Damn, BOttled my first all-grain/beer

[Tkelly32]

Well, I just attempted to bottle and it was a disaster. First I knocked all hte bottles over that I had upside down and sanitized. That was just loud, but the real mess started later. I put the 3/4ths priming sugar in and then my racking cane stopped flowing with about a gallon still in the carboy, I tried to get it rocking again and could not. I won't brew again until I have an auto siphon, I heard I did not need it. So in addition to having too much sugar in my bottles I also desperately tried to get the siphon going again with my mouth and it started and I dumped the tube in the bottling bucket, but then it stopped so did I contaminate it? Will these bottles explode with that much sugar? Also, I may have gotten a tube or two full of starsan water in the beer, will this instantly kill me? Should I just throw the whole thing away?

 

[erikhild59]

Its possible that bacteria from your mouth are now in the beer. I've heard some people gargle with vodka or other high alcohol spirits to kill mouth bacteria before siphoning. I really wouldn't worry too much about that though. I've dropped things in my bottling bucket to no ill effect. So , how many gallons did you actually package?

 

[erikhild59]

Also there's a great sticky on bottling on the forum. And yes, definitely get an autosiphon, they're cheap and a worthwhile investment.

 

[Tkelly32]

Its possible that bacteria from your mouth are now in the beer. I've heard some people gargle with vodka or other high alcohol spirits to kill mouth bacteria before siphoning. I really wouldn't worry too much about that though. I've dropped things in my bottling bucket to no ill effect. So , how many gallons did you actually package?

I packaged just under 4 gallons, yes I thought that may be the case. Plus that star san possibly being in there. It is hard not to worry a bit,

 

[beerman0001]

Starsan is not going to hurt anything. Your beer is going to be overcarbed but should not be bottle bombs.

 

[Piratwolf]

I packaged just under 4 gallons, yes I thought that may be the case. Plus that star san possibly being in there. It is hard not to worry a bit,

You can take the Star San off your list of things to worry about. People report getting it in their beer all the time. One of the reasons it's great is that it won't hurt you or your beer! I swear that stuff is made by elves or something!

 

[solbes]

Get the auto siphon if you want. I don't have one and probably will never buy one.

I need to sanitize my racking cane with Star san anyway. Use the sample baster to fill the cane about 1/2 full. Put the full vessel on the counter and the vessel to be transferred near the floor. Using your thumb, you can keep the Star San locked until you lower the cane to the floor vessel. Let it go and siphon away. Certainly don't use your mouth to start suction, think of all of those bacteria!

Star san is just a weak acid. Once the beer dilutes it, it's perfectly edible. An ingredient in Coca Cola, so you've probably drank a gallon of it already without knowing.

 

[terodox]

Having done something very similar to this (I ended up suck starting my racking cane after it stopped my first time bottling), I can tell you that the panic (at least in my case) was unwarranted. The beer came out fine and was definitely not infected. As for the sugar level, over carbed most likely, but definitely not an explosion.

 

[JoyousRuction]

While I agree that it is a bad practice to start a siphon with your mouth, in this case I don't think it is the end of the world. Remember that the beer has already fermented and should be relatively resistant to contamination at that point. Starting a siphon by mouth is far less dangerous after fermentation than before.

Rdwhahb

 

[thughes]

Get one of these. Insert your racking cane in the center port, blow into the 2nd port to pressurize the carboy forcing liquid up the cane, and viola!

No, I don't worry that my "breath will contaminate the beer". Simply breathing on fully fermented beer will not infect it, been using this method for going on 3 years now.

 

[passedpawn]

deleted

 

[Josh]

Best "extras" Ive bought:
autosiphon
Bottling wand
bottle tree
Vinator bottle rinser - biggest time saver for me

 

[Brulosopher]

Best "extras" Ive bought:
autosiphon
Bottling wand
bottle tree
Vinator bottle rinser - biggest time saver for me

Try kegging

 

[Josh]

Try kegging

nah, I like bottling - it's more fun to me to build up a selection to choose from. I've got some beers that I didn't really care for at first, but after mellowing on the shelf taste amazing.

 

[Brulosopher]

nah, I like bottling - it's more fun to me to build up a selection to choose from. I've got some beers that I didn't really care for at first, but after mellowing on the shelf taste amazing.

Ah, I used to say similar things. You can condition in, and bottle from, kegs. Aging is the same and all that. Either way, cheers!!

 

[CTownBrewer]

I would be a little concerned about bottle bombs.

When I bottled my first two beers before I really knew what I was doing, I didn't take into account trub loss, hop absorption, or boiloff rate & ended up bottling 4-4.5 gallons with the standard 3/4 cup priming sugar. I ended up with 1 bottle bomb from each batch. After each one, I vented the remaining bottles & chilled them immediately.

What you should learn from this is to use the Tasty Brew calculator & weigh your priming sugar because bottle bombs can be the result of a number of factors...

- The temperature of your beer when fermentation finished affects the amount of CO2 still in solution.

- Using 3/4 cup isn't accurate because if it's packed tight/loose makes a huge difference. For example, if you need 5 oz primimg sugar & packed your 3/4 cup tight, you may have ended up with 7 or so oz, which is definitely enough to break a standard bottle when diluted into 4 gallons.

Without knowing this info, it's tough to say if you should be worried. I'd keep a close eye on them & test them a little earlier than the standard 2 weeks. If you have a lot of carbonation already, chill those bottles so the yeast will stop working & drop out of suspension.

Hope this helps & good luck!

 

[Tkelly32]

solbes JoyousRuction terodox thughes Thanks to all you guys for responses, much appreciated. And all others on the final page that I could not quote in this message. I am going today to get the carboy cap & auto siphon in case that doesnt work. I have one more question, the last gallon of beer is still in the carboy, I put the bunghole back in and plugged it with a closed stopcock, is this beer still cool to bottle? I would just estimate the new priming sugar, I feel bad if I throw it away. Let me know, thanks again for all your advice & your patience. Blessings.

 

[Tkelly32]

I wanted to keg from the beginning but really dont have the budget to do so yet, I am sharing this beer with a friend too so we need some mobile bottles. But the more I read on kegging and bottling from kegging it seems to be the way of the future & gets rave reviews, saves on time & a few other little things.

Ah, I used to say similar things. You can condition in, and bottle from, kegs. Aging is the same and all that. Either way, cheers!!

 

[Piratwolf]

solbes JoyousRuction terodox thughes Thanks to all you guys for responses, much appreciated. And all others on the final page that I could not quote in this message. I am going today to get the carboy cap & auto siphon in case that doesnt work. I have one more question, the last gallon of beer is still in the carboy, I put the bunghole back in and plugged it with a closed stopcock, is this beer still cool to bottle? I would just estimate the new priming sugar, I feel bad if I throw it away. Let me know, thanks again for all your advice & your patience. Blessings.

Definitely bottle that last gallon! It's good to teh last drop!

 

[crazyseany]

Buy the clip for your auto siphon...

 

[erikhild59]

Definitely bottle that last gallon! It's good to teh last drop!

What he said!

 

[chuckjaxfl]

Get one of these. Insert your racking cane in the center port, blow into the 2nd port to pressurize the carboy forcing liquid up the cane, and viola!

No, I don't worry that my "breath will contaminate the beer". Simply breathing on fully fermented beer will not infect it, been using this method for going on 3 years now.

If you want to ease some concerns about breath germs, put this into the "blow in" side.

Or use 2-3psi CO2, if you have it.

 

[Tkelly32]

Just to update, over-carbing was actually a benefit to the brew. My first beer turned out better than my second in terms of overall flavor and carbonation. Not that the second was bad people liked it, but I will definitely overcarb my hefes from now on.
blast off!

 

[zacster]

The autosiphon works best. I tried the bottle cap too, but the autosiphon just takes all the worry out. It is the one item I use every time I need to do anything with my beer.