Bottling Tips for the Homebrewer

[SillyBeer]

I try stuff all the time, but just tip the bucket. Chances are the last bit after tipping isn't enough for a full bottle. Drink it! It won't be carbonated, but will give you an idea of the finished product.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I used the tips in this thread to bottle last week, thanks to everyone's tips it went much smoother than usual.

I will say though that using a screw on PVC pipe + elbow for a dip tube did not work too well at pulling all the beer out of the bucket. The siphon stopped once the beer level reach down to about spigot level and I still needed to tilt the bucket to get the last two beers out of the bucket.

Next time I'll try to use the cork + copper piper method instead, guessing the smaller diameter tube may help keep the siphon going longer.

I use just an elbow, and it works every time. It goes on after the nut that comes with the spigot.

 

[Kampenken]

I just cut a small piece, 4" or so, off my racking cane, boiled it, pulled it out of the water and while holding inside of a dish towel slowly bent it over a small round vase to 90'. First time I didn't get 90, popped it back into boiling water and started over and presto! A real nice dip tube that is a HUGE improvement to bottling day, gets down to about 1/4 of a bottle, or less, left in bucket.

 

[user 163849]

Mine works great. I replaced the factory nut of the spigot with the threaded elbow, the nut is not used. In my case I ended up cutting most of the down turned leg of the elbow off in order to clear the bottom of the bucket by a very slight amount. It leaves less then two ounces behind when level. Very effective.

 

[BrewerE]

Next time I'll try to use the cork + copper piper method instead, guessing the smaller diameter tube may help keep the siphon going longer.

this is how I have mine and there is never more than an ounce or two left.

 

[phug]

The important thing is to have a good deal on your diptube elbow whatnot. I had to add an extra gasket to get it to seal properly on the elbow but no longer have to use the nut from the spigot

 

[user 163849]

The important thing is to have a good deal on your diptube elbow whatnot. I had to add an extra gasket to get it to seal properly on the elbow but no longer have to use the nut from the spigot

That is true. It's nothing more than a siphon. The pick up has to be below the surface of the liquid. The discharge has to be below the level of the pickup. And there can be no leaks along the way.

 

[phishie]

The important thing is to have a good deal on your diptube elbow whatnot. I had to add an extra gasket to get it to seal properly on the elbow but no longer have to use the nut from the spigot

Ahhh, this is likely my issue. The PVC elbow I use has a pretty loose tension fit over the threaded PVC adapter.

Next time I'll have to swap out the adaper+elbow for a modified one piece threaded elbow or try wrapping the PVC adapter with some tape (duct tape or plumbers tape) to get a tight seal when I slide on the PVC elbow.

 

[phug]

Please don't use duct tape inside your bottling bucket

 

[phishie]

Please don't use duct tape inside your bottling bucket

Yea that's a good point. Rubber cork + copper or plastic dip tube is probably the cheapest and safest option (as should have been obvious from the thread). The simplicity of two PVC parts from Home Depot just really appealed to me.

 

[phug]

honestly i could never get my cork and tube diptube to stay in. I did end up with a 90 degree thread to barb adapter plus and extra gasket to get a good seal.

 

[Jimbodaman]

I'm literally the only one, but I've never used a bottling wand ( 500 bottles of beer +). I always thought they were a gimmick. I open valve a little bit on bottling bucket and close it when just above bottom of the neck. I had no idea everyone used those things, HA learn something new everyday.

 

[slym2none]

I have never used a bottling wand either. 250 bottles of beer or so.

 

[ncbrewer]

I've never tried it without the wand, but it looks like without the built-in valve at the end of the wand the beer would run out of the tube when you take it out of the beer bottle. Then you introduce air again to the next bottle.

 

[user 163849]

A bottling wand attached to the spigot makes filling the bottle a one handed operation, leaving my left hand free to reach for the next bottle or whatever. And it is convenient not to have to operate the valve 50 or more times per session. It's only a 3 dollar piece of equipment, not exactly a major investment.

 

[Kampenken]

I never would've guessed that anyone bottling beer would try it without a wand!! I learned something new today. I just added a 2nd to my bottling bucket and love it!

 

[SillyBeer]

I would get the one without the spring.

 

[Singletrack]

I would get the one without the spring.

Interesting. I've used ones with and without the spring, and I found the one with the springs shuts off better. Why do you dislike the spring?

 

[SillyBeer]

Sanitation. It's easier to clean the one without. Maybe just piece of mind for me.

 

[TurnipGreen]

I've been brewing on and off for about ten years and I just used the wand that came with my kit for the first time on my last two beers I made for Christmas.

I have no idea why I never used it before but it sure is nice!

 

[user 163849]

Sanitation. It's easier to clean the one without. Maybe just piece of mind for me.

I guess that's something to consider but the only extra part is the spring itself. The whole thing breaks down into four easily cleaned parts. The spring less one that I have drips (fails to seal) considerably more than the spring loaded one that I use. Using the spring loaded one I normally loose less than two ounces of beer to the drip tray while bottling a 5 gallon batch and that includes both dripping and overflow from overfilling a bottle or two. Actually the two types are close to evenly matched in my opinion but I always grab the spring loaded one. For cleaning I just disassemble and drop everything into a vat of PBW and let it soak for a while along with the spigot parts and anything else that will fit in the vat. I drop it in the bucket of Star San before use.

 

[TxBigHops]

I guess that's something to consider but the only extra part is the spring itself. The whole thing breaks down into four easily cleaned parts. The spring less one that I have drips (fails to seal) considerably more than the spring loaded one that I use. Using the spring loaded one I normally loose less than two ounces of beer to the drip tray while bottling a 5 gallon batch and that includes both dripping and overflow from overfilling a bottle or two. Actually the two types are close to evenly matched in my opinion but I always grab the spring loaded one. For cleaning I just disassemble and drop everything into a vat of PBW and let it soak for a while along with the spigot parts and anything else that will fit in the vat. I drop it in the bucket of Star San before use.

This. In an effort to improve my system, I recently purchased a spring-less wand along with some other bottling replacement parts. After filling two or three bottles, the dripping drove me crazy! I ripped it off, threw it in the trash, and put my old spring loaded one back on.

 

[SillyBeer]

Excessive dripping would cause me to do the same. My last spring loaded one didn't disassemble if I remember correctly. That was back in the 90s. Perhaps I will reconsider when replacing mine.

 

[AZCoolerBrewer]

I came to this sticky since I used a bottling bucket for the first time and it was so much easier than bottling straight out of the fermenters and for me had several quality advantages: 1. I use two one gallon fermenters, the beer from each fermenter is racked all together into the bottling bucket with my priming sugar and will be more consistent per bottle. 2. I can focus on getting as much of the clear beer as possible without having to worry about the bottles, caps, etc., the net beer savings compared to last batch was 26 ounces. 3. I was using conditioning tablets and now it is a one step process when boiling the priming sugar instead of trying to get the tablets into each bottle without touching them and without dropping them all over. 4. You could still use conditioning tablets with the bottling bucket, but even though the tablets are not very expensive for a bag of 250, the sugar I used was 7 cents worth. The equivalent in conditioning tablets is $1.31. It wouldn't be impossible for me to using priming sugar without a bottling bucket, but it is far easier.

 

[marc777]

New Brewer here.

My first 5 gallons are in the fermenter bubbling happily away. I'm now thinking about the bottling stage. I have a Williams kit. The bottling bucket has an inverted valve much like those described here. Does anyone have any tips/tricks for the Williams rig?

Great site for the newbie!

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

New Brewer here.

My first 5 gallons are in the fermenter bubbling happily away. I'm now thinking about the bottling stage. I have a Williams kit. The bottling bucket has an inverted valve much like those described here. Does anyone have any tips/tricks for the Williams rig?

Great site for the newbie!

If you haven't read through this thread, bottle over your dishwasher with the door open, and use your dishwasher as a drying rack for your bottles and bottling gear. Makes clean up simple and your drips and such will end up on the inside of your dishwasher rather than on your floor.

I have a gravity tip filler and it drips maybe 3 drops between bottles and the majority of that is the beer on the outside of the wand when the wand was removed. I use 22 oz bottles simply because it is daunting to fill 50 12 oz'ers.

Otherwise, congrats and since your post was last month, I will assume that you have already bottled your brew.

if you have tried one let us know how it turned out!

 

[Lunkerking]

Are the clamps/clips necessary to attach the bottling wand to the spigot? If so could anyone point me where to find them ?

I guess the only downside is that you have to remove the clips to clean the wand.

Great thread !

 

[Revvy]

Are the clamps/clips necessary to attach the bottling wand to the spigot? If so could anyone point me where to find them ?

I guess the only downside is that you have to remove the clips to clean the wand.

Great thread !

They're not necessary unless the connection feels loose.... And they're ubiquitous hoseclamps from any homebrew shop. You could use anything really, zipties, metal hose clamps from the hardware store.

 

[silentman13]

Does Someone use this kind of equipment?

 

[Mer-man]

A guy somewhere built a homemade version. It had either 4 or 6 taps with a float