Trying to Improve Bottling

[Jazz]

I just bottled EDME IPA last night. Took about 2.5- 3hrs....(including prep and clear down time)

Just wondering how long it takes for others ?

My method was as follows....

1. Move FV to high position (kitchen table on top of wooden crates)
2. Sterilise 20 bottles + rinse
3. Auto-sython into two Pimms jugs
4. Place priming sugar into each bottle (no batch priming as I use different priming sugars)
5.Fill bottles (using funnel)
6. Repeat steps 3. and 5. until bottles full
7. cap

I then sterilised another ten or so bottles and repeated + again with some more bottles

I probably should have sterilised all the bottles first. But space can be a bit of an issue...

I made the mistake of pouring a jug back in the FV which stirred up the sediment.


My method of sterilising was as follows


small amount of Camden solution added to each bottle then rinsed three times with cold water. Caps placed in boiling water until needed (I didn't bother sterilising them all though)


Some questions

1. Does it matter if you stir up the sediment when you bottle ? I mean surely it will settle in the bottle ?

I always tend to not bottle the last two pints because of the sediment, maybe this doesn't matter ?

2. Would finnings help or are they really for kegs ?

I had the idea of using a secondary FV with a tap. I used this method successfully once. I then bought a 'bottling wand' and realised the FV leaked around the seal. I've since decided that a plastic FV with a removable tap is not the best idea....


Any suggestions for greater efficiency.....

Thanks

Jazz

 

[droche]

Get a bottling wand or little bottler. It saves loads of time messing with jugs and funnels.

 

[Jazz]

Get a bottling wand or little bottler. It saves loads of time messing with jugs and funnels.

Yeah bought one of those a while back. But found the tap leaked on the FV so couldn't use one. Tried both taps and had the same problem...

Will test the bucket again. I just think that wear and tear must break the plastic since you have to remove the tap every time to clean and sterilise...

 

[graysalchemy]

Yes get a bottling wand. I can do over a hundred bottles, sterilising, filling capping and cleaning up in about a hour and a half. :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

To be as fast as possible you need to rinse each bottle out a few times after using it and the store it , then come bottling day you have a bottling tree with a bottle rinser and some star san . You will be able to clean bottles etc in about 15 mins . Then batch priming in a clean fv with a bottling wand and after transfer you can do 40 bottles in around 30/40 mins plus 5 mins to cap . So all in all you can bottle in around 1 hr .

 

[droche]

Yeah bought one of those a while back. But found the tap leaked on the FV so couldn't use one

I just attach mine to the end of my syphon tube so no need to use the tap.

 

[screamlead]

I do the same i attached mine to a syphon tube

 

[bobsbeer]

I use a bottle blaster attached to the kitchen tap to rinse. Then steralise with Videne and put on the bottle tree to drain. Then bottle with the wand attached to the syphon tube. I usually draw the liquid into the tube with a valve near the end then attach the wand and open the valve. Usually takes me about an hour to do 30 bottles of wine.

 

[Megaross]

You shouldn't pour into the bottles like that, you'll risk oxidation.

My current method is get all bottles, make up a gallon of VWP, syphon about half an inch into each bottle. Then give it a shake.
Set timer for 5 minutes, work through bottles shaking periodically and then rinse each one 3 times.
I don't worry about drying, just give it a good shake upside down and it'll drain most of the water out.

Get the autosyphon (with a little bottler on the end) and give that a good rinse.

Prime all bottles with a dry funnel and a volumetric measure (the metal spoon measures are good).

Then plonk syphon into the bucket and bottle away. Capping bottles shortly after. Give em a good wipe and stick em in the warm cavern of your choosing (ooh err)

It's better to have two of you but I tilt the FV and carefully manouver the syphon to get all the viable beer from it.

Going to invest in some videne and a bottling bucket soon though, that is the best way by far.

 

[Duncs]

Yeah bought one of those a while back. But found the tap leaked on the FV so couldn't use one

I just attach mine to the end of my syphon tube so no need to use the tap.

I attach the syphon tube to the tap and the bottler at the other end of the syphon, I lost the spring from my bottler and it's a lot faster filling bottles now :party:

 

[rpt]

Get a bottling wand or little bottler. It saves loads of time messing with jugs and funnels.

Yeah bought one of those a while back. But found the tap leaked on the FV so couldn't use one. Tried both taps and had the same problem...

Will test the bucket again. I just think that wear and tear must break the plastic since you have to remove the tap every time to clean and sterilise...

I have two plastic FVs with taps and have no leaks. I remove the taps to clean them. Have you got the washers in the right place? (The outside) Or is it the valve on the tap that's failed?

 

[Jazz]

I have two plastic FVs with taps and have no leaks. I remove the taps to clean them. Have you got the washers in the right place? (The outside) Or is it the valve on the tap that's failed?

I'm going to leave it for a few hours to check for leaks. As far as I know the tap goes through the barrel the rubber seal against the inside with the locking nut tightening it.

I did hear that if you tighten the nut too much the seal can deform and cause leaks ?


I've also tried attaching the auto syphon to the little bottler. The 'exit' is a little too wide to fit inside the white plastic attachment of the little bottler. I have some ordinary syphon tubes but they're not a great fit (water blew the join and went everywhere


I think a great idea would be to have a little bottler for a pressure barrel tap. That way you don't have to remove the tap after each brew ?

Cheers

Jazz

 

[fbsf]

To be as fast as possible you need to rinse each bottle out a few times after using it and the store it , then come bottling day you have a bottling tree with a bottle rinser and some star san . You will be able to clean bottles etc in about 15 mins . Then batch priming in a clean fv with a bottling wand and after transfer you can do 40 bottles in around 30/40 mins plus 5 mins to cap . So all in all you can bottle in around 1 hr .

This is exactly what I do. You don't need to remove the tap each time to clean it - just give it a quick rinse and sanitise before putting it away, making sure you run the sanitising solution through the tap.

 

[DethApostle]

My routine:
The day before bottling I put the bottles in the dishwasher on the longest setting with a tablet and a teaspoon of VWP.
On the day I give them another run in the washer on the shortest setting with no extra cleaner or VWP (no idea why I do this though tbh)
The clean, hot, bottles are then put on a sanitised bottle tree and moved near the FV.
I then fill 10 bottles at a time using a little bottler attached to the tap on the FV.
Once 10 are full, I cap them and put to one side. (Caps are kept in a small bucket of VWP solution which also catches the drips from the bottler!)
Repeat until all bottles are full.

Things to note:
I always rinse out the bottles with hot water after I pour the beer so clear as much sediment out as possible.
I now always batch prime in the FV. Pour in the sugar solution very carefully and give it a gentle stir to circulate without disturbing the yeast cake at the bottom.
Also I crash cool my FV in my beer fridge for at least 2 days before bottling. This helps drop even more sediment out of the beer, and also firms up the yeast so I can get even closer too it while bottling!

I would guess it takes me 45 minutes to bottle, cap and store c. 44 bottles (c. 5g)
Short of having another pair of hands to help I don't know whether I could reduce this any.

Cheers
DA

 

[rpt]

As far as I know the tap goes through the barrel the rubber seal against the inside with the locking nut tightening it.

You need the washer on the outside to stop liquid leaking along the thread.

 

[IPA]

Ferment in first fermenter until near FG then transfer to a second fermenter add finings a leave for seven days then transfer the beer to a third vessel by way of a silicone pipe attached to the tap of the FV. This means that the beer is bright with no yeast sediment. I then add the priming sugar in a liquid form stir well and then transfer it to the bottle, cornie or keg using the same method ie silicone hose attached to the tap. As there is always a couple of litres left after filling the cornie or keg(I brew either 25 or 50 litres) I then attach a Little Bottler and fill bottles with the remainder. As there is no sediment to disturb I can tip the vessel to bottle the very last drop and all of the beer has the same amount of priming sugar. This method is great with cornies because there is minimal yeast but enough to carbonate the beer
IPA

 

[Jazz]

I've moved the seal to the outside and it seems to be holding. I suppose you could add one to the inside as well if you wanted ?

Ferment in first fermenter until near FG then transfer to a second fermenter add finings a leave for seven days then transfer the beer to a third vessel by way of a silicone pipe attached to the tap of the FV. This means that the beer is bright with no yeast sediment. I then add the priming sugar in a liquid form stir well and then transfer it to the bottle, cornie or keg using the same method ie silicone hose attached to the tap. As there is always a couple of litres left after filling the cornie or keg(I brew either 25 or 50 litres) I then attach a Little Bottler and fill bottles with the remainder. As there is no sediment to disturb I can tip the vessel to bottle the very last drop and all of the beer has the same amount of priming sugar. This method is great with cornies because there is minimal yeast but enough to carbonate the beer
IPA

Can you just add finings to the primary FV then transfer to the secondary ?

I was reluctant to use finings because I thought there wouldn't be enough yeast left when it comes to bottling. Is this ever a problem ?


The other thing experienced home brewers do is they tend to leave the beer to ferment for along time, 2+ weeks depending on the beer.

Does this improve the taste more, or is conditioning in the bottles for longer have more of an impact ?

If you leave the beer in the FV for say more than week would it be a good idea to clean off the scum + deposits etc with a sterilised cloth or leave it ?

I seem to have so many questions :hmm:

 

[Cheshire muzz]

I've had a leaky tap as well. Put the washer on the inside. Was that the problem?

 

[IPA]

I've moved the seal to the outside and it seems to be holding. I suppose you could add one to the inside as well if you wanted ?

Ferment in first fermenter until near FG then transfer to a second fermenter add finings a leave for seven days then transfer the beer to a third vessel by way of a silicone pipe attached to the tap of the FV. This means that the beer is bright with no yeast sediment. I then add the priming sugar in a liquid form stir well and then transfer it to the bottle, cornie or keg using the same method ie silicone hose attached to the tap. As there is always a couple of litres left after filling the cornie or keg(I brew either 25 or 50 litres) I then attach a Little Bottler and fill bottles with the remainder. As there is no sediment to disturb I can tip the vessel to bottle the very last drop and all of the beer has the same amount of priming sugar. This method is great with cornies because there is minimal yeast but enough to carbonate the beer
IPA

Can you just add finings to the primary FV then transfer to the secondary ?
I was reluctant to use finings because I thought there wouldn't be enough yeast left when it comes to bottling. Is this ever a problem ?
The other thing experienced home brewers do is they tend to leave the beer to ferment for along time, 2+ weeks depending on the beer.
Does this improve the taste more, or is conditioning in the bottles for longer have more of an impact ?
If you leave the beer in the FV for say more than week would it be a good idea to clean off the scum + deposits etc with a sterilised cloth or leave it ?
I seem to have so many questions :hmm:

I always prime in secondary. The use of finings will not remove all of the yeast and there will always enough left to condition the beer. The taste of the beer will change in direct relation to the conditioning period. Bottled beer will take longer to condition than beer in a barrel and for some reason it tastes different as well even it it is from the same batch. After you have filled a barrel fill a couple of bottles and then taste them side by side and you will see the difference. If you have somewhere cool it pays to put the beer there for a while after it has conditioned to improve the taste.
This is my timescale for a top fermented beer of around 1.045 OG at 18-20°C
First fermenter 5 Days (no need to skim)
Transfer to second fermenter add finings and leave for 7 Days
Transfer to third vessel add priming sugar stir well and then barrel/ bottle
Barrel condition 2 weeks
Bottle condition 6 weeks
Strictly speaking there is no need to fine or add priming sugar but the whole process takes longer.
This is for Beer. Lager is a somewhat different process!
Hope this helps

 

[rpt]

I've moved the seal to the outside and it seems to be holding. I suppose you could add one to the inside as well if you wanted ?

I wouldn't bother as it won't make any difference.

If you leave the beer in the FV for say more than week would it be a good idea to clean off the scum + deposits etc with a sterilised cloth or leave it ?

Just leave it. I usually leave the beer in the FV for 2 weeks before bottling and even 3 or 4 weeks shouldn't be a problem. You definitely don't want to be interfering with it in any way as this will increase the risk of an infection.

I seem to have so many questions :hmm:

That's what we're are here for.