New to Bottling

[gjohnk]

Well actually pretty new to Brewing but having been given a bottler I thought I would try to bottle some of my beer but am still slightly confused.

So I have brewed a couple of fairly successful kits (and incidently also just bought a boiler and cant wait to try a Liquid malt extract brew) and am slightly unsure when the beer is best put into bottles.

I obviously have a pressure barrel and it has so far worked well, with it secondary fermenting, settling and clearing in there. (with a 3 week old and drinkable milestone kit in there currently)

I think I have read it is best to allow the beer to be moved from the fermenting bucket into a pressure barrel and settle for a couple of weeks before then being bottled. But also read you can move it straight from the bucket into bottles.

As when you put the beer into a barrel you add proming sugars, do you still need to add further sugar in the bottles if it has already been in the barrel?- and is this done best by adding sugar to each bottles or adding it to the liquid (I assume taking some out of the barrel and putting into another container first before syphoning into bottles!?).
And also how much sugar do you need to add?

If you do or dont add extra sugar - how long do you need it to settle in the bottle before it is ready to drink?

Oh finally, if I do take say 10 pints out of my barrel and bottle that, will I not get the full pressure in the barrel and would the beer come out a flat? Or should i boost it with a CO2 cylinder (also never done that before).

Sorry if these are all obvious questions and answered elsewhere but I have had a good look.
Great forum by the way- the advice on LME equipment is what convinced me to go for it and buy a boiler.

Any advice would be excellent.

 

[Polymath]

There is generally two suggestions for bottling. One is to bottle directly from the fermenation bin and add a little bit of sugar per bottle. Or if you are going to keg half and bottle half, then put all into the keg with the right sugars and then straight from the keg into the bottles.

The purpose of the sugar, is that when its sealed the fermentation will continue a little bit making co2. This gives it the fizz when you open the bottle and stops it from going flat. If you put too much sugar into the bottles then it will make more co2 and can lead to weaker bottles breaking or exploding. Not hugely dangerous as it will likely happen when they are in a cold place (Shed / Spare Room / In the snow!!) and won't hurt anyone but might be a pain in the ass to clean up after.

Some people also know their beers very well and actually put the beer into the bottles / keg a little earlier than normal. As a result the beer finishes in the bottle/keg without needing any extra sugar.

I think I have read it is best to allow the beer to be moved from the fermenting bucket into a pressure barrel and settle for a couple of weeks before then being bottled. But also read you can move it straight from the bucket into bottles.

I have never heard of this. It might be valid if you want to leave the sediment behind when placing into a bottle, however in my experience of bottling the sediment is never a problem if you are leaving the brew for a few weeks before drinking.

And also how much sugar do you need to add?

For a normal bottle (500 mls) its normally half a teaspoon. It doesnt really vary between different brews.

Oh finally, if I do take say 10 pints out of my barrel and bottle that, will I not get the full pressure in the barrel and would the beer come out a flat? Or should i boost it with a CO2 cylinder (also never done that before).

Normally the beer is still producing a small amount of co2. If you take 10 pints and leave it a few days it will normally increase pressure in there again a little bit. I would only use the cylinder if the beer is coming out quite slowly, or as what happened to me over the christmas period. It would flow out a little, then stop and start again. This is due to having no pressure inside and its having to pull air through the beer tap to allow beer out of it ... not good

Great forum by the way

Oh yes, its an excellent forum. Helped me so much over the last few months. A full range of good things to brew and learn

 

[gjohnk]

Thanks for the advice.

I think I shall be collecting a load of bottles and trying to bottle a whole batch.
Seems sensible to put into the fermentation bin first - mix with sugars and maybe leave for a week and then bottle it.

Ta :)

 

[evanvine]

I agree with all that has been said.
On the few occaisions I have bottled I have done it straight from the FV.
I wait till the ferment has slowed right down, but not completely finished (here I personally add finings and wait 24hrs) and syphon into 1ltr PET bottles with 0.5 tsp per bottle.
Usally in 2-3 wks the bottles have gone "hard" with pressure and the beer is clear.