First Bottling Session

[cnmaestro]

After finishing our first bottling session this morning, I just wanted to say that we had a blast bottling and it was something fun to do with the wife. I also wanted to say thanks to everyone on this site for their advice, whether it was directed towards me or not. I was a little nervous starting a new hobby like this, now I'm having a blast with my new addiction and the wife is getting into it too. We're now planning our next batch, a Watermelon Wheat and we've definitely popped in at the local homebrew shop a couple times to research. I'll let you guys know how it goes and I'll definately be around asking questions, even if it's just perusing other people's posts and the responses. Thanks again!

Happy Brewing,
Chris

 

[drhookmec]

Very cool, Welcome to the hobbie..

Nice that you got the wife doing this with you
you guys will have a lot of fun working together.

Tim

 

[sendkyleanemail]

Welcome! Just a few short weeks until you have your next batch ready to bottle and crack open one of the batch you just bottled!

 

[moorerm04]

Awesome bro..... Be happy your wife is into it. Mine does nothing but complain about my home brewing in-devours.

 

[Frankiesurf]

Just a suggestion. Connect your bottling wand to a 3 inch piece of hose and connect that to the spigot on the bottling bucket.

Your wife will thank you for it when she can sit on a chair and not on the floor.

 

[JLem]

Just a suggestion. Connect your bottling wand to a 3 inch piece of hose and connect that to the spigot on the bottling bucket.

Your wife will thank you for it when she can sit on a chair and not on the floor.

Also...this will keep the bottling wand off that bacteria-infested dish towel...

Otherwise...congrats on bottling your first batch!

 

[sclabrl]

Cool!

 

[Ranman481]

I like the fact that your wife is involved. Initially it was my wife's idea for us to homebrew but I ended up totally taking over...couldn't help myself, I love the entire process! My wife is fine with the fact that she doesn't have to deal with anything except the consumption! Enjoy and good luck!

 

[Stauffbier]

Also...this will keep the bottling wand off that bacteria-infested dish towel...

Otherwise...congrats on bottling your first batch!

^^ agree with this!

 

[cnmaestro]

Just a suggestion. Connect your bottling wand to a 3 inch piece of hose and connect that to the spigot on the bottling bucket.

Your wife will thank you for it when she can sit on a chair and not on the floor.

Also...this will keep the bottling wand off that bacteria-infested dish towel...

Otherwise...congrats on bottling your first batch!

Thanks for the suggestion. She did actually keep the wand off the towel, but I definitely can see how a shorter piece of hose might be handier for bottling. In fact, we couldn't get the hose off the bottling wand during cleanup. I tried running hot sanitizer through it, I tried pushing the button to release all the liquid and hopefully pressure, but that sucker won't budge. I'm starting to think I'll just cut the hose shorter and leave it attached. I can always buy more hose.

Happy Brewing,
Chris

 

[MikeWI]

I'm starting to think I'll just cut the hose shorter and leave it attached. I can always buy more hose.

That's exact what I did. Hose is cheap. I had the same issue with the racking wand my last bottling day, too.

Also, congratulations. That's some nice looking beer.

Mike

 

[Revvy]

Check out my bottling sticky for some tips, that will get you and your wife off the floor, and make bottling much easier.

 

[asidrane]

I like to place my bottles in the sink. This way anything that spills will just get washed down the drain. My sink is right next to the dishwasher which I use to hold bottles after I've sanitized them. I run the dishwasher with a load of dishes and then don't use it again until after I've bottled. If you have a counter next to your sink, you can put a stool on the counter and the bucket on the stool. This should give you enough height to easily bottle in the sink.

 

[RM-MN]

I like to place my bottles in the sink. This way anything that spills will just get washed down the drain. My sink is right next to the dishwasher which I use to hold bottles after I've sanitized them. I run the dishwasher with a load of dishes and then don't use it again until after I've bottled. If you have a counter next to your sink, you can put a stool on the counter and the bucket on the stool. This should give you enough height to easily bottle in the sink.

I do very similar to you except that I bottle right over the door of the dishwasher. The bottles are always right at hand and any spills disappear when I close the dishwasher door. Open it again and do a quick rinse and my wife never knows that I have bottled. She doesn't like the smell of beer so I do it by myself mostly but she insisted I do the Deception Stout while she was home and was surprised that it didn't smell like beer at all. The Shock Top clone I'm bottling today doesn't smell like beer either, more like oranges but she'll never know since she is at work now.

 

[Spencecore24]

There is no better feeling than the sound that comes out of the first beer you open.