Bottling yield question

[woopig]

Hey guys. Just bottled my fourth batch yesterday, a mini-mash Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale clone. Everything went great, except that I'm still not getting as many bottles as I should.

I even went and did the PVC elbow for a dip-tube that I saw on here. Primary had been topped to exactly 5 gallons. I did dry hop, but surely a quarter ounce of hops doesn't take up that much water. Also, I left about a half to one inch of beer on top of the trub when racking to bottling bucket because the beer in the auto siphon started showing sediment.

So, after all that, I ended up with 43 beers. With the dip tube, I got all but a real thin layer of beer off the bottom.

I know it's hard to know what I'm doing without watching, but does anybody have any thoughts? I noticed in "Beer Captured" (or was it "Clone Brews") that they have you top off to 5 and 1/8 gallons, is that where I'm messing up?

 

[NYCBrewGuy]

Personally, so long as I hit my target gravities, I don't worry so much about the volume I end up with in the bottle (within reason of course, if a 5 gallon brew yielded 24 bottles, I'd be worried).

By no means am I an expert, but in the handful of brews I've done so far I have yet to fill 5 gallons worth of bottles. Always come up short, by as much as a gallon.

 

[jgilbreth]

I just bottled an Irish Red recipe that used no DME, and got right at 48 bottles. That's be best I've gotten from a 5 gal batch, due to there being very little trub in the primary (1/4" or so).

Ditto to NYC, I get what I get. I don't push it and try to get every last bit, it's not worth the risk of too much yeast or sediment.

I also have yet to use a secondary, I have no issue with leaving a half gallon behind to keep the bottles clear.

 

[sillyburt]

I get the same thing (42-45 bottles) even though I top off (extract batch) to 5 gallons. when I go to bottle I always have less than 5 gallons. I imagine that's due to the release of co2 from the chemical (if you will) reaction from the yeast conv erting sugars.

I don't strain anything out (hops etc) when going into the fermentor and I wonder if that is taking up too much room in the carboy.?? I hit my OG and FG fairly well though.

 

[woopig]

Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one. I can live with 43 bottles, just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something stupid. Thanks, guys.

 

[TheMan]

To avoid this I aim for 5.5 gallons in the fermenter. This will ensure you can leave ALL the trub behind and have clear beer.

 

[woopig]

To avoid this I aim for 5.5 gallons in the fermenter. This will ensure you can leave ALL the trub behind and have clear beer.

So doing this doesn't mess up your final gravity?

 

[TheMan]

It will alter it, yes. How perceptible that is to you is unknown. The flavor may change slightly. But, it's really your only option if those 5 beers are that important and you don't want any sediment. If you are using a kit you don't have much choice. But when ordering a recipe you should aim for a batch size of 5.5 gallons, which eliminates the issue.

Adding only 1/8 gallon would give you just another 16 oz. So you can rest assured that this is not the issue.

If I were you, I'd take the 43 bottles and not worry about it. It's still a pretty good yield of sediment free beer. When I began I regularly had batches come short like this.

 

[Hammy71]

So doing this doesn't mess up your final gravity?

Not necessarily. I'm an all grain brewer. I convert all recipes to 6 gallons. This allows me to leave about a 1/2 gallon in the pot and 5.5 in my fermenter. This 'dead space' is usually alot of the trub and break material that I leave behind. By converting my recipes to 6 gallons...I use more grain/hops but end up with the same OG/FG. If you simply top off with an extra 1/2 gallon of water...than your OG/FG will not match the recipe. You gotta account for the water...hence a program like Beersmith etc. is a valuable tool.

As far as coming up short on bottling day. The trub in the bottom of your fermenter is displacing some of the beer. Add in hydrometer samples and the 1/8 you leave in the fermenter and there's your couple of bottles. No big deal. The number of beers should be secondary to the quality of your beer. Don't sweat it.

 

[woopig]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the help.

 

[glenn514]

I just bottled my first brew last Friday, and got 49 bottles. My bottling bucket's spigot hole is about an inch above the bottom of the bucket. Since I am an extract brewer at present, I really don't have a lot of stuff settling to the bottom. I also racked from primary to secondary, leaving much of the "crud" in the primary. Even so, the liquid left behind in the bottling bucket was probably 2-3 bottles, with very little settlement in it. Next brew, I'll pour that into bottles using a funnel, but I'm not going to get all bothered about the number of bottles I get from a supposed 5 gallon batch.

glenn514

 

[ruggierm1]

I generally get 48 bottles. I ferment only in the primary, and I have the pvc elbow diptube. I also do full boils, starting with 6 gallons, to try and get down to 5.25 with boiloff. 43 bottles seems ok to me. Is there alot of spillage when you are filling your bottles?