Bottling from Perlik 650ss with flow control

[Froyd]

Anyone has any experience bottling directly from a Perlick 650 with flow control?

If used with a tube that reaches to the bottom of the bottle, setting the flow control to the slowest setting, and filling pretty much all the way to the top of the bottle, it seems like the resulting bottles should be able to maintain good carbonation and have a couple of days of shelf life.

 

[mongoose33]

I'm anxious to see what replies you get. I have three of these for a Keezer build I'm doing, and I just bought a growler filler that fits these faucets. Wondering if it's just as useful for filling bottles. Seems like it should be, we'll see.

 

[LBussy]

Interested as well. I just ordered the growler filler. Love my 650's.

 

[Newsman]

Might be able to get a second growler filler, remove the plastic tubing and add a short tube to a bottling wand???

 

[Rayi]

I put my bottles in the freezer. I then put a bottling wand on the end of a picnic tap. I then attach it to the out post of the beer to be transferred and turn the Co2 down to practically nothing. Remove bottle fill to top and cap as fast as possible. In other words by pas those nice Perlicks

 

[LBussy]

Thanks for .... yeah completely not answering the question.

 

[mbbransc]

I have the growler filler for 650s. Don't imagine that the flow controls are miracle workers. You do still get some foam. I use the filler for growlers and sometimes bottles if I'm taking them to a bottle share or a friend's house. I wouldn't consider it for any sort of long-term storage.

I generally place the growler/bottle in a large bowl, close the flow control all the way, open the tap, slowly open the flow control to a point where the beer is flowing without CO2 coming out of solution but the hose is full (IE - no bubbles in the line). Overflow the growler/bottle and cap on foam as quickly as possible. Wipe down the growler/btl for transport and dump the beer/foam remaining in the bowl I used to catch the overflow.

I haven't tested how long this method keeps carbonation. If I am bottling for long-term storage, I use a beer gun.

 

[Froyd]

Thanks, Mbbransc. That's good insight. I'm not planning on long term storage, just taking a couple of bottles with me at a dinner party or giving them to friends with the instruction to drink that same evening.

Once the new keg is on tap, I'll do a couple of informal tests on longevity and report back.

 

[LBussy]

Thanks @mbbransc. I was just looking for something for the one-off as you say. I don't want to have to switch lines around and purge CO2 every time I want a "to go" beer. I would imagine so long as the carbonation level is good when you bottle and you cap on foam, there's no reason it would not stay that way indefinitely.

 

[Froyd]

Two weeks in, and the beer bottled from the 650 at low-flow setting via the growler filler and capped on foam tastes as good as I had hoped. Carbonation fully retained.

I'll open another one at the 1 month mark.

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

Is the reason for the growler filler to lessen Oxidation?
I have the 650's on a tower. I just tilt the growler like I'm filling a pint under the faucet.I dial it down for a pint then let open them up till almost filled and dial back down at the end. Never had a foam problem whatsoever and the growlers get an inch or two from the top. When I open them I usually get a nice little pop and some "smoke". I never sensed any oxidation but they're usually gone within 3 hours of filling.I've done this many times with different styles and never had a single issue.If anything after a continuous flow for 5 beers I'm actually wishing I had a little more foam/head sometimes..Not sure what the need is for a growler filler...Please inform me

 

[Froyd]

I have the same as you whenever I was filling growlers and could not find the filler tube. With the 650 foaming is kept to a minimum and when I fill growler it's usually for consumption within a very brief window of time.

The filer attachment just minimizes oxidation and that's why I use it for the bottles. I'm planning to keep 6 fliptop bottles per keg on hand for drinking after the keg kicks or taking to a party. I'm shooting for a shelf-live of no more than two months, but so far I've only done a test a two-weeks in.

 

[mongoose33]

Is the reason for the growler filler to lessen Oxidation?
I have the 650's on a tower. I just tilt the growler like I'm filling a pint under the faucet.I dial it down for a pint then let open them up till almost filled and dial back down at the end. Never had a foam problem whatsoever and the growlers get an inch or two from the top. When I open them I usually get a nice little pop and some "smoke". I never sensed any oxidation but they're usually gone within 3 hours of filling.I've done this many times with different styles and never had a single issue.If anything after a continuous flow for 5 beers I'm actually wishing I had a little more foam/head sometimes..Not sure what the need is for a growler filler...Please inform me

I believe the purpose is to lessen foam. I don't think a lot of people have success with your method, unless they really turn down the pressure and do it very slowly.

The growler filler also fills from the bottom, which means no splashing, which means...little or no foam.

 

[andrewmaixner]

Did that once to pull a couple bottles off the keg for a competition. Faucet had some ambient bacteria/yeast that resulted in those bottles being infected (taste, gushing).

Clean your tap really well first if the bottles won't be refrigerated or served soon.

 

[Froyd]

Quick update:
Ok, 1.5 months in and the bottled filled from the 650 + growler filler still tasted good, had good carbonation BUT I could detect a slightly bitter end note that I would attribute to oxidation .

 

[mongoose33]

Quick update:
Ok, 1.5 months in and the bottled filled from the 650 + growler filler still tasted good, had good carbonation BUT I could detect a slightly bitter end note that I would attribute to oxidation .

Did you cap on foam?

 

[Froyd]

Yep, capped on foam, which has died back to about 1"from the top by the time I opened the bottle. I think the issue is the exposure to oxygen during the filling stage. It's minimal enough not to cause problems right away, but after several weeks, the taste begins to change. Unfortunately, I don't have any more bottles to do a 3 month test.

 

[mongoose33]

Yep, capped on foam, which has died back to about 1"from the top by the time I opened the bottle. I think the issue is the exposure to oxygen during the filling stage. It's minimal enough not to cause problems right away, but after several weeks, the taste begins to change. Unfortunately, I don't have any more bottles to do a 3 month test.

I'd tend to look elsewhere for explanations....the minimal time the beer is exposed during filling is....minimal. What would it be? 10 seconds maybe? And then it's all CO2 from the foam?

 

[Callacave]

There's no explanation needed. As soon as you pour a beer out of your faucet oxygen is waiting to do its thing.

Any brewery that fills growlers will typically tell you to drink it within a week.

You can minimize oxidation by using a tube that touches the bottle of the bottle, purging the bottle with CO2 before filling, flow control, and capping on foam.

We just don't have the advanced bottling equipment that commercial breweries do.

 

[Hannabrew]

I just tried bottling from the 650ss for the first time tonight and was wondering if it's important to have a solid flow PRIOR to throttling it? It seems to me that by starting with a slow flow and having longer tubing like my setup requires left a lot of bubbles in the line so I could not fill without letting CO2 out of solution.

I plan on getting a 1/4ID SS tube like Brulosophy recommends and swapping out the 5/16 ID tubing to 1/4 ID tubing to see if that helps but it still feels like I should have a full flow prior to throttling.