Bottling using a pressure barrel as a bottling bucket

[Matt.A]

So I want to start a system of rolling brews so i dont have to wait 4 week or so for beer. instead of buying a bottling bucket and another barrel, is it ok to just buy another barrel and to use that as a bottling bucket with a bottling stick? would probably save a few quid!

thanks

[Philip Parsons]

Exactly what I was thinking. Am starting my second brew tomorrow and when I come round to bottling it I'm going to prime in the barrell, which is fitted with my little bottler, so should be nice and easy.

Can't see why you couldn't, but then again I'm no expert.

[dedken]

By refering to a bottling bucket I'm pretty sure people mean a normal fv adapted with a tap at the bottom. I don't think you'll find 'bottling bucket's advertised anywhere. I wouldn't be 100% on that though, I skip racking off and go straight from fv to bottle. The way I see it the more times you transfer your beer from one vessel to another the more chance you have of introducing an infection.

*Edited once for ridiculous typos

[Matt.A]

transferring straight from FV to bottles? That'd actually be much easier and save more cash, just rotate between the barrel and bottles. But my question is this, how do you bottle directly from the FV if your FV doesnt have a tap? all i've got is an autosyphon and plastic tubing so i'd imagine syphoning to bottles invidually without causing oxidation would be pretty much impossible!

[mshergold]

I quite often use an old pressure barrel to hold my beer if I'm not got time to bottle it all at once. I've not got a bottling stick, so use a syphon tube with tap to bottle and I've never had any oxidisation problems. What I have done recently though, is cut a piece of tubing that's as long as a wine bottle is deep and add it to the tap so it reaches the bottom of the bottle. Once what I'm bottling is flowing, the end of the tube is under liquid, so no problems with oxidisation.

[pas8280]

Any container really can be used as a bottling bucket and i take your point over costs etc however i spent approx a fiver on a little bottler it came complete with a tap etc and was the best fiver i have spent i fitted it in a FV bin and it makes it so much easier you can prime the whole brew in one go and spillage / wastage is negligable, there was originally a bit of dripping but i solved that with a spring and stainless washer, in my humble opinion if your bottling get yourself one of these.