Long night of bottling ahead

[1stTimer]

This is just me getting something off my chest. Due to a babysitter canceling on me yesterday I now have a night of bottling 100 brew ahead. When i get home a little after 5 I will have to get all 100 bottles sanitized first. This means boiling most of them. Usually I just go with the star sanz but some of the bottle I’m using this time has been sitting in my garage for two year. Rinsed several times as soon as I poured them. But sitting around for 2 years can’t be good for them.

Then after all that non sense I will get to bottling. I have to do this tonight so I will have another empty carboy for the brew I am making on Wednesday. I have to make it on Wednesday because I have some friends coming up shortly to do a tasting of this brew for a special day coming up. Don’t get me wrong, this is a great problem to have. I just hate bottling and I don’t have the funds for kegging yet. Oh well. Music and homebrew will get me through it. And coffee and more coffee will get me through tomorrow. CHEERS!

 

[phenry]

I got three batches bottled this weekend, 2 on Saturday night and 1 first thing when I woke up on Sunday morning. Not the funnest part of brewing, just crank some good music, and having a helping hand is always a great thing. My dad helps sanitize and cap the bottles while I fill them, so bottling isn't nearly half as bad as it used to be.

 

[1stTimer]

I think I am going to have to draft SWMBO on this one. Its my first 10 gallon batch. I am not a fan of bottling 5 gallons so I know I am going to be burned out. But she is working tomorrow. Its more a question of whether or not the 10 month old will give her enough of a break.

 

[tojo]

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

It's all good times either way though.

 

[mewithstewpid]

vinerator and bottle tree will help immensely

 

[Revvy]

Dude, if they're clean you don't need to boil them just because they've been sitting around for 2 years....It's GLASS. Just give them a rinse and sanitize like you normally would.

You don't need to make this harder that you need to.

If you really feel you need to do something "special" which you really don't, stop at the LHBS and get yourself a jet bottle rinser,

If you have a basement sink, crank it to hot and blast them with the jet. Then "hit it with starsan."

You don't need to boil....

 

[Revvy]

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

 

[Calichusetts]

Try larger bottles...I know, I know, you mentioned a limited budget...but I use 16oz flip-top bottles and while bottling still isn't the highlight of my brew process, its lightning fast.

 

[BradleyBrew]

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

Yes! Amen... I tried kegging, and disliked it.

 

[1stTimer]

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

I know I most likely dont need to boil them but I get all spooked when its a bottle thats this old. And I may end of giving in and not doing it. its just nice to know that there is nothing to worry about. Maybe I can just fill the sink with a starsan mix and submerged them in it. Again, thanks for the feedback from everyone.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Plenty of time to just order a new fermenting bucket. Put the bottling off until you can commit as much time to it as you're comfortable with. Why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow.

 

[Airplanedoc]

Look at it this way, you saved some money on the babysitting, that you could now spend on brewing.

 

[1stTimer]

I look at everything that way these days. For instance: I was supposed to go on a golf trip to Pinehurst again this year but that was put on lock down by you know who. So I took the money I had saved up and have spent it on parts for my single tier system as well as the last 4 batches (counting next two) of brew. Makes not going on the trip a lot easier to deal with.

 

[rico567]

As "Revvy" says, you needn't bother boiling or otherwise radically treating your bottles prior to bottling. Once you know the bottles are clean, just be sure that when the beer is poured, the bottle is rinsed out immediately. Then the bottles can be stored, and either run through the dishwasher or sanitized with Star San (I find a vinator extremely convenient for this purpose), then filled. This has worked for me over several years and many batches with no problems.

 

[1stTimer]

Ok then. The closer it gets to 5pm the less I want to boil these things. You guys have convinced me. Im going to just rinse them again (it has been 2 years) and then hit them with the Star. Thanks guys. I needed to hear it from a few people.

 

[Homercidal]

+1 to not boiling. No point. They were rinsed well when opened, most that it likely in there is dust or something else that will be rinsed away. Then Starsan all inside and let it drip on the top shelf of the dishwasher or whatever you have to hold them upside down.

And also, it's usually no problem to put off bottling until you are really prepared. I have a terrible habit of doing a lot of thing unprepared and it makes an otherwise enjoyable hobby frustrating sometimes. Your beer won't suddenly go bad over the next couple of days or week...

I keg, and I won't lie, it's great and handy. But I still bottle sometimes. Sometimes I WANT a bottle of some 1/2 batch, or something heavier than I want sitting in my kegerator. (I only have 2 taps.) Keg is a great place to serve the "regular" beers, and bottles are still great for anything and especially for big beers!

Once you get a good system down for bottling it's not too bad.

 

[1stTimer]

Yeah I've certainly got a system and its cut down greatly on the time. I wouldnt be worried about it except that I have 2 more brews that I have to get done before the weekend and into the carboys that are currently being used. Again, not a bad problem to have.

 

[smokinop]

Although I do keg, I bottle most of my brews. Preparation is the key when I have a batch that is ready. I sanitize my bottles in the dishwasher either the night before I will bottle in the morning or run dishwasher in the morning & bottle in the afternoon.

Yesterday, was the first time I've kegged & had enough beer left to bottle so I had to approach bottling a little different. Carbed each bottle individually right out of the carboy instead of using a bottling bucket. Good luck & hope all goes well!

 

[scottland]

If you're really paranoid about it: Rinse them with hot water, then run them all through the diswasher with the heated dry cycle on. That will pasteurize the bottles. Rinse with star san after. Boiling 100 bottles sounds like an awfully tedious evening.

 

[Teromous]

Ah, I feel for you. Do me a favor? Take some pictures! I love seeing pictures of people's homebrewing, especially if it entails something like 100 bottles.

 

[bighorn_brew]

I would suggest employing your wife a time or two, it would make the kegging option alot more attractive from her standpoint, she may even suggest it then you have the green light...;^)

oh, btw, good luck, it was these "long nights of bottling" meads/beers that got me into kegging, you won't look back if you do...

 

[1stTimer]

Finished. Good night.

 

[falconnuke]

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

Rather agreed. Eventually, yes I will do some kegging. But I will also always bottle at least some to age, to give to friends/family (when I feel like it), etc.

Kegging's nice... but not the end-all of beer storage.

 

[LTownLiquorPig]

Rather agreed. Eventually, yes I will do some kegging. But I will also always bottle at least some to age, to give to friends/family (when I feel like it), etc.

Kegging's nice... but not the end-all of beer storage.

Diddo again. My problem is I drink it way too fast as it is. If it's cool and carbed all the time I'd be a bottomless pit! I need to keep my warm so I have to plan to drink it, rather then just drink it! I love beer. Once the novelty of always having beer around wears off it should be a different story.

That being said, I still hope to get into kegging someday.

 

[Steelers77]

Sell something, anything, and get yourself a kegging system!!!!!

It's all good times either way though.

No doubt!

 

[pksmitty]

A hundred bottles of beer on the wall, a hundred bottles of beer.......

 

[steelerfanatic7]

Ive actually got a good number of empty "bombers" I will be using. So that should knock the number down some. I appreciate everyones comments. Kegging is certainly not an option at the moment. Im dropping all my money into building my single tier system. I am gonig to try it eventually, just not anytime soon.

I know I most likely dont need to boil them but I get all spooked when its a bottle thats this old. And I may end of giving in and not doing it. its just nice to know that there is nothing to worry about. Maybe I can just fill the sink with a starsan mix and submerged them in it. Again, thanks for the feedback from everyone.

Im just a newbie but talking with the man at the home-brew store told me that u don't want to boil the bottles because the ash used to make the bottles would break down from the heat and get into the beer. I havent researched this but it may be worth looking in to

 

[coastwx]

Congrats!

I keg mostly, but bottle some of my stronger non-session beers or brews like porters and stouts. While it's not a super fun task, the feeling when finished of seeing cases of beer stacked on the floor is pretty nice. I had 3 batches ready this past weekend (2 brown ale, 1 IPA). Planned to bottle one and keg the other two, but once I got started and realized I could clear out my whole stock of empties, I kept going. Felt great Sat evening when I stacked an additional 6.5 cases along side the 6 cases I did last month! 4 kegs full and 12.5 cases of beer has my pipeline loaded!

 

[1stTimer]

So that was a long process but I’m done. Ended up with about 90 bottles. But that’s with a good number of larger bottles. Everything is in tubs sitting in the dinning room. Then this morning I went ahead and made my starter for my brews tomorrow. Doing a double chocolate stout and belgian dark strong. I will be posting updates on my blog. This brewing thing is becoming all encompassing. I love it! CHEERS!

 

[tojo]

Why? Not everyone kegs, nor does everyone choose to keg. And nor do folks who are talking about bottling usually appreciate the "keg" comment every freaking time we're talking about bottling. Most folks by now, know kegs exist, so we don't need to have someone "help" us by talking about them, contrary to what you might think, the word "keg" is usually not the answer to a bottling question.....

Just stating an opinion..to each their own as there is no right way just personal preferences. For me it's easier to keg and bottle what I want to afterward instead of having no other choice in a situation like his.

BTW...didn't mean to offend anyone.