Bottling Question.

[Theoriginalrich]

Just a quick question but first some background.
I have a Harlequin NEIPA in my fermenter and the colour is frankly amazing, hopefully it tastes as good as it looks. I haven’t got cornies so I’m bottling up. So here’s the question.
Has any one bottled straight from a syphon with a bottling wand attached?
I’m thinking if I don’t use another vessel for priming and bottling I’ll minimise any chance if oxidisation.

 

[Agentgonzo]

I don't use a bottling bucket - it increases chances of oxidisation as you say, and doesn't offer me any benefit. I bottle straight from the fermenter. I don't use a bottling wand - just straight out of the tap into the bottle.

The colour of my beer was the same coming out of the fermenter a couple of months ago as it is coming out of the bottle when I opened one this evening.

As far as I see it, the main benefits of a bottling bucket are
* Even dispersal of priming sugar throughout the beer
* Any trub picked up from the primary can be left in the bottom of the bottling bucket
* Easier to fill bottles from a tap in your bottling bucket than the siphon from your fermenter

If you can work around those (for me, level teaspoon of priming sugar per bottle and a conical fermenter with a racking arm and and bottom tap) then the bottling bucket is unnecessary

Also... You mentioned NEIPA. Queue a list of people telling you that you're doing it wrong and need to buy a load of cornie kegs and purge everything with CO2

 

[Dutto]

From the fermenter (after 2 weeks) I transfered the brew to a bottling bucket, added the sugar to carbonate it, bottled the brew and then let it sit for a couple of weeks to carbonate before cold crashing.

I now use 10 litre kegs but generally follow the same system, but I rely on bottled CO2 to carbonate the brew after cold crashing.

I can’t recall ever going from Fermenter to Bottle. Sorry!

PS My memory is failing so you may find in “Dutto’s Brew Day” an occasion when I did go “Fermenter > Bottle > Drink” - but I doubt it.

 

[Big_Eight]

I think you have a good approach as that style is much more prone to oxidation issues.

I normally use a bottling bucket and batch prime without any problems.

I see bottling right from the fermenter and priming each bottle separately to be an advantage for this style though. I'm going to start employing this for my IPA's soon.

 

[MickDundee]

I’ve never used a bottling bucket in the 7 years I’ve been brewing.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

A bottling wand greatly reduces oxidation as you are filling from the bottom into beer not air.

 

[Deathstar]

I use sugar sticks to prime the bottles, then fill directly from the fermenter with a siphon and wand.

 

[Big_Eight]

A bottling wand greatly reduces oxidation as you are filling from the bottom into beer not air.

I agree one should probably not be bottling if they don't have a bottling wand of some kind as I could see that causing a bit of oxidation.

 

[Clint]

One thing I learned today is if using a wand on a tap make sure the tap is set in the correct "open" position as being set slightly more can cause it to suck air. A bit like setting a tap not in the correct closed position as it can leak...but in reverse.

 

[Theoriginalrich]

I usually use a second bucket for priming and bottling, most beers turn out good but some oxidise. I’m fine because it’s never that bad but I don’t want this latest batch to spoil. That’s why I was going to try the bottling wand attached to the syphon.

 

[Sadfield]

Simple, the less time in contact with air the better. I think you're on the right track with your plan.

Also... You mentioned NEIPA. Queue a list of people telling you that you're doing it wrong and need to buy a load of cornie kegs and purge everything with CO2

Oddly it always happens when responding to people who ask about problems with their NEIPAs......weird.

 

[Theoriginalrich]

Yeah. In an ideal world I’d have enough space for a kegerator and cornies to spare but space dictates set ups and I don’t have enough space…yet.