how long does it take others to bottle a 5 gallon batch?

[frankjones]

Oh about two hours I'm disorganized. And I don't have much counter space. So.. Two +. Sometimes 3. Plus clean up

 

[bolus14]

I'm about 2 hrs after about 1.5yrs of brewing and around 20 brews. I don't keg because I like to have a variety to drink and for the most part only drink one beer a day.

Setup and cleanup take longer than actually bottling 5 gal for me. If I have to clean out carboys rather than buckets it takes longer just because cleaning the "curves" of the glass can take some time if the remaining krausen doesn't come off easily.

I load my dishwasher up with 50-55 bottles the day before or morning of bottling, no soap just let water run and let the heat sanitize them, then put into case boxes after dishwasher finishes. First thing I do after this is get my priming sugar boiling, while that's coming up to a boil I make up about 2 gallons of StarSan in my bottling bucket, scrub that down really well, then dump sanitizer into a tub that will hold about 18 bottles. I put 18 bottles, auto-siphon, and tubing into the sanitizer and take the priming sugar off the burner. Let it sit on my basement floor to cool it slightly while I get the auto siphon and bottling bucket ready. Transfer beer to bottling bucket, and start filling. I usually fill and place caps loosely on top until i fill 18 then cap them.

From reading through this I have a question. If I sanitize in my dishwasher the morning of, then store bottles in case boxes upside down, do I need to soak in StarSan as I'm filling? I ask because having to soak and pour out the sanitizer as I'm filling is probably the part of my process I dislike the most.

I've got the process so this doesn't really add anytime, but it's creates some extra work by having to take the bottles out of the box, organize them in the tub so I can get 18 in it, use one hand to pour out sanitizer and the other hand to fill.

 

[Konadog]

From reading through this I have a question. If I sanitize in my dishwasher the morning of, then store bottles in case boxes upside down, do I need to soak in StarSan as I'm filling? I ask because having to soak and pour out the sanitizer as I'm filling is probably the part of my process I dislike the most.

The problem with dishwashers is that they most likely don't wash the inside of the bottle well. You would be lucky if a water jet actually sprays the inside of the bottle. If you wash them by hand ahead of time, and are comfortable with how clean the inside of the bottle is, then your dishwasher would be fine. I would bottle straight from the dishwasher and not box ahead of time unless you re-sanitize them.

 

[bolus14]

Thanks. I do a pretty good rinse after drinking each bottle, but don't "clean" them. And I agree no water is getting into the bottle in the dishwasher, but because of how hot it gets that will sanitize them.

I also ferment and bottle at someone else's house. I don't have a good space for fermenting temps so rather than rigging something up I ferment and bottle at my in-laws. Otherwise I would go right from the dishwasher.

 

[Elfer]

It takes me 2-3 hours. That is from start to finish. The bottling tree is great, but my vinator broke after a few uses. I know a lot of people like the vinator, and although I think it is a good idea, I think its built with poor quality materials/bad design for homebrewing. Really bottling goes fast, its the cleaning that takes most of my time.

I think at this point "vinator" is more of a genericized trademark. I've got a similar device that I picked up at my local wine shop which is much sturdier and better designed IMO (e.g. has a little plastic grate to prevent sanitizer from splashing around) I guess I should look more closely to see what brand it is. The action is not quite as smooth as on the "real-deal" vinator, but it didn't cost much and seems a lot less flimsy.

 

[Stocktonbrew]

Elfer let me know what brand it is. If you like it I will give it a try.

 

[Elfer]

Elfer let me know what brand it is. If you like it I will give it a try.

I guess it's still called a vinator, it's just the table top version instead of the bottling tree/clear plastic dish one:

http://homebrewsupplies.ca/product/1273-avvinator-bottle-rinser/

I'm not sure if this is the one you had, but I've bottled something like 15 batches with no hint of a problem.

 

[Dixon9717]

Depends on what size bottles you use. I use 32oz flip tops. Doesn't take long at all but sanitizing flip tops is a little more involved.


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[NAVYSQURL]

Grolsch 15.2oz swing top bottles is where it's at. Swing tops are way worth the investment. The bad thing is recollecting your bottles back. I keep brown 12oz bottles on hand if i am taking them to an event. I hate capping and it is sometimes iffy if you don't get a seal. I just elevate my bottling bucket. Line up the bottles on the floor and go to town with the wand. It is flawless.

 

[USAFSooner]

Too long!


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[Elfer]

Depends on what size bottles you use. I use 32oz flip tops. Doesn't take long at all but sanitizing flip tops is a little more involved.


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Really? I just take the tops off the bottles, toss them in a bucket of sanitizer, and sanitize the bottles as normal. Faster than capping I think.

 

[Elfer]

Grolsch 15.2oz swing top bottles is where it's at. Swing tops are way worth the investment.

See if you can find a brand called "Hacker-Pschorr". Not very expensive (cheaper than Grolsch where I am), comes in 500 mL brown swing tops, labels float off in hot water, and the beer is decent to boot. I've got six dozen, thinking of getting more.

 

[Black Island Brewer]

Really? I just take the tops off the bottles, toss them in a bucket of sanitizer, and sanitize the bottles as normal. Faster than capping I think.

I just remove the gaskets and put them in Starsan, sanitize the bottles with a Vinator using Starsan, and swirl the ceramic part of the swing top in the bowl of the Vinator before I plop it on the bottle tree.

 

[frankjones]

I just buy grolsch. It's $8 for a for pack. So $2 a bottle. Sometimes I dump the beer just for the bottle. I really don't care for grolsch.