Freezing Bottles Before Bottling From Keg - Sanitize?

[Jiffster]

Hey Folks,
I'm going to try freezing my bottles before bottling from a keg this time but I'm not sure what the process is for freezing the bottles. Do I sanitize them, let them dry and then freeze them?

Thanks

 

[bpgreen]

I haven't bottled from my keg I a long time and didn't freeze my bottles when I did, but if I remember correctly, I'd sanitize and cover with a sanitized cap overnight. I think you'd want to do the same if you freeze. If you can't keep the bottles upright in the freezer, I'd sanitize just before filling.

 

[IslandLizard]

Sanitize, drain well upside down, crimp a piece of sanitized aluminum foil over the opening, and freeze standing or lying.

Turn your pressure down a bit to get a slow steady stream through your bottle filler, then cap ASAP. Maybe recruit a 2nd set of hands?

I can recommend dispensing through your tap system and tap, with a bottle filler clamped to it by means of a 2" piece of 1/2" silicone hose. A short line such as a picnic tap outside the keezer will give more foaming.

I'm not sure if freezing is absolutely needed, but them being cold is better than warm.

 

[Jiffster]

I can recommend dispensing through your tap system and tap, with a bottle filler clamped to it by means of a 2" piece of 1/2" silicone hose. A short line such as a picnic tap outside the keezer will give more foaming.

Would a growler filler fit this description?

I've used the bottler tool that Beirmuncher described in a thread one time over a year ago.

 

[balrog]

if you get humidity inside frozen bottles like frosty beer mugs you are giving the beer micronucleation ice crystals which will encourage foaming so I recommend chilling but not to the point where you get frostiness

 

[GoeHaarden]

Would a growler filler fit this description?

I've used the bottler tool that Beirmuncher described in a thread one time over a year ago.

I believe IslandLizard is referring to this thread. Using a 2" piece of 1/2" tubing will seal off the bottle making it give some counter pressure and prevent foaming...

 

[NeoBrew]

My usual process for this is to sanitize the bottles, put them in a Fast Rack so they start draining, then put the whole fast rack in a chest freezer. I usually bottle on a cutting board right across the freezer opening. Then I can just pick a bottle out of the rack, turn it over and fill.

I don't typically wait for them to fully freeze. By the time I get through a rack they are usually starting to freeze where the Star S?an is dripping from the mouth of the bottle. That ice just breaks off with a push.

I've had moderate success with this technique. Some bottles are less foamy than others. I had never thought about the nucleation points the ice makes. I'll have to see if I can make a correlation with that on my next batch.

 

[mongoose33]

I've been fortunate in that I've been able to chill bottles either in a freezer or refrigerator; I don't necessarily want them below freezing point. I'll have them either in sixpack holders or a fastrack, and then using chilled sanitizer in my vinator, spritz them with sanitizer just before bottling. Between chilling the bottles and cold sanitizer solution, it works very well.

 

[IslandLizard]

Would a growler filler fit this description?

I've used the bottler tool that Beirmuncher described in a thread one time over a year ago.

Not a growler filler exactly, they are too thick and have too much volume themselves, leaving you with too much headspace unless you pull it out slowly when it gets fuller. It's messy and you lose a lot of beer.

I use an adapted version of BierMuncher's method:

• Clamp the top half of a 2" piece of silicone hose to the tap faucet with a worm clamp.
• Stick a regular bottle filler tube into the bottom half. The top of the filler tube may need to be fattened up a little with a short piece of vinyl hose, to get a tight seal on the silicone.
• You want the bottle filler tube to be close to the faucet's spout, say within a 1/4-1/2", that leaves it flexible with a minimum amount of turbulation. Clamp that too.
• Either leave the faucet open, and rely on the bottle filler's tippy to start and shut off the flow. That is, as long as the tippy is snug enough or glued and doesn't blow off the stem. Or without the tippy, just the stem, use the faucet to start and shut off flow.
• Now you can fill bottles as you normally would one after the other.
• You can even slide a drilled #2 rubber stopper over it to create a counter pressure filler for even better results.

I believe IslandLizard is referring to this thread. Using a 2" piece of 1/2" tubing will seal off the bottle making it give some counter pressure and prevent foaming...

I was not even aware of that method!
But I think the first method is a lot more sophisticated, with much less splashing.

Ideally, a quick shot of CO2 to purge the empty bottle would make it even better.

 

[GoeHaarden]

• Clamp the top half of a 2" piece of silicone hose to the tap faucet with a worm clamp.

• Stick a regular bottle filler tube into the bottom half. The top of the filler tube may need to be fattened up a little with a short piece of vinyl hose, to get a tight seal on the silicone.

• You want the bottle filler tube to be close to the faucet's spout, say within a 1/4-1/2", that leaves it flexible with a minimum amount of turbulation.

Interesting. I'm going to have to try this method out!

 

[IslandLizard]

Interesting. I'm going to have to try this method out!

Let us know how it went and if you like it.

The clamps are needed to keep all the parts connected, especially when using counterpressure. I've been showered a few times when something slipped off or gave out.

I use the same method when filling growlers with counterpressure, just with a larger #6 (?) drilled stopper.

 

[Jiffster]

Great info here folks.... Thank you!

 

[mongoose33]

Not a growler filler exactly, they are too thick and have too much volume themselves, leaving you with too much headspace unless you pull it out slowly when it gets fuller. It's messy and you lose a lot of beer.

I use an adapted version of BierMuncher's method:

• Clamp the top half of a 2" piece of silicone hose to the tap faucet with a worm clamp.
• Stick a regular bottle filler tube into the bottom half. The top of the filler tube may need to be fattened up a little with a short piece of vinyl hose, to get a tight seal on the silicone.
• You want the bottle filler tube to be close to the faucet's spout, say within a 1/4-1/2", that leaves it flexible with a minimum amount of turbulation. Clamp that too.
• Either leave the faucet open, and rely on the bottle filler's tippy to start and shut off the flow. That is, as long as the tippy is snug enough or glued and doesn't blow off the stem. Or without the tippy, just the stem, use the faucet to start and shut off flow.
• Now you can fill bottles as you normally would one after the other.
• You can even slide a drilled #2 rubber stopper over it to create a counter pressure filler for even better results.

I was not even aware of that method!
But I think the first method is a lot more sophisticated, with much less splashing.

Ideally, a quick shot of CO2 to purge the empty bottle would make it even better.

Do you have a pic of this? I'm struggling to visualize it.