Bottling it! (with pictures)

A forum to discuss the various ways of getting beer into your glass.
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chrisheartsbeer

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by chrisheartsbeer » Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:03 am

Uh oh. It was a pretty weak solution. And, the bottles didn't smell like a swimming pool or nuffin'. I don't think it'll kill me but I can't imagine it's going to be very tasty beer though! Fairly metallic tasting would be my guess. I'll let you all know in two weeks time.

Drayman

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by Drayman » Wed Oct 03, 2012 11:21 am

i think should be the post of the week with this knowledge and if this was allowed i think people would pay four this knowledge we'll done a lot of well thought out time and effort has gone into to this well done


keep it up your beer looks well

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orlando
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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by orlando » Fri Oct 12, 2012 7:27 am

chrisheartsbeer wrote:Uh oh. It was a pretty weak solution. And, the bottles didn't smell like a swimming pool or nuffin'. I don't think it'll kill me but I can't imagine it's going to be very tasty beer though! Fairly metallic tasting would be my guess. I'll let you all know in two weeks time.

How did it go Chris?
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

chrisheartsbeer

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by chrisheartsbeer » Sun Oct 14, 2012 3:29 pm

Hi. Well, I've drunk a fair bit of it and I'm still standing up. It MAY have a bit of a funny taste. It's hard to say though because this was my first brew. I've since made a golden ale, that is bloody delicious, but I'm still happily drinking the wheat beer. Certainly not poisonous though which was the big worry!

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orlando
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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by orlando » Mon Oct 15, 2012 7:22 am

Glad to see your still with us. :D
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by Flamenco » Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:52 pm

Crowncap - excellent post. Love the pics but what's all that business with the CO2 spray thing?? What is that for, how does it work and what does it do for the beer in the bottle?

Cheers

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orlando
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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by orlando » Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:07 am

Flamenco wrote:Crowncap - excellent post. Love the pics but what's all that business with the CO2 spray thing?? What is that for, how does it work and what does it do for the beer in the bottle?

Cheers
Eliminates oxygen which has a staling effect on the beer - in the long term, most of us drink it way before that's a problem :D
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by Flamenco » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:32 am

orlando wrote:
Eliminates oxygen which has a staling effect on the beer - in the long term, most of us drink it way before that's a problem :D
Eek. I will be bottling my Brewferm Abdij in a couple of weeks and was hoping to save them till Christmas (well most of them). Should I be thinking about purging oxygen from the process somehow?

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orlando
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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by orlando » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:49 am

Is it a high gravity beer? These are beers that do not stale as quick and as long as you are careful when bottling ( a bottling wand or cane is perfect) I doubt you will notice any great difference.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by Flamenco » Sun Feb 17, 2013 2:22 pm

Just in case anyone was wondering...

If you balance your FV on a small stool or coffee table on top of the kitchen work top, and then prop a metal dish under one edge to allow the siphon tube to get the last drop of beer out and you accidentally tug the siphon tube while trying to fill the last bottle... the resulting mess can be SPECTACULAR!!!!

Just sayin...

(Yes, the FV doesn't stay balanced on the stool/metal dish combo and the extra height only adds to the effect...)

neilmcca

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by neilmcca » Wed Mar 13, 2013 1:31 pm

I've seen one or 2 people here mention that they use a little bottler attached via an auto-syphon, seems like a really quick and easy way to bottle,
If you fast forward to 2:53 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hO974evrM5Y you will see what i mean.
i'd prefer this method as opposed to having the little bottler attached to my bucket, less bending over and i could have all my bottles ready in 2 crates and fill them in one go without picking a single one up (until i have to cap them).

what i'd like to know is do the 2 fit together without any kind of adjustment or "bodging".
the little bottler i have is this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Brew-Wine- ... B002H42I9I
and the auto-syphon i'm looking at getting is http://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Brew-Young ... B0022QGW8O

thanks for any info.

Neil.

lf1983lf

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by lf1983lf » Fri Jan 03, 2014 8:58 pm

I attempted my first bottling today and it took *ages* #-o

Things I'll know for next time:

1. Always have a spare bucket for sanitising bottles (took over an hour using a basin)
2. Always have a sturdy clip or two for holding the siphon
3. Don't tell yourself you're going to quickly prime with sugar syrup using a syringe when you don't have a syringe
4. It is possible to break bottles using a crown capper :oops:

Other than that, I have 39 bottles of beer and all the time in the world! The bottle tree looks handy.

berts

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by berts » Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:51 pm

> tree looks handy.

just bottled my first batch with a bottle tree and yes worth every penny. bert

WalesAles
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Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by WalesAles » Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:22 pm

lf1983lf wrote:I attempted my first bottling today and it took *ages* #-o

Things I'll know for next time:

1. Always have a spare bucket for sanitising bottles (took over an hour using a basin)
2. Always have a sturdy clip or two for holding the siphon
3. Don't tell yourself you're going to quickly prime with sugar syrup using a syringe when you don't have a syringe
4. It is possible to break bottles using a crown capper :oops:

Other than that, I have 39 bottles of beer and all the time in the world! The bottle tree looks handy.
Hello,
Welcome to the Madhouse!
1 Buy some of these! Invaluable bit of kit. http://www.tesco.com/direct/tesco-garde ... d=212-1162
2 Look on Homebrew shops on Fleabay.
3 Try batch priming, much easier. Look on Jims Beer Kit for Batch Priming.
4 Yes it is. I broke one 2 days ago. Bloody Fosters Gold little bottle for taste testing. The other 4 were great.
Other than that, if you have all the time in the world, get another Brew on!
Bottle trees are great. If you have a Dishwasher, wipe all the pointy bits with your sterilising stuff, upend your sterilised bottles on the top and bottom racks.
Hope this helps. All questions quickly answered by someone on JBK!
WA

neilmcca

Re: Bottling it! (with pictures)

Post by neilmcca » Sat Jan 04, 2014 11:18 am

I've got bottling nailed down now,
i keep my bottles stored in a plastic box i got from staples, its big enough to hold 45 x 500ml bottles, each bottle is cleaned prior to storage and has about an inch of bleach/water and has an old cap on top,
on bottling day, i give each bottle a quick shake, empty and sanitise on bottle rinser with VWP (my bottle caps are also sanitised in the VWP in bottle rinser), put on bottling tree to drain.
batch prime bottling bucket, transfer beer to bottling bucket and put it on kitchen work top, i then use 2 crates to hold bottles in place on kitchen floor, bottling wand attached to bottling bucket via 2 metre hose, and proceed to fill bottles.
once all bottles are filled, cap with bench capper (bench capper is the way to go, way better than the 2 handed jobbies, )

very easy, very quick.

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