Bottling day help

[TastyMcbrewski]

Hi all

Nothing good ever comes without a bit of pain, but just wondering if there is a way to minimise bottling day blues?

Having just finished at >2 hours for 40 bottles, Would any of you be able to cast your eye over my process below to see if I can be a bit more efficient?

- Wash all bottles with warm water
- Sanitise (using wilko home brew sanitiser) all bottles and equipment (using spray stand)
- Rinse all equipment/bottles with cold water
- half a tsp of priming sugar into each bottle
- fill bottles direct from fv using little bottler/bottling wand attached to fv tap
- transport 40l of beer up two flights of stairs (don’t think anyone can help with this!)

It may be this is all necessary and the effort makes the beer taste that much sweeter but any thoughts would be much appreciated!

 

[Scrattajack]

That's pretty much what I do, but I use a no-rinse sanitiser (Starsan or Chemsan) on the bottles. This removes the need to rinse them.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I do about 40 bottles per batch, and it takes a little under an hour.

I wash each bottle after using it. It takes maybe 20 seconds with a bottle brush, then leave to drain/dry. They are stored clean so that eliminates the cleaning part from bottling day.

Like scratterjack, I use starsan. Using a bottle rinser makes this easy. No rinse sanitiser eliminates the need to do an extra rinse step.

 

[MashBag]

Bottle racing a fave subject....
40 bottles under 1 hour

When you wash bottles.
Spray 3 pumps of alcohol (vodka)
Seal with a taper cork
Store your bottles in crates.

Bottling......
Get three crates
Uncork and drain each bottle(Vodka can be reused)
Return to crate
Prime with a zevro
Syphon, fill with a long nose party tap.
While filling others, uncork & drain rest.
Use recycled crown caps
Use capper and mallet in crate.
Invert each bottle to test seal.
Return to crate.
Stack crates on conditioning heater.


Can you do it faster?

 

[Rugby Fan.]

Instead of a bottling wand directly on the tap I have a bit of silicone tubing between the two and the bottles in the crate.

That way I can hop from bottle to bottle very quickly

 

[Agentgonzo]

Just bottled my witbier today. 34 bottles (split batch, 5L if it was fermented with a different yeast) in 45 minutes after about 5 minutes setup.

 

[MashBag]

They are stored clean so that eliminates the cleaning part from bottling day.

Oooo Bottle rack?

 

[Agentgonzo]

Oooo Bottle rack?

Nope. Clean them in the sink with a bottle brush, let them drain, then dry on the windowsill. Then stick them on the shelf in the brewing cupboard.

 

[Rugby Fan.]

If I use bottles from commercial filtered beer will a rinse after use be enough along with Star San on bottling day?

 

[Agentgonzo]

If I use bottles from commercial filtered beer will a rinse after use be enough along with Star San on bottling day?

That's what I do. I rinse the bottles out after pouring and then consider them 'clean'. For homebrew bottles, I use a bottle brush to scrub clean the yeast residue from the inside.
Then on bottling day, it's just a case of rinsing them with starsan.

 

[MashBag]

Yup. I steal (sorry recycle) beer bottles and caps. Rinse bottles boil caps.

 

[TastyMcbrewski]

Thanks all for your suggestions (and hope for improvement…under an hour - nice!). Will review in more detail but on first glance Starsan seems like a quick easy win

 

[DocAnna]

If I may come in with a late entry.... if you batch prime it's a lot easier and more consistent than priming each bottle. Calculate the sugar for the whole batch and dissolve the sugar in some boiling water. Start a syphon transfer into a sanitised empty fermenting bucket, and after there's a bit (an inch- ish) of beer transferred, add your sugar mix and continue the transfer. This should mix the sugar solution as you fill. Better not to add the sugar solution right at the beginning as it may not mix effectively with the beer. Then bottle with a decent bottling wand as usual.

 

[Rugby Fan.]

If I may come in with a late entry.... if you batch prime it's a lot easier and more consistent than priming each bottle. Calculate the sugar for the whole batch and dissolve the sugar in some boiling water. Start a syphon transfer into a sanitised empty fermenting bucket, and after there's a bit (an inch- ish) of beer transferred, add your sugar mix and continue the transfer. This should mix the sugar solution as you fill. Better not to add the sugar solution right at the beginning as it may not mix effectively with the beer. Then bottle with a decent bottling wand as usual.

I agree batch priming is much easier. Keeping plastic buckets spotless and sanitised... not so much (in my experience anyway)

 

[jeremy Hall]

I bottle half for immediate consumption in plastic 1 litre bottles, and half for storage in 500ml glass. This makes it a bit quicker as the plastic are larger with screw tops.

Also, my wife hates my music, so I get to spend 2 hours in the sunshine in the garden listening to my music which is always a bonus.

I rinse all my bottles after use and store them in a rack. Clean and rinse before use with home brew steriliser. I don't like the non rinse cleaners. I think they give the beer an aftertaste. But that may just be me.

Plus, it's a good time to have a beer! Bottling tonight!

 

[foxy]

Don't think of bottling as a chore. Prepare your bottles the day before (splits up bottling day) batch prime and switch off while filling bottles. Only a cask ale can beat a bottle conditioned beer.

 

[Nucbrewer]

Sound a lot like my process. I did get a bottle tree to make it easier to handle and store them while bottling.

 

[Rugby Fan.]

Don't think of bottling as a chore. Prepare your bottles the day before (splits up bottling day) batch prime and switch off while filling bottles. Only a cask ale can beat a bottle conditioned beer.

One could also prepare bottling during the mash and do the bottling during the boil. Brew day will be busier but have less dead time.
Only do this if you can bottle in auto pilot!

 

[sifty]

I rinse bottles straight after use and store them in crates till I have enough for batch cleaning. Then use a bottle brush in a battery drill with home made PBW, give them a really good hot rinse and drain upside down in fastrack racks. When dry I wrap foil over the top and place in cardboard crates in the cupboard (keeps dust out and identifies clean bottles)...

So I always have clean dry bottles ready, that just need a good rinse with starsan and placed on a bottling tree before filling. I also batch prime in a sanitised bottling bucket, use a stainless wand of decent diameter, and have a good bench capper (caps sit in starsan solution in vinator (bottle rinser) on top of tree)...

Sounds like a lot of equipment but I got great deals on most of it, and it really makes it easier. And like others I look on it as 'me' time, not a chore, just put some music on and enjoy it...

 

[MashBag]

I don't understand the following for batch priming. Logically I never have and it appears to be getting close to the status of Internet myth.

The statements easier and more consistent are popular choices and both raise cause for concern.

Easier. How can adding an additional process, extra vessels, tools, more cleaning up, more exposure to air etc be deemed easier?

More consistent.
The objective is to accurately & repeatedly dose many bottles.

The scope for error is elevated in batch priming. Errors weighing sugar, measuring water, maths, actual volume after racking.

It does however have the unique ability to consistently get the whole batch wrong

I for one would prefer to get one bottle wrong than the entire brew. Brew days have their moments, mine sure have. And the ability to look in the bottle (perhaps after the phone has interrupted you) and be able to do a visible check is positive confirmation.

Further.. dosing each bottle, requires us to visit each bottle in turn. If it has a chip, flaw, or even some residual cleaning agent
These can all be detected and corrected.

So we need accurate & repeatable measurement of an ingredient then. Now the modern food industry, brewing and medicine is built on this very thing. They call it dosing.

And to cut a rambling thread short.
What better than a sugar doser for under £10. Easier yes. More consistent - absolutely (in process and practise)

As brewers we like to use industry ideas why not this one?