Bottling Issues

[NJNewb]

So I’m working on my first batch now. I think Brew day and fermentation went well but I hit some hiccups bottling. The suto siphon that came with my kit didn’t work at all and I had to siphon manually. My worry is that my hand came in contact with the beer when starting the siphon. My hands had been in and out of star San solution for half an hour or so before this occurred but it’s not like I hadn’t touched anything unsanitized in that period either so I’m worried I infected the whole batch.

The other concern I have is that I soaked me bottle caps in star San solution and was just pulling them out as I capped each bottle. They were the oxygen absorbing kind and there was an ungodly sulfur smell coming out of the bowl I had the caps in. After I finished I saw online that you aren’t supposed to immerse that type of cap. Is that sulfur smell likely to transmit itself to the beer.

I guess I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks but whats the likliehood that I wrecked the batch?

 

[stieg000]

I spray star San on my hands all the time whenever I'm doing anything on the cold side, never had any issues. I do t have any experience with oxygen removing caps though.

 

[JimRausch]

I soak the O2 absorbers in starsan all the time when bottling. I have no idea where your sulfur smell is coming from.

 

[NJNewb]

Thanks for the replies.

The caps were in there for an hour or so before I actually got to using them. Could I have had them in too long?

 

[Redpappy]

I have no idea on your caps, I use regular caps. As far as your hands, I think you have nothing to worry about. When I bottle, between sanitizing my bottles and my botteling bucket, and everything else, my hands are in and out of star San that by the time I transfer from the fermenter to the botteling bucket if there was any kind of bugs they should be gone, so needless to say I do not give it any thought. I have not had any issues with my last 4 batches.

 

[NJNewb]

I’m probably over analyzing (I hope). The caps are weird though. I feel better about the hands at least thsnks!

 

[RPh_Guy]

The caps I use are oxygen-absorbing and activated by moisture.
What I do: Dip the caps in Star San and allow to air dry for a couple minutes before using them. If any extras after finishing, throw them away since they're no longer oxygen-absorbing.
Some people don't sanitize them at all, they just flip the bottle to activate it. The chance of getting an infection from a bag of bottle caps is probably about the same or even less than just air exposure in your environment when bottling -- pretty low.

I never noticed any smell from them or any sulfur smell in my bottled beer/cider/mead.

Do these caps even noticeably help? Good luck finding a straight answer to this question.

 

[Bamos6928]

I did the exact same thing as you with my caps but did not notice any smell. But I did keep my capper in a separate container of star san in between capping bottles and that had a sulfur smell to it. I'm not sure why and I'm not sure if it will have any affect on the beer but at least you are not alone.

 

[NJNewb]

is Your capper plastic? I had my caps in a Tupperware container. Maybe the solution reacts with some types of plastic and it wasn’t actually the caps causing the smell.

 

[thehaze]

Regarding the caps: I had a bag of some caps I used for 5 batches and I usually soak them in StarSan. They smelled like farts/mettalic/kind of spoiled and I thought it was the distilled water I used to dilute the StarSan, but it turned out to be the caps, as I changed to others and did not experience this issue.

But it is very possible, that some caps are not supposed to be soaked in sanitizer, although...

 

[RM-MN]

So I’m working on my first batch now. I think Brew day and fermentation went well but I hit some hiccups bottling. The suto siphon that came with my kit didn’t work at all and I had to siphon manually. My worry is that my hand came in contact with the beer when starting the siphon. My hands had been in and out of star San solution for half an hour or so before this occurred but it’s not like I hadn’t touched anything unsanitized in that period either so I’m worried I infected the whole batch.

The other concern I have is that I soaked me bottle caps in star San solution and was just pulling them out as I capped each bottle. They were the oxygen absorbing kind and there was an ungodly sulfur smell coming out of the bowl I had the caps in. After I finished I saw online that you aren’t supposed to immerse that type of cap. Is that sulfur smell likely to transmit itself to the beer.

I guess I’ll find out for sure in a couple of weeks but whats the likliehood that I wrecked the batch?

Autosiphons need to have good seals to work. An air leak causes them to quit. Check where the hose attaches and make sure that you used the right size hose so the connection is tight. The other place air leaks in and stops the siphon is inside the outer tube where the piston that makes it work has to slide. These often leak but you can cure that leak by putting a couple tablespoons of water down the outer tube so it sits above the piston and helps it seal.

 

[NJNewb]

Regarding the caps: I had a bag of some caps I used for 5 batches and I usually soak them in StarSan. They smelled like farts/mettalic/kind of spoiled and I thought it was the distilled water I used to dilute the StarSan, but it turned out to be the caps, as I changed to others and did not experience this issue.

But it is very possible, that some caps are not supposed to be soaked in sanitizer, although...

That’s the smell I was getting. Did it transfer to the beer?

 

[NJNewb]

Autosiphons need to have good seals to work. An air leak causes them to quit. Check where the hose attaches and make sure that you used the right size hose so the connection is tight. The other place air leaks in and stops the siphon is inside the outer tube where the piston that makes it work has to slide. These often leak but you can cure that leak by putting a couple tablespoons of water down the outer tube so it sits above the piston and helps it seal.

Thanks! The tubing was really tight, it was a bit of a struggle to get it on at first. NB is replacing the autosiphon but I’ll remember the water trick. I think I’ll also remember to test out the equipment before I get started in the future, not halfway through the process. Lesson learned, kit number two is on the way.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks! The tubing was really tight, it was a bit of a struggle to get it on at first. NB is replacing the autosiphon but I’ll remember the water trick. I think I’ll also remember to test out the equipment before I get started in the future, not halfway through the process. Lesson learned, kit number two is on the way.

The other water trick with autosiphons is to put the end of the tubing in very hot water before trying to force it onto the autosiphon. It will stretch easier and then shrink fit to the autosiphon.

 

[Brewdog333]

See if you can find a gravity style bottling tube. I have one, you just press down and it fills the bottle, lift when bottle is almost full. Spring loaded ball in filler stops the flow, and works great every time. I also soak hands and everything else post boil, but I don't soak caps. 5 years brewing and no problem. Knock on wood. Brewdog333

 

[WBB]

I used to get sulfur smell out of starsan bucket when I used tap water to mix my starsan solution. In fact, it would get cloudy after a short time. I started using distilled water to make my starsan solution and the cloudiness disappeared and the sulfur smell did as well.

 

[thehaze]

That’s the smell I was getting. Did it transfer to the beer?

No, it did not transfer to the bottles. I forgot to mention this above. So, I think you will be fine, but do get other type of caps for next time. You never know what it could happen otherwise...

 

[Lefou]

I used to get sulfur smell out of starsan bucket when I used tap water to mix my starsan solution. In fact, it would get cloudy after a short time. I started using distilled water to make my starsan solution and the cloudiness disappeared and the sulfur smell did as well.

Sulfides in your water .... yuck.
The well water we had at the house when I was a kid was loaded with iron and carbonates. When you turned the faucet on it literally smelled like farts.
Smelled the same thing in Kuwait where they had high sulfur content in the ground water. Sulfur was a byproduct of oil refining and in some places they'd actually have piles of yellowcake sulfur sitting in the open air ...

 

[Mothman]

These often leak but you can cure that leak by putting a couple tablespoons of water down the outer tube so it sits above the piston

+1 on this, I do it all the time as a matter of habit.

Specifically, I scoop a teaspoon or so of my starsan solution on top of the piston.

 

[TGFV]

+1 on this, I do it all the time as a matter of habit.

Specifically, I scoop a teaspoon or so of my starsan solution on top of the piston.

Another good trick is when you are sanitizing your bottling bucket to also use the autosiphon in it so that it has some starsan in the chamber so to say.

Sterile and works like a charm.

As for the caps, I have had that smell before with long time submergence in starsan. You only need a few moments tops so just put in however many bottles you are gong to cap in that batch and you should be fine.

 

[NJNewb]

So the results are in and the beer.......does not suck! No remnants of the smell whatsoever. I have definitely had much worse.

I think I’m officially hooked. Batch #2 will be brewed on Friday (NB Hefeweizen extract kit). This time I’ll be trying out my new immersion chiller and a new autosiphon. I got the same caps again just out of morbid curiosity. This time Im going to try just dipping them quickly in the Star San then keeping them in a stainless bowl rather than a plastic one to see if the Tupperware I had them in the first time might have been the source of the smell I was getting.

Thanks to everyone for all the tips and for talking me off the ledge!