bo...bowie-bottler-228344/?highlight=bowie+bottler

Still, not as pleased as I could be with mine. With a bit of refining it could be a great product though. Now, it's just meh.

 

[bearsharkbrew]

Does anyone have any comments on bottling from a keg and storing it at room temp?
Will the beer go skunk like miller or Budweiser does?
Usually it is not good to warm beer after it has been chilled.

I use a bottle filler wander to fill from my Perlick faucet and it works great. I have a beer gun but have only used it once. This method is way cheaper and easier. Great for growlers and bottles Wish I knew that before I blew the cash on the beer gun.

What is the name of the rubber piece you connect your bottling wand to your tap? And where can I pick one up?

 

[FATC1TY]

What is the name of the rubber piece you connect your bottling wand to your tap? And where can I pick one up?

You just need a #2 rubber stopper. Look at your local homebrew store, or online for it. Fits on your wand, and plugs into your cobra tap.

 

[nate456789]

What is the name of the rubber piece you connect your bottling wand to your tap? And where can I pick one up?

I started with the wand and added a simple piece of clear tube. Then took a small piece of standard hi temp hose that most people use to pump hot wort and slipped that on.
I can get you some links to the product if the pictures are not clear. I bought my hi temp hose from bargain fittings. Or your local Brew shop has it.
I am going to add a stopper as suggested above to see if it makes any difference.

 

[bearsharkbrew]

Thanks!