Bottles without sediment?

[FlatFenBrew]

I am going to produce some beer for my daughter's wedding in September.
I would like to have the bottles sediment free.
I wondered what the options are?
I have read about beer guns and transferring from kegs. As yet I have no CO2 pressure system although it is something I would consider.
Grateful for any thoughts and advice.
Thankyou.
Bob

 

[IainM]

Filling with a beer gun is one option. You could also serve the beer straight from keg(s) with a keezer or kegerator, and save the bottling step. There are some pretty stunning wedding-suitable designs out there if you have the time to do a bit of DIY. The only other option I can think of would be to use sediment catching caps. There used to be a company called sedex that made them. They've gone bust now, but you may be able to find a similar product.

 

[JonBrew]

I only bottle condition and with the right process and ingredients (namely the yeast strain) I can get 'almost' zero sediment in my bottles.

If you use a yeast with good flocculation and sedimentation properties, and cold crash the finished beer before packaging, you should be transferring very little yeast to your bottles; just enough to carbonate the beer. So little in fact that you might find it takes a little longer to carbonate the beer properly but it will get there.

I brewed a Scottish 80 recently using Wyeast Scottish ale which compacts quite nicely. I poured a bottle yesterday into a pint glass. By the end of the pour the bottle was inverted and there was no beer left in the bottle. The beer in the glass was crystal clear and when I looked at the bottom of the bottle there was only a very thin film of yeast stuck to the bottom.

Sierra Nevada Pale ale is a good example of the same on a commercial level. If you inspect the bottom of their bottles it's literally the finest dusting of yeast, they only add enough at packing to ensure the beer carbonates in the bottle.

The short version, cold crash and use a reliably flocculent yeast that is known for compacting well in the bottle. If you do it right your wedding guests wont need be worry about pouring gently to avoid the sediment etc.

 

[chewie]

There is a lot to be said for cornies if you are already contemplating them, second hand cornies hold there value so you could buy a couple extra for the wedding and then sell them on once you are done and get your money back, gas, reg and the other odds and ends would be something you would be aquiring anyways so its essentially only a couple of extra kegs.

Secondhand price is usually around £30-40.00 per keg, it just depends on how you feel regarding sourcing, sterilising, filling and transporting a potentially large volume of bottles.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

There used to be a company called sedex that made them. They've gone bust now, but you may be able to find a similar product.

I remember this being discussed a couple of years ago and the video below was posted, shame they went bust but i guess it was inevitable as i don't remember any members saying they used them.

 

[JonBrew]

@chewie makes a good point. It might depend on how my litres of beer you're looking to supply to the wedding. 30-40 bottles would probably be fine but more than that and kegging might make more sense. Imagine bottling and capping 60-80 bottles or more. ouch!

at my wedding I filled a couple of pressure barrels which worked really well but it was a small wedding and I appreciate not everyone enjoys cask style serving.

 

[Saisonator]

I only bottle condition and with the right process and ingredients (namely the yeast strain) I can get 'almost' zero sediment in my bottles.

If you use a yeast with good flocculation and sedimentation properties, and cold crash the finished beer before packaging, you should be transferring very little yeast to your bottles; just enough to carbonate the beer. So little in fact that you might find it takes a little longer to carbonate the beer properly but it will get there.

I brewed a Scottish 80 recently using Wyeast Scottish ale which compacts quite nicely. I poured a bottle yesterday into a pint glass. By the end of the pour the bottle was inverted and there was no beer left in the bottle. The beer in the glass was crystal clear and when I looked at the bottom of the bottle there was only a very thin film of yeast stuck to the bottom.

Sierra Nevada Pale ale is a good example of the same on a commercial level. If you inspect the bottom of their bottles it's literally the finest dusting of yeast, they only add enough at packing to ensure the beer carbonates in the bottle.

The short version, cold crash and use a reliably flocculent yeast that is known for compacting well in the bottle. If you do it right your wedding guests wont need be worry about pouring gently to avoid the sediment etc.

My beers brewed with Fullers and West Yorkshire are like that, but none of mine using any dried yeast are not.

 

[Saisonator]

@chewie makes a good point. It might depend on how my litres of beer you're looking to supply to the wedding. 30-40 bottles would probably be fine but more than that and kegging might make more sense. Imagine bottling and capping 60-80 bottles or more. ouch!

at my wedding I filled a couple of pressure barrels which worked really well but it was a small wedding and I appreciate not everyone enjoys cask style serving.

Filling 80 bottles is not exactly hard graft, it can be done easily in an evening, just a matter of getting comfortable and having an organised routine.

 

[JonBrew]

@Saisonator - I hear you. I don't use dried yeast anymore but I've heard Danstar Nottingham and Safale S04 are both flocculent and stick to the bottle.

 

[chewie]

Filling 80 bottles is not exactly hard graft, it can be done easily in an evening, just a matter of getting comfortable and having an organised routine.

A lot of it comes down to cost V ease, a smallish volume of bottles isn't a big deal but then if it's a larger type of do then something like 50 beer drinkers at 4 bottles per head soon adds up. For cost, bottles is certainly the way to go but then ease of use and having more free time to get on with other things means a lot to.

 

[F00b4r]

If you go the bottling route then another thing that is important to getting very little sediment in the bottle is to not be greedy when racking the beer from the fv, anything that you drag into the bottling bucket at this point is going to end up in the bottom of the bottles. Spend another 50 pence and have a slightly longer brew length if needed to ensure that you only rack clear beer.
If someone in your area has a beer gun or even better a Pegas counter pressure filler then you can bottle totally bright beer.

 

[IainM]

Alternatively, you can buy a cheap counter pressure filler from AliExpress for a fraction of the price of a Pegas: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sta..._8&btsid=4a884f93-eb46-40db-8820-0df3f08505a4

I'm lead to believe their products are better than their English.

 

[MickDundee]

@Saisonator - I hear you. I don't use dried yeast anymore but I've heard Danstar Nottingham and Safale S04 are both flocculent and stick to the bottle.

Every Mangrove Jack yeast I’ve used apart from Liberty Bell has stuck to the bottom of the bottle like dogshit to a shoe!

 

[Ghillie]

@Saisonator - I hear you. I don't use dried yeast anymore but I've heard Danstar Nottingham and Safale S04 are both flocculent and stick to the bottle.

US-05 sticks well too; the colder the beer when you pour the better I find.

 

[FlatFenBrew]

Filling with a beer gun is one option. You could also serve the beer straight from keg(s) with a keezer or kegerator, and save the bottling step. There are some pretty stunning wedding-suitable designs out there if you have the time to do a bit of DIY. The only other option I can think of would be to use sediment catching caps. There used to be a company called sedex that made them. They've gone bust now, but you may be able to find a similar product.

Thankyou

 

[F00b4r]

Alternatively, you can buy a cheap counter pressure filler from AliExpress for a fraction of the price of a Pegas: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Sta..._8&btsid=4a884f93-eb46-40db-8820-0df3f08505a4

I'm lead to believe their products are better than their English.

This is a clone of the cheapest Pegas which is worth avoiding as it uses a cartridge system like a mixer tap does, this has some nasty crevices that can harbour bacteria etc if you do not do a full strip down. You might get away with pumping BLC through it but I have seen at least two people with issues arising from using it and that cleaning regime.