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Author Topic: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug  (Read 1208 times)

Offline Lazy Ant Brewing

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Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« on: March 12, 2016, 08:36:59 am »
I split a batch of brew and did a secondary fermentation in a gallon jug.

When I  got ready to bottle, I found my siphon wouldn't fit into the mouth of the jug.  So I had to pour the beer into my bottling bucket along with some of the sediment.  I assume I'll have oxidation issues from pouring the beer rather than siphoning it., and will probably plan on drinking it quickly after it carbonates.

Also I wondered what others do for priming such a small quantity?  The standard regimen of priming sugar into two cups of boiling water would dilute it excessively.  I decided to add priming sugar to the bottles individually although I realize that is not recommended.

Any tips from guys that have bottled from gal jugs in the past?

Thanks in advance for your input.
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Offline erockrph

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Re: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2016, 10:06:45 am »
Bottling from 1 gallon jugs sucks. I used to do it all the time, but I came up with a much easier way.

When I did bottle from a keg, I used one of the mini-Autosiphons with a bottling wand on the other end. I used a carboy clip (or whatever it's called) that clips to the Autosiphon to set it right above the trub. The biggest PITA was getting the siphon started while pressing the bottling wand down. I'd end up in all sorts of contortions trying to get both started at the same time. Once the beer started flowing you could bottle one-after-another rather easily. I primed each bottle individually, since I never really knew what my yield would be. I mainly use the Coopers carb drops, but I have measured individual doses of sugar if I was out. The carb drops have always worked for me, but do leave you with a higher carbonation (maybe between 2.5-2.7 volumes).

Now I simply rack into a keg and use that as my bottling bucket. I push the beer out using a low pressure of CO2, and still prime the bottles individually. It is so much easier. If I didn't have access to a keg, I think I'd rig up a small bottling bucket out of a 2 gallon bucket. Bottling straight from the jugs is more hassle than it is worth.
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Offline Alewyfe

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Re: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2016, 10:12:03 am »
I would have extrapolated how much priming solution to use. If it's normally 2 cups you use for 5 gals., then you would just use 1/5 of that for one gallon. There are also some priming tablets you can buy which you simply add directly to the bottles. Also, any piece of tubing would probably fit into the gallon bottle. I assume you tried to use an auto siphon or something which probably wouldn't fit.  You need to siphon the good old fashioned way.
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Offline reverseapachemaster

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Re: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2016, 10:41:49 am »
I bottle a lot of out one gallon jugs. I use a mini-autosiphon and rack into a smaller bucket I drilled to fit a bottling bucket spigot. Not sure why you couldn't get the siphon to fit in the jug but you could always do the old siphon trick with water in the tubing to create a siphon rather than using an auto-siphon.
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Offline kgs

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Re: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2016, 10:51:50 am »
I bottle a lot of out one gallon jugs. I use a mini-autosiphon and rack into a smaller bucket I drilled to fit a bottling bucket spigot. Not sure why you couldn't get the siphon to fit in the jug but you could always do the old siphon trick with water in the tubing to create a siphon rather than using an auto-siphon.

Yep, and for smaller batches I reduce the amount of water for the priming solution. I don't think I've ever used a pint of water anyway, even for 5-gallon batches. You just need enough water so that the warm sugar syrup is thin enough to pour. Use the smallest saucepan you have. And use sugar by weight, not volume.
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Offline brewinhard

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Re: Unexpected issues with bottling from 1 gal jug
« Reply #5 on: March 13, 2016, 11:03:41 am »
you could always do the old siphon trick with water in the tubing to create a siphon rather than using an auto-siphon.

My buddy at our local club came up with a better way than this. Take apart a plastic bic pen.  Sanitize just the outside shell and shove that into your sanitized tubing.  Now you can start the siphon with your mouth on the end of the pen and it never touches the tubing.  As soon as the liquid starts flowing, pull off the pen piece and let the fun begin!