Brewing Master » Brewery » bottling
bottling
Question:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet… (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle?
Bottle! Even if it’s horrible, which it probably won’t be, most of the time and effort has already been expended. Why waste that? There is little to lose, and much to gain. — What would happen if I pulled the plug on the Reality Engine?
Response:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle? Rob **By all means, bottle! Otherwise, you’ll never know if it’s the best beer you ever made!
OK, I had similar experiances, but mine is mead. It’s still sitting in the fermentor, but now it has green stuff floating on it. Is this garbage, or should I bottle? Thanks– Caroline
Response:
If it’s been in the secondary for two months, it’s likely that your yeast is no longer active. it might not carbonate properly if that’s the case. It’s still good but you might want to look into a "finishing" yeast. "May I mambo dogface the Banana patch?"
Response:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle? Rob
By all means bottle! If you were careful with sanitation you should be in great shape. One whiff of the secondary will answer that question. You may want to rouse a little yeast when you rack to the bottling bucket just to be sure you have enough after a two and a half month secondary. Then again maybe others have experience that you have enough yeast still in suspension. I bet you’re going to love the brew! Dale — Our school color is clear… "I’m not naked! I’m in the marching band." — Steven Wright
Response:
: I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the : partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred : to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of : June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of : parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) : Should I dump or bottle? No question about it. BOTTLE. Same thing happened to me, except it spent 9 months in the secondary. Although it wasn’t the best thing I ever brewed, it was good enough to drink. ;-9 JJ
Response:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle? RobRob,
Bottle it. I cut my thumb in half in 1994 and my ale sat in the primary for two and a half months. Was still a very drinkable beer. Rich
Response:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle? Rob
Response:
I’ve done a batch of Porter awhile ago but haven’t bottled yet. I did the partial mash beginning of May, primary for a week, then transferred to secondary for a month. I was supposed to bottle the beginning of June but my daughter was born, and with the subsequent distress of parenthood, I haven’t bottled yet (Its been two months in the secondary) Should I dump or bottle? Rob
**By all means, bottle! Otherwise, you’ll never know if it’s the best beer you ever made!
Response:
= =BTW, it is much better to add the corn sugar solution to a bottling bucket =rather than to each bottle. This will ensure that the bottles will be =I’ve gone back and forth on this issue over the past several years. Although =just about every homebrewing book out there recommends using a bottling bucket =to add the priming solution to the beer, there are disadvantages to this =method. = 1) The priming solution needs to be mixed and boiled. This is a fairly simple procedure, requiring only a small amount of water and the sugar. Then boiling it. = 2) The green beer needs to be mixed with the priming solution. = I also believe that stirring is *required*. Anybody whose had = high-school chemistry knows that solutions can be amazingly = difficult to mix thoroughly enough to ensure an even concentration = through the volume of liquid. Even if a solution *appears* to be = well mixed, it may not be. Stirring is yet another area = that can introduce oxygen or other contaminates if one isn’t = careful. I’m not sure how others do it, but, what I do is to put the priming sugar/water in the bottom of the bottling bucket before I siphon the beer into it. Then I put the siphon hose down tothe bottom of the bucket with a slight turn to it. This causes the beer to swirl around in the bottom of the bucket, mixing itself with the priming sugar. As long as it doesn’t splash as I’m siphoning I don’t think I am aerating it much doing it this way. =undesireable microbes. Measurement is fairly easy as well. It’s real easy =to divide the 3/4c (or whatever amount) that you would incorporate into =the whole batch into some numbers of fractional portion of teaspoons (or =grams). Measurement error of a 16th of a teaspoon isn’t likely to cause =much of a variation in carbonation – at least for most of us homebrewers. This is probably true for someone with a set of measuring instruments small enough to divide it equally. Plus I rarely if ever get the same amount of beer out of a batch as I expect. Usually my fault because I am too cautious about getting too much gunk off the bottom and leaving too much beer behind. I see no real problem with doing it your way, it is just a lot easier with the method I use and I am notorious for taking the easy way out when 2 methods are basically equal. : Bob Marotte : : : : "Who wants to live forever"? : : Freddie Mercury : : : : Bob’s Wicked Bad Brewery : : "If it ain’t Bob’s, it ain’t Wicked Bad" :
Response:
BTW, it is much better to add the corn sugar solution to a bottling bucket rather than to each bottle. This will ensure that the bottles will be primed equally, with a lot less measuring and guess work. As long as you are careful about cleaning and don’t slosh the beer around you shouldn’t have any problem with a bottling bucket.
I’ve gone back and forth on this issue over the past several years. Although just about every homebrewing book out there recommends using a bottling bucket to add the priming solution to the beer, there are disadvantages to this method. 1) The priming solution needs to be mixed and boiled. 2) The green beer needs to be mixed with the priming solution. I also believe that stirring is *required*. Anybody whose had high-school chemistry knows that solutions can be amazingly difficult to mix thoroughly enough to ensure an even concentration through the volume of liquid. Even if a solution *appears* to be well mixed, it may not be. Stirring is yet another area that can introduce oxygen or other contaminates if one isn’t careful. The other method is to add a measured amount of dry priming sugar to each bottle. This method is often regarded as unsanitary and prone to measurement error. I’ve thought about this and those arguments just don’t really make much sense. First, dry corn sugar probably has very little (if any) bacterial contamination – there’s just not the right conditions there for bacteria to survive (moisture being the main issue.) So adding dry corn sugar to each bottle to each bottle is probably not going to add much in the way of undesireable microbes. Measurement is fairly easy as well. It’s real easy to divide the 3/4c (or whatever amount) that you would incorporate into the whole batch into some numbers of fractional portion of teaspoons (or grams). Measurement error of a 16th of a teaspoon isn’t likely to cause much of a variation in carbonation – at least for most of us homebrewers. I’ve played with this method for my last several batches of meads and beers and have had no problems with contamination or inconsistent carbonation. It’s really a whole lot easier than boiling and mixing up a priming solution, and it has the added advantage of allowing me to bottle directly from the carboy. Of course, the folks with pressurized kegs don’t have to deal with this issue at all. Davin Lim | Xilinx, Corporation | phone: 303/413-3248 2585 Central Ave. | fax: 303/442-0198
Response:
=I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the =amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it =was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I =had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I =suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a =corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the =secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound =correct? You should get a bottle filler tube. It is a short (1 1/2 foot) piece of stiff plastic with a spring loaded one-way valve at the end. You put your siphon tube onto it and when you put it into the bottle and push down on it, it will fill the bottle from the bottom up and there will be almost no foam. BTW, it is much better to add the corn sugar solution to a bottling bucket rather than to each bottle. This will ensure that the bottles will be primed equally, with a lot less measuring and guess work. As long as you are careful about cleaning and don’t slosh the beer around you shouldn’t have any problem with a bottling bucket. : Bob Marotte : : : : "Who wants to live forever"? : : Freddie Mercury : : : : Bob’s Wicked Bad Brewery : : "If it ain’t Bob’s, it ain’t Wicked Bad" :
Response:
: I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the : amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. : I think most people use another bottling bucket. One primary advantage : of using one bottling bucket for the whole batch is that you get : consistency in the level of carbonation in each bottle. Priming each : bottle could lead to inconsistency. Not to mention the possibility of EXPLODING BOTTLES ! *POW* "You can’t beat your brain for entertainment". Stretch `74 aka: Thom Middlestadt
Response:
I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct?
This happened to me on my first batch. Hasn’t happened since. I really cannot explain it. The beer did turn out okay though. After 3 weeks in the bottle carbonation was perfect.
Response:
I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct?
I think most people use another bottling bucket. One primary advantage of using one bottling bucket for the whole batch is that you get consistency in the level of carbonation in each bottle. Priming each bottle could lead to inconsistency. Hasta, Craig Haynie (Houston)
Response:
I have never primed the bottles like you are describing. if you are using a 5 gallon batch, use a 2cup of sugar solution and add it to the 5 gallon wort. stir it up a bit
Don’t use 2 cups of sugar! You will make bombs. Use 3/4 to 1 cup. I mix this with enough water to be able to boil it for 10 minutes (probably 2 cups) prior to adding it to my bottling bucket. Put the sugar solution in the bottling bucket prior to racking the beer, this allows better mixing without having to stir the beer. — Kevin Sanders 17095 Via del Campo, San Diego CA 92127, (619) 485-3972 / / Who you jivin’ with that cosmic debris?
Response:
I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct?
If this happened to me, I’d be rather worried that my beer hadn’t finished fermenting. Anyone else? I have never primed the bottles like you are describing. if you are using a 5 gallon batch, use a 2cup of sugar solution and add it to the 5 gallon wort. steve
When you say "2 cup sugar solution," I assume you mean sugar and water combined, not 2 cups of sugar, right? Generally, folks carbonate 5 gallons, if using corn sugar, with between 1/2 and 1 cup of sugar dissolved in a small amount of water.
Response:
I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct?
I have never primed the bottles like you are describing. if you are using a 5 gallon batch, use a 2cup of sugar solution and add it to the 5 gallon wort. stir it up a bit and then bottle..some foam might occur but its probably from pouring too fast from the bottling bucket to the bottles..it shouldnt have anything to do with carbination..it takes longer than that. write back if you have more questions.. steve
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct? I have never primed the bottles like you are describing. if you are using a 5 gallon batch, use a 2cup of sugar solution and add it to the 5 gallon wort. stir it up a bit and then bottle..some foam might occur but its probably from pouring too fast from the bottling bucket to the bottles..it shouldnt have anything to do with carbination..it takes longer than that. write back if you have more questions.. steve
Steve: You must fill the bottles from the bottom up. If fill from the top down you will get excessive foaming. Lawrence Howard Col.(Ret)USA Armor & JAG Judge(Ret) Arizona Court Of Appeals "On The Way!"
Response:
I just finished bottling my first batch and I was surprised by the amount of foam produced when the beer hit the bottles. I thought it was supposed to be flat at this point, but I got so much head that I had to top off the bottles after letting the head settle down. I suspect the reason this happened is that I primed each bottle with a corn sugar solution because I didn’t want to transfer from the secondary fermenter to another bottling bucket. Does this sound correct?
Response:
Does anyone know an easier way to fill bottles than use a tube to fill them one-at-a-time? Thanks in advance!
Response:
Does anyone know an easier way to fill bottles than use a tube to fill them one-at-a-time? Thanks in advance!
Yes a bottling machine from a brewery but most home brewers could not afford one or have the place to set it up. 
The tube with a valve on the end simplifies the process and there are several fillers that are more expensive that do a better job but the process is still very similar to the tube in the end result. http://rampages.onramp.net/~rcl 214/205-2571
Response:
Does anyone know an easier way to fill bottles than use a tube to fill them one-at-a-time? Thanks in advance!
I think a five-gallon plastic bucket with a spigot at the bottom is the cat’s meow when it comes to bottling. You put your priming solution into the bottom of the bucket, rack the beer into it, attach a length of tubing onto the spigot and go. You won’t need to worry about losing your siphon or about calculating the displacement of a filling wand in who-knows-what-size bottle.
Response:
Does anyone know an easier way to fill bottles than use a tube to fill them one-at-a-time? Thanks in advance!
My "bottling cane" hooks up to the bottling bucket with tubing. You insert the cane, push down and the beer fills the bottle. But the real reason I responded is that I have now made it automatic. Yes! My five year old daughter just cannot get enough of bottle filling. I prime my beer with cane sugar, prime her with M&M’s, and my bottles just fill themselves. I stand there with the capper and it’s easy.
Response:
Does anyone know an easier way to fill bottles than use a tube to fill them one-at-a-time? Thanks in advance! My "bottling cane" hooks up to the bottling bucket with tubing. You insert the cane, push down and the beer fills the bottle. But the real reason I responded is that I have now made it automatic. Yes! My five year old daughter just cannot get enough of bottle filling. I prime my beer with cane sugar, prime her with M&M’s, and my bottles just fill themselves. I stand there with the capper and it’s easy.
I’ve found that my eight year old son is also a very efficient "auto-bottler". Spouse is known to be and incredible "auto bottle washer". Too good to be true – I know. -randy allendale, michigan