The process of moving beer or wine in to bottles and sealing them for later consumption.
9
votes
6answers
2k views
Reusing twist-off bottles
I've heard it said that twist-off bottles should be avoided when reusing bottles for homebrewing. I've also heard a few people saying they've used plenty of them with no ill effects. Given that (at ...
8
votes
5answers
962 views
How can I fill bottles from a keg and maintain pressure
I've been kegging for awhile now, but I still haven't managed to successfully fill bottles from my kegs without losing all pressure.
I don't have a counter pressure beer filler or a Blichmann Beer ...
9
votes
7answers
758 views
Are bottle brushes necessary?
I've always bottled my beers (haven't invested in a kegging setup yet), and I've never once used a bottle brush. I simply soak my bottles in OxyClean to clean them, give them a shake, then rinse, ...
21
votes
11answers
3k views
Are there any tricks for removing labels from bottles?
Some labels can be a pain to remove. I've tried soaking bottles in water with a little bit of dish soap but it doesn't really do much to break down the adhesive. What methods do you have for easily ...
6
votes
2answers
119 views
Old Brown “sour belgian”
I have an Belgian sour that has been in it's secondary for 18 months. With a terminal gravity of 1010 for over the last year, what is the best way to bottle condition this beer? New yeast? Blend?
4
votes
1answer
609 views
Growlers v 12oz Bottles
As an about to brew newbie who foundly remembers his grandfathers home brew bubbling away back in th e late 50's & 60's when iy was actually (still) illegal) in 20g ceramic crock (w/nothing but ...
3
votes
1answer
568 views
Is my lager done fermenting? More yeast?
I put my lager in the primary fermenter roughly 30 days ago. The original gravity was around 1.060 and 5 days ago when I took a reading it was at about 1.013. Today it's at 1.012 - so it doesn't ...
2
votes
3answers
363 views
Heinken bottles.
Has anyone used these bottles and recaped them with home brew? Not sure if they use twist off caps or the regular pry-offs.
4
votes
1answer
637 views
What “problems” can I have if I bottle just one week fermented beer?
last Saturday (11/09/2010) I brewed a Blonde Ale and pitched US-05 yeast. Today there are only few bubles in airlock, so I think since Blonde Ale is a simple style I could bottle in next Sunday ...
5
votes
3answers
397 views
Best Crown Capper
Just capped my first batch of beer (Wohoo!).
When I invested in my equipment though, I think I was a bit too frugal with my capping tool - I have a hammer on crown capper. It seems to have done the ...
3
votes
1answer
276 views
Secondary or Bottles
I currently have a stout (my 2nd home brew) in a secondary fermentor (glass carboy). Once it reaches FG, what are the advantages/disadvantages of leaving it in the secondary to condition vs bottling ...
6
votes
5answers
2k views
How long do sanitized bottles keep?
If you sanitize a bunch of bottles and store them upside down on a tree or in a box (still upside down); how long can you store them like that before you feel the need to resanitize them?
Is there a ...
5
votes
5answers
5k views
Under-carbonated bottled beer
I just opened up a couple bottles of a brown ale I just brewed, and there is much less carbonation then I had hoped. The beer was in the primary for a week, secondary for 3 weeks, then primed and ...
5
votes
1answer
221 views
Priming and bottling for a first timer
It's been about ten days since I started fermenting my beer, and it didn't create bubbles in the air lock until day two or three. The air lock is still bubbling, should I begin priming and bottling? ...
5
votes
1answer
295 views
Bottling kegged beer
My dilemma is this. I received a rare beer in a 1/2 barrel keg. I've been nursing on this beer from my kegerator now for 5 weeks (even had a party) and I've still got 5 gallons left. It sits at 9% so ...
4
votes
2answers
386 views
Bag-in-box packaging
Is it suitable for beer "bottling" or would the pressure tear it apart? If it's suitable it could be really useful since it can contain a large quantity of liquid with low package weight.
9
votes
3answers
930 views
Over-carbonating in the bottle
I've had a few batches get a little too carbonated in the bottle. Currently, I have a delicious stout that fills two glasses on pour, and needs some time to settle down. That is, of course, if you ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Dry hopping without secondary fermentation
I have so far only done bottom-fermented beers without transferring into a second vessel for secondary fermentation. If I wanted to do some dry hopping with this technique, when is the best time to ...
5
votes
1answer
176 views
Do you strain break material from DME boiled for priming?
When you prime with DME, there is a bit of break material formed when you boil the DME. How to brew mentions this, but doesn't say what to do about it or if you should care. Do you strain this ...
3
votes
2answers
149 views
Which inkjet-printable labels perform well?
I've never bothered to label my beer before, but I think I want to start. Have you ever used inkjet-printable labels on your brew before? How did they perform? Are there any brands of labels that ...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
Can a twist-off bottle be capped?
Out of curiosity (and appreciation for Boulevard's bottle's form-factor), can a twist-off bottle be reliably capped?
7
votes
2answers
795 views
How do you avoid disturbing sediment when moving your fermenter to rack or bottle?
When it's time to rack or bottle, do you have to move your fermenter? For instance, my fermenters sit in the closet of my office room until it's time to rack or bottle, at which point I move them to ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Massively Over-Carbonated Beer…What Do I Do?
Okay, so I made a mental error tonight when I was bottling and put 5 gallons worth of dried malt extract into 2 gallons of wort. I didn't realize the mistake until I had everything bottled. So now ...
7
votes
5answers
8k views
Using Grolsch “Premium Lager” bottles for bottling
In my first bottling, I decided I wanted to try using half normal reused glass bottles with new bottle caps and half reused Grolsch beer bottles.
Probably the worst part of the process was having to ...
5
votes
1answer
119 views
Small Space & Apartment Brewing: Packaging
Given the limited space of an apartment, how do you bottle & keg?
Do not consider budget to be a factor.
This is the seventh question in a series of discussions about small-space brewing. ...
11
votes
6answers
2k views
[WIKI] Bottle Sanitizing Techniques - Pros & Cons
What are the pros and cons of each bottle sanitizing method? Let's look at time, equipment, quality of sanitation, and other factors.
Post one answer for each method. Edit the answers if you have ...
8
votes
4answers
1k views
Will force-carbonated beer remain carbonated if poured into a bottle and capped?
If I pour kegged beer into bottles and immediately cap them to take with me for the evening, will it remain well-carbonated?
4
votes
4answers
344 views
Bottle Sizes Smaller than 12 Ounces?
Has anyone ever seen 8oz bottles anywhere? I was asked if I could bottle a batch of homebrew in smaller bottles so it could be given out as gifts to more people. I can't seem to find anything ...
3
votes
5answers
2k views
Using champagne yeast
I would like to make an IPA that is very bubbly and dry like a champagne. I'm assuming to get it really bubbly I would just bottle with champagne yeast, but to achieve the dryness would I also ferment ...
8
votes
2answers
202 views
Competitions & Kegging
I keg my beer but I would like to enter some of it into competitions. I've bottled directly out of the tap, but carbonation suffers.
What would you do in this situation?
8
votes
4answers
676 views
Is it safe to use swing-tops?
I just started brewing my first batch (yay!) and want to set up for bottling while I wait. My question is simple: Can I start using Swing-Tops like Grolsch to bottle my beer?
I've heard varying ...
6
votes
2answers
370 views
Is my yeast dead?
I'm in the middle of bottling my stout right now. The OG was 1.070, and the gravity almost a month ago (11/24) was 1.024. I added 3/4 cup priming sugar in about 3 cups of water, and bottled about 20 ...
11
votes
10answers
1k views
Are there tools that can make the bottling process easier?
I found this to be the most difficult part during my first attempt at brewing. All I had was a tube and a racking cane. Is there anything else to simplify the process and prevent me from ending up ...
6
votes
4answers
481 views
What about corking beer?
I'd like to start corking some of my more delicate brews. Is there a reason to switch to corking? Certain styles?
And, is it difficult/recommended for a small setup?
Thanks.
