Recomendations for bottling

[JonGoku]

I plan to bottle my first brew this coming weekend, but I'm not quite sure what to expect as did not use a sack for my hops. What happens to hops (pellets) after 2 weeks in the fermentor? Will they have settled to the bottom with the yeast cake? If I use a 1/2" autosiphon to move the wort from the primary to the bottling bucket am I going to get a lot of unwanted stuff too? Is there a way to filter out some of the junk without aerating the wort?

Ultimately I supposed after the beer has been bottle conditioned, you just need to watch how you poor, but it would be nice if there were not obvious chunks of hops floating around.

[brahn]

The hops will have settled at the bottom of the bucket with the yeast and the rest of the trub. You shouldn't have any problems with the auto-siphon, just keep it off the bottom of the bucket while you're siphoning.

[dhempy]

When you get toward the bottom, you can stick a sanitized hop sack over the end of the autosiphon to help screen out particles and get every last little bit of your beer. Think ahead though ... move your fermenter into the spot you're going to bottle from a day ahead and let everything re-settle.

Dan

[Rezzin]

Don't stress if you do happen to get some trub over when siphoning. After carbonation and conditioning, you'll still be able to pour clear beer like any other bottle conditioned beer. I also like to keep the bucket/carboy tilted slightly when siphoning to make it easier to get every last drop. I just carefully lift one end and slide in a wedge before I get started.

[JonGoku]

Thanks, I feel a little less lost about doing this now.

Final question:
- How thick of a trub layer is normaly expected?

[dhempy]

Thanks, I feel a little less lost about doing this now.

Final question:
- How thick of a trub layer is normally expected?

It kind of depends on what was in there from the get go (i.e how much particulate matter came from your boil pot .. hops and cold break proteins) and how flocculant your yeast is. It isn't unusual to have upwards of an inch or two ... I've seen more and less. I would guess you should be somewhere around 1 to 1/1/2" plus/minus. Don't fret if it is more / less ... if you've tasted your last sample and it is good, you're fine.

What is your overall plan? I presume that you're using corn sugar for carbing? Are you planning on adding the corn sugar to your fermenter or will you transfer from fermenter to bottling bucket and then add? Once you add the sugar, you'll need to stir so consider how that will affect your trub layer and if you'll need more settling time! When I bottled, I transferred to a bottling bucket and then added sugar and mixed .. then I'd let it rest for about an hour for settling.

Dan

[JonGoku]

It kind of depends on what was in there from the get go (i.e how much particulate matter came from your boil pot .. hops and cold break proteins) and how flocculant your yeast is. It isn't unusual to have upwards of an inch or two ... I've seen more and less. I would guess you should be somewhere around 1 to 1/1/2" plus/minus. Don't fret if it is more / less ... if you've tasted your last sample and it is good, you're fine.

What is your overall plan? I presume that you're using corn sugar for carbing? Are you planning on adding the corn sugar to your fermenter or will you transfer from fermenter to bottling bucket and then add? Once you add the sugar, you'll need to stir so consider how that will affect your trub layer and if you'll need more settling time! When I bottled, I transferred to a bottling bucket and then added sugar and mixed .. then I'd let it rest for about an hour for settling.

Dan

Thanks for the info as I was actually expecting much less (more like a thick film) and would have been slightly worried that something was wrong. That also gives me an idea of how I should set/not set my autosiphon into the bottom of the bucket.

My plan is to boil some water mix up the sugar into it and let it cool to 70F. Dump that into the bottling bucket and then siphon the primary into there. I hear if you loop or curve the end of the siphoning tubing on the bottom of the bucket you are transferring too, you can create a whirlpool type effect and with little to no splashing or aeration mix in the sugar.

Does that sound right? Any advice on how long I should let the newly transferred/sugared wort settle before bottling?

[maltbarley]

Does that sound right? Any advice on how long I should let the newly transferred/sugared wort settle before bottling?

You are on track. Once mixed, you can start bottling right away.

Also, your trub layer should be pretty small with an extract batch. You'll have a little extra with the hops but not likely more than 3/4"

[brahn]

My plan is to boil some water mix up the sugar into it and let it cool to 70F. Dump that into the bottling bucket and then siphon the primary into there. I hear if you loop or curve the end of the siphoning tubing on the bottom of the bucket you are transferring too, you can create a whirlpool type effect and with little to no splashing or aeration mix in the sugar.

You're on the right track, but you will still want to stir the sugar solution in even if you do let it swirl while you're racking. I learned my lesson when I brewed a batch and half the bottles were like champagne and the other half were completely flat.

[Rezzin]

To be honest, you don't really need to even worry about how thick the trub is. Depending on the recipe and what you used, it can be anywhere from 1" to 2" or more. It's usually fairly thick in consistency depending on how flocculant the yeast was I think. It looks like pancake batter but much denser / thicker.

Like Brent said, siphon the beer from primary into your bottling bucket with the sugar/water mixture already in there. Make sure the end tube lays flat and against the edge in a swirl pattern to help reduce oxidation. After all the beer is in the bottling bucket, go ahead and use a sanitized spoon and swirl again slowly and quietly. Then use your bottling wand and bottle away!

btw, do a test run with water using your bottling wand. When I used to bottle, my bottling wand was a little messed up and I had to work with it to keep it from spraying when pulling it out of the bottle. Having a friend help you with the capper is nice too. Don't forget to sanitize the bottle caps!

[JonGoku]

Thanks once again for all the feedback. I don't envy any of you who had to start off in a comparative black box, the help has been totally awesome.

btw, do a test run with water using your bottling wand. When I used to bottle, my bottling wand was a little messed up and I had to work with it to keep it from spraying when pulling it out of the bottle. Having a friend help you with the capper is nice too. Don't forget to sanitize the bottle caps!

Good idea, I planned on testing the siphon out first with sanitizer, but hadn't thought to try the bottling wand.

[dhempy]

Jon ...

This thread is BC at it's finest ... I think you're good to go. Your plans and the advice from others gives you a great launching point! If you get stuck .. post up .. you'll no doubt get an informed opinion!

BTW ... borrow a bottling tree if you can and put your sanitized bottles on it to drain .. pull 'em off right before you get ready to fill. If you're single handing it ... set the tree right next to your fill station, grab the next bottle right after you start filling one and get it set in place. Drop the wand into the next bottle once the first is filled, then lay a sanitized cap on top of the one you filled and put it aside. Start filling the next bottle (push down on the wand) and grab another .... Sometimes the wands drip a little so placing it immediately into the next bottle will not waste any beer. Once everything is filled, you can then cap and you will have minimized any open air exposure. Obviously if you have a helper, have them hand you bottles and cap.

Save us a bottle or three for eval.

RDWHAHB.

Dan

[kevinham]

... RDWHAHB

That is the most important thing.

[Marotte Brewery]

What about bottling a kegged beer?

I would like to bring a couple of IPAs to the next meeting, but the beer will be in a keg by then. The guys from B3 gave me some advice, but I haven't tryed it yet. They said to sanitize the bottles and then freeze them. After the bottles are clean and frozen, just fill and then quickly cap (with sanitized caps), and the beer should hold it's carbonation for a few days.

Does this sound right? Like I said, I haven't tried it, so if I am going to bring these to the meeting, I would rather not experiment at this time.

Otherwise, I will just have to show up empty handed and mooch...

[brew captain]

I fill bottles off my cobra tap all the time. No need to refrigerate the bottles (unless you really want to) and they keep their carbonation as long as any other bottled beer does after capping.

First get the beer a little bit over carbed (hit the keg with 30 psi a few hours in advance). Then the trick to keeping the carbonation mostly in solution is to release all the head pressure off your keg and then just barely flow 1 psi of gas and start slowly filling the bottle while holding it at an angle (almost sideways at first). It might take a good thirty-to-forty seconds to fill up. Don't worry about the headspace. Cap immediately as each individual bottle is filled up. Ready for the road! I have even entered a competition bottling this way with seemingly no ill effect (38 average score). I also fill up a 1 gallon jug with a screw top (like a jumbo growler - I think B3 sells them still) to take to parties and the carbonation is just fine.

I am convinced if you are careful and go slow there is no reason to buy a counter pressure filler unless you like gadgets and have a lot of money...

Cheers!