Kegging, but need bottles for comp.

[Marotte Brewery]

So I have been kegging my beer now for a while, and haven't bottled for at leat a year. How does one go about getting beer into a bottle for competitions? I have done the quick fill from the keg into bottles and growlers for friends, but usually the beer in consumed within hours of the transfer, so I am not concerned with preserving carbonation.

I know the usual answer is the 'beer gun', but without such a device, I was wondering what the best method is. I have beer in the fermenter that I was thinking about entering into competition (why not). What is my best option? Keg all of the beer and then, once carbonated, transfer to bottles? Or keg most of the beer and put the rest into a few bottles with priming sugar? Would this be a good application of priming tabs (I have never used them)?

Thanks for the input!

[brahn]

You've got lots of options. I think plenty of people here have done very well in competitions with bottles simply filled from the tap. Preserving carbonation shouldn't really be a problem; I'd be more concerned with oxidation.

There's this cheap and easy solution: http://www.strangebrew.ca/Drew/cheap.html (scroll down to #4)

Or you can get a counter pressure bottle filler or beer gun. Better yet, you can probably borrow a CPBF or beer gun.

You can of course prime some of the beer and bottle it without kegging first, but this seems like unnecessary work unless you've got a good reason to want to bottle condition.

[BrewMasterBrad]

Of course a counter pressure bottle filler or beergun are the preferred methods, I have heard that people have much success with just adding a piece of sanitized tubing to the beer tap and turning down the pressure on the keg. This allows you to fill the bottles from the bottom and minimizes foaming. Mike McDole fills all his bottles this way and he has won several NHC medals and Longshot.

[maltbarley]

Perhaps we can have a bottling day on Sunday at Eric's new shop. I have both a CPBF and a Beer Gun as well as a 7 bottle electric sanitizer. I was planning to do some bottling anyway so it would be a good day for me.

Of course, Eric would need to OK this, but he might even sell some bottles and caps in the whole deal.

[jward]

What's an electric sanitizer?

[maltbarley]

A pump attached to a manifold with 7 spray heads. I didn't want to call it a pump sanitizer because the image in my head is one of those manual squirting things.

[oc eric]

Perhaps we can have a bottling day on Sunday at Eric's new shop. I have both a CPBF and a Beer Gun as well as a 7 bottle electric sanitizer. I was planning to do some bottling anyway so it would be a good day for me.

Of course, Eric would need to OK this, but he might even sell some bottles and caps in the whole deal.

Heck yeah I'm ok with this,I want to see a Counter pressure bottle filler in action (I was debating wether to buy one or not)...even if you don't buy anything. But if you need bottles (12 oz or 22 oz) or caps (gold/silver/print overrun/oxy/29mm) then I have it. I'm open from 10am - 5pm on the weekends.

[lexuschris]

I finally got to use my Blichmann beer gun about 2 months ago. Although intimidating at first ... it turned out to be real easy.

I've also seen a DIY post on homebrewtalk.com to use a simple picnic tap, a stopper and length of straight plastic tubing to bottle from the keg. That looks real simple & cheap to put together, with good results.

Recently, I've been thinking about making my batch size 7-8 gallons, filling the 5-gal keg, and then bottling the rest using priming sugar or priming drops. Most of my recipes could work that way with my existing equipment, and then I'd always have some competition ready entries!
--LexusChris

[kevinham]

I always used something very similar to what brahn posted. But I would get a bottling wand and take the end off so its just the rigid plastic and stick that into a cobra tap (fits perfectly). Then its the same as that website. Get the bottle cold, drop the pressure on the tank, plug the bottle with the stopper and open the tap until the pressure equalizes and flow stops, then use your thumb to gently loosen the stopper and control the flow all the way up. Never had a problem with carbonation and its basically the same as a counter pressure bottle filler, just without a CO2 purge, which you could still do.

[bwarbiany]

I always used something very similar to what brahn posted. But I would get a bottling wand and take the end off so its just the rigid plastic and stick that into a cobra tap (fits perfectly). Then its the same as that website. Get the bottle cold, drop the pressure on the tank, plug the bottle with the stopper and open the tap until the pressure equalizes and flow stops, then use your thumb to gently loosen the stopper and control the flow all the way up. Never had a problem with carbonation and its basically the same as a counter pressure bottle filler, just without a CO2 purge, which you could still do.

I've done the same thing many times...

[Marotte Brewery]

Sounds like a plan! I hope Addison has a bottling wand and appropriate sizes bung in stock!

[kevinham]

I think it's a #2 drilled stopper, and looking at the link chris posted to homebrewtalk.com (which is where I got the idea I think) pretty much confirms that.

[oc eric]

Sounds like a plan! I hope Addison has a bottling wand and appropriate sizes bung in stock!

I've got the #2 drilled stopper on order. It won't be here by Sunday. Doh!!!

[maltbarley]

So, is anyone interested in having a bottling day? All you need is your keg and some bottles.

[lexuschris]

Perhaps that could work as an equipment demonstration at the May 18th brewclub meeting?

Brad will be out of town, so no beer style presentation... kinda looking for something to put in its stead...?

--LexusChris