First time bottling

[Corn Cracker]

I've been reading for 2 weeks about bottling while my wort was ferminting, i have successfully fermented my first beer, an ingredients kit for a bock, (my lhbs puts the kits together) in a 5g glass carboy. Today is 2 full weeks and the sg has not changed in 3 days, it started at 1.058 and finished at 1.012.
My concern before i transfer into the bottling bucket and bottles is the cloudiness of it.
From what I've read it will all settle to the bottom of the bottles so you only pour 10oz into the glass you'll be drinking from as to leave the sediment in the bottle?
If i were to leave it in the carboy, this would settle and be left in with the yeast when i siphon and transfer but the yeast might cause off flavors,
if i transfer to the bottling bucket to let it settle, i take a chance on oxidation.
I'm leaning towards letting it clear, condition? In the bottles to protect the final taste.
I will be using 5oz of priming sugar, dissolved in a pint or so of the brew.

I have 2 corneys and a co2 tank that were all given to me i will use on my next batch but i think i should replace seals and such before using.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Relax, put your feet up. Give it another week in the fermenter.

Edit: The danger of autolysis and its associated off-flavors is really only significant at large volume and pressure. At the homebrew scale, you need not worry about leaving your beer in primary for 3-4 or more weeks.

 

[D.B.Moody]

My concern before i transfer into the bottling bucket and bottles is the cloudiness of it.

This is why I like transferring to a secondary. It encourages the settling. This violates the current wisdom of avoiding oxygen exposure. You might try a little bit of agitation of the fermenter before you let it sit another week. This might disturb it enough to encourage settling.

BTW: Welcome to the hobby and HBT.

 

[Corn Cracker]

Thanks,
Well, i reckon I'll go out and work on the fence then.....dammit.

I will have the new gaskets and o-rings by next week, is 15psi in the bottle enough to carbonate a 5gl keg? It's a smaller bottle, about as tall as a propane tank

 

[TheBluePhantom]

if i transfer to the bottling bucket to let it settle, i take a chance on oxidation.

You're using a bottling bucket, there is not a chance of oxidation, it is a certainty.

Relax a bit, I leave all my brews in Primary for a month. finishes them off nicely, get rid of off flavors, drops nice and clear. Not worth washing out a secondary for a few weeks of time. When you add the sugar, this will restart a new (small) ferment to make CO2, and it will make a few more yeast. Be patient on this to properly carb, then settle out again. put it in the fridge to really help settle and compact the yeast, for a few weeks, You wil then learn to pour to a serving glass watching the neck of the bottle, and stop when you get to the crud, you will get to the point of being able to pour 11.75oz glass and still have it clear if you keep bottling, not hard in a good light.

Winemaking has taught me patience like nothing else in life. Many of my recipes include a years aging. Relax, you have made beer, now you will work on quality.

Unless the tank guage is inaccurate, that tank is empty. TAke the regulator off and find a decent scale and see what the weight is compared to the Tare wt. on the side. If that is the same, it be empty. That can hold up to 5 pounds of CO2. Read around on the internet on basic kegging and CO2 use to learn how, and keep leaks to a minimum. Kegging is great, but you have to step up your game on cleaning, sanitizing and leak checks to keep it from being an (expensive) nightmare. What you save on in cheap equipment you will pay for in gas.

Above all, Relax and have fun, it is a hobby after all...

 

[Velnerj]

I'm confused... Are you bottling (using 12 Oz bottles)? Or kegging (using 5 gallon corney kegs and a CO2 tank)?

Not that they are mutually exclusive but most stick with one or the other especially for the first brew. Your post is unclear....

 

[Rish]

I leave almost all my beer and cider in the primary 4+ weeks before transferring to the bottling bucket and bottling right away. Never experienced any off flavors from doing this. Just set it aside for a couple of weeks; it'll clear some more and be just as tasty, maybe more.

 

[camonick]

Thanks,
Well, i reckon I'll go out and work on the fence then.....dammit.

I will have the new gaskets and o-rings by next week, is 15psi in the bottle enough to carbonate a 5gl keg? It's a smaller bottle, about as tall as a propane tankView attachment 757512

If the valve on that tank is in the open position when that picture was taken, that tank is as good as empty. The tank gauge (left) should read around 800-900 psi (at room temperature) when the tank has liquid CO2 in it. There is probably only vapor left in it, and not much at that. Check around for a place to get it refilled or swapped.

 

[Corn Cracker]

Thanks for the responses, i rocked the carboy back and forth to agitate it, I'll let it sit for another week or two. As far as the Co2, i was planning on bottling this batch, i didn't think there was enough Co2 to mess with, i read that it doesn't take much but wasn't sure how much that was and I'm not sure about the gaskets and o-rings on the kegs, they set outside and had leaves and such in them when i got them, they are clean and sanitized now. maybe the next batch will be force carbed, I'm thankful i have options that were gifted to me.

I did taste it the last time i checked the gravity and the taste was spot on only needing carbonation and to be cold.
I'll be picking up another kit next weekend for a 2nd attempt at this.

 

[SRJHops]

I exclusively bottle, and agree with others to give it another week or two if you are concerned. But no matter what, you'll have some yeast settle in the bottles too. It won't harm the beer, and there's no harm in drinking it either - though you can leave it at the bottom if you'd like.

Unless you used very little hops, I would strongly suggest against transferring to secondary. Oxygen exposure kills beer, especially hoppy ones.

If your carboy has a spigot, you can also skip the bottling bucket and bottle right from primary if you use carbonation drops in the bottles. I use them all the time and they work great.

 

[Corn Cracker]

I noticed, while having a few blue moon beers last night that there was a little sediment in the bottom and it wasn't very clear.
This is not a hoppy beer at all but it's gonna sit wrapped in a blanket. No spout on the carboy so I'll have to siphon into the bucket to bottle.

I don't know if I've read too much or not enough but i came across a thread about mixing in the priming sugar and putting it in the keg to let it carbonate.
I got a couple of weeks to figure it out i guess

 

[camonick]

I noticed, while having a few blue moon beers last night that there was a little sediment in the bottom and it wasn't very clear.

Blue Moon is an unfiltered wheat beer and that is completely normal for that style… other styles, not so much.

 

[SRJHops]

I noticed, while having a few blue moon beers last night that there was a little sediment in the bottom and it wasn't very clear.
This is not a hoppy beer at all but it's gonna sit wrapped in a blanket. No spout on the carboy so I'll have to siphon into the bucket to bottle.

I don't know if I've read too much or not enough but i came across a thread about mixing in the priming sugar and putting it in the keg to let it carbonate.
I got a couple of weeks to figure it out i guess

I thought you were bottling, so not sure why you mention the keg? The beer carbonates in the bottles.

You should be fine with the bottling bucket if you have a low-hopped beer. While oxygen harms all beers, it really kills the IPA's, etc.

I think clarity is WAY overrated, but then again, I love New England IPA's and Hefeweizens. I don't clarify my beers and never plan to, but there are plenty of people who think clarity is important. (There are also lots of people who love pilsners, which might be the same people who want their beer clear.)

Yes, the traditional way to bottle is to add the sugar (boiled in some water and cooled) to the bottling bucket. Works great. But you can skip all that and use the sugar drops/tablets right into the bottles, though the drops (actually hard candy) are more expensive. Folks will tell you they don't work as well because you can't control the exact carbonation level, but I can't see how that matters too much, especially to a new homebrewer. (I will add that my beers do well in competitions, and I almost always use the sugar drops/tabs to carbonate them.)

It does help to use a bottle priming calculator if you want to use the sugar in the bottling bucket method. You can just use table sugar if you want, but follow the calculator. Good luck and happy brewing!

 

[Corn Cracker]

I have drank a lot of pilsner in my youth, i had never thought about a beers clarity before now. I don't like hoppy beers so i don't explore the beer world too much.
I was set up and about to bottle when i started this thread to get some opinions.
I had not planned on kegging this batch because i thought i needed to get it out of the fermenter but, now that it's going to sit another week or two, I'll have Co2 and seal kits so i could keg it. I'm going to be brewing another this weekend, hopefully, I'll try to keg that that one.

 

[TheBluePhantom]

Fair warning. Check the date on the tank before assuming you can get it filled. I sent mine out for recert and I have been waiting 3 months.

 

[Bill Tong]

My standard schedule for all beers is 1 week at fermentation temperature, 1 week at room temperature and then bottle. I don't worry about what the beer looks like at this time. If its done (stable SG) and byproducts (sulfur, diacetyl) gone, then i bottle. My room temp is always 22C and a week at that is always plenty to finish fermentation completely. Whatever will drop out in the bottle will eventually drop out. Just adhere to the Revvy date, which is 3 weeks bottle conditioning. Then leave it in the fridge for at least a week before drinking.

 

[apisgallus]

You're using a bottling bucket, there is not a chance of oxidation, it is a certainty.

Relax a bit, I leave all my brews in Primary for a month. finishes them off nicely, get rid of off flavors, drops nice and clear. Not worth washing out a secondary for a few weeks of time. When you add the sugar, this will restart a new (small) ferment to make CO2, and it will make a few more yeast. Be patient on this to properly carb, then settle out again. put it in the fridge to really help settle and compact the yeast, for a few weeks, You wil then learn to pour to a serving glass watching the neck of the bottle, and stop when you get to the crud, you will get to the point of being able to pour 11.75oz glass and still have it clear if you keep bottling, not hard in a good light.

Winemaking has taught me patience like nothing else in life. Many of my recipes include a years aging. Relax, you have made beer, now you will work on quality.

Unless the tank guage is inaccurate, that tank is empty. TAke the regulator off and find a decent scale and see what the weight is compared to the Tare wt. on the side. If that is the same, it be empty. That can hold up to 5 pounds of CO2. Read around on the internet on basic kegging and CO2 use to learn how, and keep leaks to a minimum. Kegging is great, but you have to step up your game on cleaning, sanitizing and leak checks to keep it from being an (expensive) nightmare. What you save on in cheap equipment you will pay for in gas.

Above all, Relax and have fun, it is a hobby after all...

If wine making teaches you patience, what does mead making teach you....

 

[TheBluePhantom]

If wine making teaches you patience, what does mead making teach you....

To order the honey early, in case FedEx drops the bucket again. Wish I could have had pictures, it was a 60 pound bucket.

 

[Corn Cracker]

It's been another week and my phones flash light still doesn't light up the carboy.... at all. I went ahead and bottled it though.
I have modified my bottling bucket with a bottle length piece of a siphon wand and a smaller piece that was heated and bent stuck inside the spigot turned to the bottom, i got this from a post on here somewhere. I put the lid on the bucket and put the CO2 hose in the air lock hole and purged it
Then put the siphon hose through the hole to the bottom and let it coil and lay while filling. I ended up with 32-12oz and 4-22oz bottles.

My plan from here is to keep them in the low to mid 60s for a week and put a case in the fridge for 2 more weeks?

 

[camonick]

My plan from here is to keep them in the low to mid 60s for a week

To properly carbonate, you’ll want them closer to 70° for 2 weeks.

 

[Corn Cracker]

To properly carbonate, you’ll want them closer to 70° for 2 weeks.

Ok, thanks. I will keep it in a warmer room than where i currently have it

 

[Corn Cracker]

I kept my beers at 70ish, today is 2 weeks. Wednesday i put a 6 pack in the fridge and tried one last night, wow, i did it! It was carbonated well, had a nice head, cleared up some and tasted great so i had another. I appreciate the advice getting me through my first batch of brew. Looking forward to my next brew day.

 

[camonick]

They will continue to clear and mature. I’m sure you already know, but when you pour, do it slowly and watch carefully and stop pouring when you see the first little bit of sediment come down the bottle neck. Congratulations on your first brew.

 

[Corn Cracker]

Thanks,
I have an old Spuds Mckinzie beer glass that I've been using that holds 10oz, it's about perfect