First question to you about bottling...with many more to come.

[alcoholocaust]

This is a poorly thought out question from a newbie - but work with me here...

I have settled on, based on posts here, not doing a secondary fermenting stage on my first batch of IPA. (no dry-hopping, etc. Just want to get the recipe right). With that in mind - what should my plan be when I bottle in about 2-3 weeks. Am I still using the sugar? Should I use a growler instead of tons of bottles I don't have space for?

Again...sloppy wording...but i'm hungover.

 

[AnonyBrew]

It's good to leave your beer in the primary 2-3 weeks or even a little longer. Just verify it's complete with a hydrometer reading prior to bottling.

You need priming sugar to carbonate the beer at bottling time. There are many online calculators to know the amount of sugar to use.

Use bottles that are made for holding pressure. Growlers are not made to hold pressure so don't use those.

 

[Revvy]

Bottling info. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

Detailed thread expalining why it is a crapshoot to use growlers which aren't really meant to hold beer during carbonation. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/bottling-growlers-instead-bottles-211931/

Start at post 6 and end after reading post 28 and you should understand why.

 

[Captain Damage]

You'll still use sugar. What kind of containers you put your beer in is completely up to you - growlers, 12/16/22 oz bottles - doesn't matter. 12oz and 16oz bottles have the advantage that each one is typical serving of beer. If you open a growler and don't finish all the beer, then what remains in the growler will be less carbonated when you go back to finish it later.

 

[alcoholocaust]

By the way - how hard is it to bottle from a bucket without a spigot? This siphoning hose is mocking me from afar.

 

[Revvy]

By the way - how hard is it to bottle from a bucket without a spigot? This siphoning hose is mocking me from afar.

Rack it to a dedicated bottling bucket with a spigot and you won't have to worry about it....The problem with bottling from a primary or secondary instead of using a bottling bucket, is that since you have patiently gone and let your beer settle and clear, in order to mix the priming solution and beer effectively, you would have to stir it in the carboy which would a) kick up all that nice sediment you have patiently let fall, b) possibly oxydize the beer.

It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

With my buttling bucket and my dip tube, I leave no more than about 3 ounces behind, which means I can get about 52 to 54 bottles per 5 gallon batch.

Go to a hardware store and get a translucent or white bucket...but look for one where the 5 gallon mark falls way below the top of the bucket. Usually it will say 5 gallons at 3rd band from the top. (oh get the lid too....I totally regret not getting it when I did.)

Then get a spigot and make a dedicated bottling bucket. It really defeats the purpose of both a long primary/no secondary or a secondary if you have to stir up all the nice sediment you patiently waited to settle just so you can have consistent carbonation.

Mine is the translucent Leaktite brand 5 gallon container with the gallon and liter markings from Homedepot.

Here's a pic of mine from my bottling thread.

One of my dip tubes and what gets left behind.