Bottling question.

jamesbil

Hi,
I have been brewing for years but want to improve final product.
The last couple of beer kits I bottled were good but too gassy.
I'm guessing too much sugar at bottling or not finished fermenting.
This time I want to batch prime with normal white sugar.

A while ago I used to move the beer off the yeast after 7 days and leave to settle for a day before bottling, this gave a nice clear beer. Is this good/bad idea?

Should I move the beer off the yeast into a second 5 gal barrel first and leave to settle then add the sugar/water mix?

Also kegging? I have done stout before so flat ish was ok, but what about beer? how to get a better fizz?

Thanks
James

BeerNut

jamesbil wrote: »

A while ago I used to move the beer off the yeast after 7 days and leave to settle for a day before bottling, this gave a nice clear beer. Is this good/bad idea?

I'd give it a minimum two weeks fermenting, just to let the yeast clean up after itself. It could be that your beer is too gassy because fermentation hasn't quite finished after only eight days.

jamesbil wrote: »

Also kegging? I have done stout before so flat ish was ok, but what about beer? how to get a better fizz?

Corny keg is probably your best bet: something that keeps the beer under pressure so it doesn't go flat as the keg empties.

gosplan

A much easier bottling question here: can you recap twistys with a capper?

jamesbil

Two weeks sounds a lot for a beer kit, wont it spoil if left after the fermentation has stopped.
Do you batch prime BeerNut?

Corny kegs are a bit above my budget, I have a standard plastic keg with a s30 valve.

BeerNut

gosplan wrote: »

A much easier bottling question here: can you recap twistys with a capper?

You can, I believe, but I wouldn't trust them to stay sealed.

jamesbil wrote: »

Two weeks sounds a lot for a beer kit, wont it spoil if left after the fermentation has stopped.

No. Bottle conditioned beer keeps for years after the fermentation has stopped. You can run the risk of autolysis causing off flavours if you leave the beer in the fermenter too long, but I'm told that's not a danger until six or seven weeks in. Two to four weeks is absolutely fine and I wouldn't ferment for any less.

jamesbil wrote: »

Do you batch prime BeerNut?

I do. Like this.

jamesbil

Thats a great guide thanks.
It doesnt talk of rinsing the bottles, I assume this is necessary, unless the bleach and vinegar at this dilution wont kill the beer?

BeerNut

Bleach and vinegar is no-rinse. You'll just wash the cleanness off

sharingan

jamesbil wrote: »

A while ago I used to move the beer off the yeast after 7 days and leave to settle for a day before bottling, this gave a nice clear beer. Is this good/bad idea?

You should only rack off the primary when it has finished fermenting. Use your hydrometer to check if the gravity has changed over a couple of days, and if it is what you expect.

It is a bad idea to bottle before fermentation has finished.
It is a good idea to rack off prior to bottling.
It is a better idea to rack again from your secondary back into the original cleaned and sanitised fermenter onto your priming solution.

gosplan

What's a bottling wand and us it necessary?

I've an auto-syphon and figure on putting the bottles down and filling them all.

Can you temporarily stop an auto syphon or am I going to end up with beer all over the bottles and the ground from moving the tube from bottle to bottle?

A bottling bucket with a tap is probably best then, no?

Devi

gosplan wrote: »

What's a bottling wand and us it necessary?

I've an auto-syphon and figure on putting the bottles down and filling them all.

Can you temporarily stop an auto syphon or am I going to end up with beer all over the bottles and the ground from moving the tube from bottle to bottle?

A bottling bucket with a tap is probably best then, no?

Did you not get a bottle filling stick with your starter kit? That's what I use.

gosplan

Devi wrote: »

Did you not get a bottle filling stick with your starter kit? That's what I use.

Yup. I'm hoping that this and a bottle brush will be enough to go round first time?

jamesbil

I had a great syphon years ago, cant remember what it was called.

It was orange and had a tap that fitted into a bottle neck, so beer went from barrel into 1st bottle (tap stayed on this) then out and into next bottles.
The bottle neck tap was press on/off.
As the beer was syphoned thru 1st bottle most sediment stayed in this leaving the rest of the beer very clear. Very easy to use and no mess.

I have searched many times and never found one. Anyone know what its called?

BeerNut

gosplan wrote: »

What's a bottling wand and us it necessary?

Hollow stick with a spring-loaded valve on the end. It stops and starts the flow as required, gives the correct headspace in each bottle and minimises splashing, reducing he risk of oxidation. It's not necessary but you'd be mad not to use one.

gosplan wrote: »

Can you temporarily stop an auto syphon

I suppose you could pinch off the end, or cover it with your thumb, but it'll be awkward. If you're determined to do it this way I strongly recommend testing your method with water before risking it with beer.

gosplan wrote: »

am I going to end up with beer all over the bottles and the ground from moving the tube from bottle to bottle?

I'd say so. And unevenly filled bottles, and splashed beer.

gosplan wrote: »

A bottling bucket with a tap is probably best then, no?

I use a bottling wand on an auto-syphon.

irish_goat

I bottled with the auto-syphon method for the first time last month. I got a couple of bottles that weren't completely filled and a bit of beer splashed around the floor but it was very, very quick. Not sure if I'll do it again, I was in a rush that day.

matrim

BeerNut wrote: »

gives the correct headspace in each bottle

How does the bottling wand give the correct headspace? You still have to be careful to pull up the wand when you want to stop filling. It's great for controlling the flow and preventing splashing but you still have to control the headspace yourself.

BeerNut

matrim wrote: »

How does the bottling wand give the correct headspace?

The space the wand occupies when filling becomes your headspace when you take it out.

matrim wrote: »

You still have to be careful to pull up the wand when you want to stop filling.

If you take the wand out before the bottle is completely full you'll have too much headspace, and unless you're very skilled your headspace will vary from bottle to bottle. If you fill to the overflow point you'll have uniform perfect headspace in every bottle. Archimedes said so.

matrim

BeerNut wrote: »

The space the wand occupies when filling becomes your headspace when you take it out.

If you take the wand out before the bottle is completely full you'll have too much headspace, and unless you're very skilled your headspace will vary from bottle to bottle. If you fill to the overflow point you'll have uniform perfect headspace in every bottle. Archimedes said so.

I always thought the headspace left when you take the wand out was too small and was afraid if I didn't leave a bit more I could get a blowout.

If the space left by the wand is enough then that will make my next bottling alot easier.

sharingan

gosplan wrote: »

Can you temporarily stop an auto syphon or am I going to end up with beer all over the bottles and the ground from moving the tube from bottle to bottle?

A bottling bucket with a tap is probably best then, no?

The bottling wand is a pressure activated (press down - it is spring loaded) device to control the flow of beer etc from a siphon.

I prefer it to the tap on a fermenter or bottling bucket. It gives less mess filling, less oxidation, and the siphon can be cleaned independently of the fermenter tap.

adamski8

Last few wands ive boughy have beem crap though. Either the wand was connected to a short ass piece of tubing or the spring action was messed up.

Gone to filling with a syphon with a little tap thing.

jamesbil

ok bottling day, will milton and vinegar do the same for the no rinse clean?

BeerNut

I wouldn't have thought so. Milton on its own requires rinsing, doesn't it? I don't see how it would be made no-rinse by adding vinegar.

matrim

It's thin bleach and vinegar to create the no rinse sanitiser. See http://www.beoir.org/community/viewtopic.php?t=196

AFAIK milton can be used on it's own as a sanitiser but it requires rinsing.

jamesbil

great will go for thick bleach and vinegar as a no rinse sanitiser.

matrim

jamesbil wrote: »

great will go for thick bleach and vinegar as a no rinse sanitiser.

That was a typo on my part. Thin bleach

I use the Tesco value one, it's about 70c

BeerNut

jamesbil wrote: »

great will go for thick bleach and vinegar as a no rinse sanitiser.

NOOOO! Thin! It must be thin.

jamesbil

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!

jamesbil

joking, I got thin )

Carawaystick

BeerNut wrote: »

I wouldn't have thought so. Milton on its own requires rinsing, doesn't it? I don't see how it would be made no-rinse by adding vinegar.

Milton is just thin bleach diluted down by 2 again. They have some magic to prevent it clouding up like if you diluted thin bleach yourself, and won't somebody think of the children, so it's marked up hugeley in price

So you'ld use twice as much Milton as thin bleach