General Category > Kegging and Bottling

bottling from the keg

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morticaixavier:
Hey all,

I am fairly happy with my bottling from the keg process. It seems like the carbonation level is okay and for the most part I don't usually get any oxidation but I think I can do better. I have gotten notes on some bottles that have some oxidation problems or carb level problems which says to be I am being inconsistant.

I am probably not going to buy a beer gun or CPF but in the best Cheap-N-Easy style inspired by Denny I can probably see my way to buy a rubber stopper that fits in my bottles. But what size is that?

Currently I stick a bottling wand or piece of tubing on the end of the cobra tap and fill the bottles from the bottom, lifting the tube at the end to make sure I get a complete fill and cap on foam.

It is possible that it's not an issue with the bottling at all but that the capper sometimes crimps the caps with little inconsistancies like one crimp sticking out a little further than the rest. (cheapo italian red handled capper by the way)

I was considering putting a tiny bit of sugar syrup in each bottle and doing a hybrid force/natural carb like Sierra Nevada does as well. Thoughts?

anyway, any cheap and easy bottling advice welcome.

denny:
IIRC, it's either a #2 or 2 1/2.  I think 2.

gsandel:
I am interested to hear what folks have to say, but when I use the cobra tap, I raise the tap/bottle/hose combo higher up in the air (I actually stand on a chair) for a few more feet of rise...this seems (to me, anyway) to reduce foaming/co2 loss (along with cold bottles).

I, too, use an old cheapo wing capper I got with my first kit (20 years ago)...no problems.

I don't bottle to keep beer, usually just to transport to friends or put into upcoming comps, so I wait until almost the last day to enter/last minute before I leave to bottle.  I usually bottle an extra or two and open it on the competition day to see if it is still properly carbonated (and always has been).

Joe Sr.:
I don't know the size of the stopper, but it works well for me.  I suppose I would need to test a few bottles that have been stored to check for off flavors but most of the bottles don't get stored too long.

Are you using oxygen absorbing caps?  I bought a bunch just for this reason.

And my wing capper works just fine.  Sometimes, I'll crimp them twice just to be sure.  Since I have several cappers, I'll alternate cappers when I do this.

I, too, have thought about adding some sugar for a hybrid bottling method but have not tried it.  I would probably use carb tabs or something easy like that, but my experience with those has been hit or miss.

tschmidlin:

--- Quote from: gsandel on December 03, 2012, 11:38:42 AM ---I am interested to hear what folks have to say, but when I use the cobra tap, I raise the tap/bottle/hose combo higher up in the air (I actually stand on a chair) for a few more feet of rise...this seems (to me, anyway) to reduce foaming/co2 loss (along with cold bottles).

--- End quote ---
All you are doing is increasing the head pressure and reducing the flow rate.  You could get similar results by using a longer line or by venting the keg and bottling with low psi.  When I bottle (rarely) i vent the keg and then turn the gas on to get a very slow flow.

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