Bottling day hell

[Kiltlifter]

I think I should maybe just stick w/ drinking beer instead of trying to make it. After a longer sit in the secondary than I would have chosen (3 weeks), I tried my hand at bottling by myself today. Siphon worked okay w/ the racking cane this time (didn't fill the cane w/ water the last time) and I began the bottling. First off the bottling tube doesn't fit very well into the spigot on my bucket. So, naturally, it comes out twice and spews beer everywhere. If I have it it the spigot snug, I can't get any beer into the bottle. Next, I fight with the floor stand bottle capper until I figure that out. Finally is the grand humility. I'm getting below the level of the spigot and I want to utilize all the beer I can so I prop the edge of the bucket up a bit on the kitchen counter. As I remove the bottle to cap it, the bucket slides off the counter and dumps the rest of the beer onto the kitchen tile floor and the adjacent carpet. KWAP, KWAP, KWAP! Of course its a dark beer (porter).

I end up with 23 bombers for a total of 3.95 gallons out of 5. Not very good utilization.

Relax ... have a homebrew ... you can't mess up making beer ... its so easy. Sheesh ... with my streak of luck I'll have blown the whole batch. Next thing I know I'll probably hear from my wife that all the bottles have exploded while I'm away. :eek:

[Fast_Eddy]

Dude - that sucks :(

[mortong]

Ouch. =/ Sorry man. Try a little duct tape to hold the bottling tube onto the spigot. That should keep it from dropping off next time (hopefully there is a next time).

Geoff

[Beerconnoisseur]

Originally posted by Kiltlifter
Siphon worked okay w/ the racking cane this time (didn't fill the cane w/ water the last time) and I began the bottling.

*mumble*Auto-siphon (http://www.northernbrewer.com/siphon.html)*mumble* If you include a racking clip (which holds the tubing in place, decanting the beer down the side of the bottling bucket) it really is a dream to work with.

Originally posted by Kiltlifter
First off the bottling tube doesn't fit very well into the spigot on my bucket. So, naturally, it comes out twice and spews beer everywhere. If I have it it the spigot snug, I can't get any beer into the bottle.

Well, this is where transfer tubing comes into play. You connect about 3' of tubing to your spigot. Squeeze the mouth of the tubing gently, and it will expand a bit. Slide this onto the spigot. Fasten the tubing onto the spigot with a racking clip, or spare clothespin. I'll get to the ultimate fix in a moment. Next, connect the other end of the tubing to a good bottle filler, like Phil's Nickle-Plated Bottle Filler (http://www.morebeer.com/detail.php3?pid=B430). The nice thing about this filler is that the dispense valve is at the top of the filler, so you can fill the bottles as much or as little as you like. Finally, for the ultimate fix, you place your bottling bucket on the table, with a bucket of sanitized water underneath the spigot. That way, if by some miracle, the tubing *DOES* come off, or you forget which bottling valve position is "off," (when you are close to done) the beer will drain into the bucket with sanitized water, and spillage is minimized.

The other nice thing, is since the bottle filler may leak between bottles, or drip down bottle sides, putting the bottles in the sanitized water bucket for filling will keep the sticky beer from getting on the kitchen floor. You can place bottles on a towel after you fill each, but this is optional. One other detail: it's easier to track the level of beer, if you have a light source behind you.

Originally posted by Kiltlifter
Next, I fight with the floor stand bottle capper until I figure that out. Finally is the grand humility. I'm getting below the level of the spigot and I want to utilize all the beer I can so I prop the edge of the bucket up a bit on the kitchen counter. As I remove the bottle to cap it, the bucket slides off the counter and dumps the rest of the beer onto the kitchen tile floor and the adjacent carpet. KWAP, KWAP, KWAP! Of course its a dark beer (porter).


You might try WD-40, if the capper is sticking. it worked wonders for my capper. Oh, and if you tilt the bucket, keep a hand on it, so you have complete control of it. Right, but you figured that part out, I see. :p

Originally posted by Kiltlifter
I end up with 23 bombers for a total of 3.95 gallons out of 5. Not very good utilization.

Relax ... have a homebrew ... you can't mess up making beer ... its so easy. Sheesh ... with my streak of luck I'll have blown the whole batch. Next thing I know I'll probably hear from my wife that all the bottles have exploded while I'm away.

It's perfectly OK utilization; just add a gallon of water next time, preferably before/during the boil. It might water the beer down some, but it will still be good.

As for exploding bottles, try to keep at least an 1 1/2" of headspace free from the rim of the bottle mouth. I.E. You should never fill to the level of the 1/2" thicker glass around the mouth, but closer to the neck of the bottle. And, if you feel the top of the bottle caps bulging, that means there's too much CO2. You can recap, or move the bottles to a cooler place (NOT YOUR FREEZER), and the CO2 will go into solution, preventing explosions.

Don't feel too bad; I bottled today, and decided to cool down my corn sugar solution (on the stove) with a can of compressed air. Little did I know, it has volatile organic compounds... so after a few quick sprays, the pilot light touched those off, and the saran wrap I used to cover it caught fire! I blew it out, like a lunatic's version of a birthday cake.... but I will not be repeating that cooling experiment! Screwups happen, even to the more experienced among us. Live and learn...

[Fast_Eddy]

Originally posted by Kiltlifter
... Finally is the grand humility. I'm getting below the level of the spigot and I want to utilize all the beer I can so I prop the edge of the bucket up a bit on the kitchen counter. As I remove the bottle to cap it, the bucket slides off the counter and dumps the rest of the beer onto the kitchen tile floor and the adjacent carpet. KWAP, KWAP, KWAP! Of course its a dark beer (porter).

I end up with 23 bombers for a total of 3.95 gallons out of 5. Not very good utilization.

Relax ... have a homebrew ... you can't mess up making beer ... its so easy. Sheesh ... with my streak of luck I'll have blown the whole batch. Next thing I know I'll probably hear from my wife that all the bottles have exploded while I'm away.

Sorry I didn't have time for a better reply earlier but we were walking out to go to my parents.

Kiltlifter - here's what happens, after you get some experience (4+ batches maybe) under your belt you just develop your own routine. Making beer becomes almost second nature - I promise it will happen. Two weeks ago, I brewed a part DME, part priming sugar, and left over scraps of hop pellets that I had in the fridge. It took me 30 minutes to brew - and you know what it's great - it's like Duvel light(I used the yeast harvested from a batch of trippel that had just racked to a keg and couldn't stand the thought of sending it down the drain). The point being is that once you really know the process it's just a no-brainer. Give yourself a break and realize that you've made and bottled great beer.

I'll bet you $20 that you next batch is a walk in the park.

And like Beerconnoisseur said we all sometimes do dumb sh*t sometimes - but you can learn to hedge your bets. Just recently I was arguing with my wife and racked from primary to secondary without sanitizing the secondary. But one of my saving graces was that I always sanitize my carboys after I'm done with them - Just in case ;) You'll get your own routine.

[ehixon]

heh ohh man I know, believe me. You are most likely the rule rather than the exception as far as people struggling their first time. My first bottling day was a long...LONG and painful (and messy) day.

I'm in the flow now though. I bottled today and I've got a system to it and it's much easier- a relaxing experience. The first time was just so stressful etc because everything was so new.

Trust me, next time you'll know waht to do and it will be MUCH easier

[kevin]

after a few more batches you'll get a system that works. My last brew I didn't think my grains were crushed enough so I used the 1/2 gallon plastic jug of LME to crush the grains. Let me tell you don't do it. Sticky goo all over the place I had to scramble to find something to put the broken jug in with my lme leaking all over.

[yonkersbrewer]

I'll put my two cent's in - ideas that have helped me.

Put the bottling bucket on top of a milk crate so that the height is above the counter. That way you can bottle over the counter. Less bending over.

Bottle over/on a cookie sheet with paper toweling in it to absorb drips.

Make a list of every thing you have to do on brewday. Include each step so you don't forget like I do every time!

Sterilize everything that you might need. ALL the hoses since you know you are going to forget which fits what, the hydrometer tube since you will foul the tubing on it if its not clean, etc.

I like to do the bottles the week before when I rack to secondary, leave them with bleach solution in them, cap them with aluminum foil and then just have to rinse and use on brew day.