Bottles or Barrel

[Mrmicp]

Hi All,

I'm new to this forum and home brew, and I'm just about embark on buying the equipment, I understand that bottling for the second fermentation period is the way to go but I have a question......

People say that if you use bottles they are easier to transport and fit in the fridge better, but my concerns are 1st if you do transport them won't all the sediment get mixed back up in the bottle ? 2nd while they are ok stood up in the fridge if you lie them down all won't all the sediment move?

Thanks for your help :

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Keep them upright if you can and try not to knock them.

I've had bottles where the sediment has compacted so much it doesn't move when on its side, but that was after about 6 months conditioning.

I don't have kegerator so kegging beer in a big keg is not an option.

Mini kegs are useful for 5 ltr amounts, but I was brewing a year and bottling before I considered that as an option.

Bottles are easy to start with as they can be readily available. A local pub will let you have some from their bottle bin if you ask nicely.

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Forgot to welcome you to the forum and homebrewing - how rude of me!

 

[BarmpotBilly]

Hi, I'm a newbie also. I haven't done any bottling yet because I think it could take up too much time, doing all the sterilizing . I use the king kegs and have had no problem with these so far.
I may go to bottling later but only when i have a time to cleaning out all the bottles etc..
Happy Brewing !

 

[Spacedhopper]

I'm in the same boat but have both at the ready!!

Got a pressure barrell with my kit but bit concerned I won't drink it quick enough!
My plan is bottles but then it's storing space!!!
I've been going on to all my mates about homebrew so will need to give a few bottles out!
I'd go with bottles but if you drink a lot regular and can chill a barrel somewhere it does sound easier

 

[stout les]

Hi, I'm a newbie also. I haven't done any bottling yet because I think it could take up too much time, doing all the sterilizing . I use the king kegs and have had no problem with these so far.
I may go to bottling later but only when i have a time to cleaning out all the bottles etc..
Happy Brewing !

hi Billy, bottling is a doddle if you get the right gear.....
little bottler.
bottle rincer.
bottle tree.
starsan.
bench capper as it caps any bottles.

 

[DoctorMick]

Sterelising is my biggest pain point with bottling at the moment but there are solutions, as stout les has pointed out. For me, it's worth all the effort as there is nothing more satisfying than the tssst sound when you crack open a bottle of your own beer.

 

[Cwrw666]

The same beer come out quite differently when in a PB compared to bottled. The head is much bigger and lasts, and the taste is quite different too - I guess it gets oxygenated as it comes out of the tap. Obviously putting your beer into a PB is a 5 minute job compared to the hour I spend filling bottles. And all that sanitising...

 

[Brewberoza]

If you are worried about clarity, put the fermentation vessel somewhere it can be 1) left undisturbed without moving it for up to two weeks and 2) somewhere you can access the tap. The latter is important. It means the sediment will remain at the bottom of the vessel and not be put back into suspension when the FV is moved to a convenient place to bottle or transfer into secondary. Transferring to another FV is also a good way to 'sediment' off excess particulate matter. A little sediment gets left at the bottom of the vessel. You lose a little volume, but get clearer liquid.

The colder the better. Colder means more particles fall out of suspension and faster too. At the end of the day though, it is not the end of the world. Just warn your tasters to leave the last drop in the bottle. Tell them a fine beer must be 'decanted' like a fine wine.

However, since colder works better, putting your beers in a fridge for a few days (if not more) will speed up the sedimentation in the bottle itself. The yeast should STICK to the bottom of the bottles once cold enough. The beer should then be transportable without the yeast returning to suspension.

Leave a small space in your fridge for just a few bottles of homebrew and you should always be ready to serve.

 

[Mrmicp]

Wow thanks for all in information : you've give me a lot to think about.

If I bottle (which I'm leaning towards) would I be best off buying FV with a tap then one of those bottling gadgets (not sure what they are called). Is that the ideal way to bottle?

I already have 24 clear swing top bottles so would need another 24 bottles, I could as suggested go to my local and see if they are willing to donate but I'm also interested in the PET bottles with crown caps... Are they a good solution or should I spend the money and get another 24 swing top bottles?

Thank :-D

 

[Cwrw666]

I use some rather ancient Grolsh swing top bottles but to be honest you can't beat crown caps. I'd always prefer glass bottles anyway and can be picked up free from pubs etc. Or buy them from a supermarket - they come ready filled with beer or cider. Pick a make that uses paper labels that soak off easily, and preferably nice thick glass. If you're careful when using the crown corker machine though you can get away with quite thin glass bottles. I've got quite a lot of Oakleys cider bottles that are quite thin but I've yet to bust one when fitting the crown caps (they were £1 from Tescos and they are a full 1 pint).
Actually I've just been out in the shed de-labelling some St Peters Cream Stout bottles - these are really thick glass but unfortunately have plastic labels which peel off ok but leave the glue behind on the bottle which is only removable with white spirits or something similar and much scraping with a knife.
As to your FV - having a tap makes life much easier!

 

[DoctorMick]

Wow thanks for all in information : you've give me a lot to think about.

If I bottle (which I'm leaning towards) would I be best off buying FV with a tap then one of those bottling gadgets (not sure what they are called). Is that the ideal way to bottle?

I already have 24 clear swing top bottles so would need another 24 bottles, I could as suggested go to my local and see if they are willing to donate but I'm also interested in the PET bottles with crown caps... Are they a good solution or should I spend the money and get another 24 swing top bottles?

Thank :-D

A bottling bucket with a bottling want/little bottler is a must IMO, siphoning into bottles can be a pain.

I bought 40 or so bottles but to be honest it was a waste of money, I'm now just saving my empties and the landlord at my local is sorting me out with 100 brown ale bottles. :clap:

 

[Hopping_Mad]

Little bottlers are a Godsend! I wouldn't try and bottle without them.

Bottle washers and no rinse sanitiser are good too. I tried chlorine based sanitiser and a bucket for my first few brews and its a bit of a pain.

With the above stuff I can now do it in under an hour for 40 bottles.

If you are really lazy, carbonation drops make priming really easy too!!! I can get a measure of sugar in with these babies really quickly now...
http://www.home-brew-online.com/equipment-c40/sugar-dispensers-p1586

 

[DrD]

My favourite bottles are the 95p cider bottles from Lidl. Cider isn't bad, but the bottles are thick and hold a full pint.

That and a few crates of German Kolsch bottles, mainly because of the stackable crates they come in that hold 20 bottles upright.

 

[kodak79]

I asked this question a while back but more toward if anyone had found any general rules for what tastes better in bottle versus barrel. Whenever I barrel a beer now I do a handful of bottles too as a taste comparison. not been able to do too many now as I only have 1 keg and 120 pints worth of bottles so most of the then go straight into bottle.

The lagers were better in the bottle and a stout that i did was much better in the barrel than the bottle. Has anyone else done this and found any patterns?

 

[kodak79]

For bottling I have a little clip on the end of my syphoning tube that works pretty well for controlling the flow with just 1 hand (http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/plastic-syphon-clamp-tube-clip-controls-flow-p-394.html). But I have to admit that that little bottler looks pretty good
- it'll be Christmas soon.

Is it this one? http://www.balliihoo.co.uk/little-bottler-the-easy-way-to-fill-your-bottles-p-41.html), and if so can the bottom of the tube be removed or turned the other way up so it's not in the way while not bottling?

 

[Spapro]

That is the little bottler you linked to at ballihoo, The whole tube can be removed from the tap when not needed - it just pushes on (goes nice and tight when needed for bottling).

Used my little bottler for my first bottling session at the w/end and it worked a treat !

 

[Mrmicp]

Hi,

Well in the end I have gone for a FV, fitted a s30 Tap and bought the bottler stick and extender :-D

I'm day 5 into my brew (Hammer of Thor) and its nicely fermenting away, maybe tonight I will add the hops....

Thanks all :