The Last Straw Bottle Filler

I hate the Beer Gun and have since replaced it with the Last Straw. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. I'll provide feedback once I do.

 

I have the More Beer Counter Pressure Bottle Filler...I can't stand it.
The video they have makes it look so easy...It's not.
I'm in the market for something that works and will have my eyes on this...

 

@ $100, this is a little pricier than the Beergun (at least when I bought it). I've kept StarSan in my Beergun for several years and douche the exterior before/after using. It looks nice...but then, so does the Beergun...I don't really use mine that much anymore. Growler fills are just so much easier unless you're entering comps regularly.

 

I'm hoping to get this for Christmas. I told my wife this is all I really wanted. I realize I won't use it all the time, but I need to bottle at least a 6 pack of every batch for testing age and temp impact, bottling for investor meetings, as well as aging big beers. I think I will get good use out of it. Once the brewery is open I can use it to bottle off a couple beers for sampling at pubs/bars when I go to make sales. Also plan on staying in the comp circle until launch.

 

Mine arrived from Northern Brewer yesterday. Unfortunately "Do not open until Christmas" was stamped on the box.

 

This thing is awesome! I watched the YouTube video when I was first looking at asking for this for Christmas. It was super easy to hook up, ran StarSan from an empty keg through the gas system then through the liquid stem. You need a 6.5 gallon bucket to use the clip and keep it off the bottom. Had the 6.5 with StarSan in it and another to run my lines clear between beers. Purged with CO2 and then started the flow until the liquid level go to the same level as the gas tube then stopped. Did it at serving temps. Perfect head room when the unit was pulled from the bottle. Hit it with a little burst of gas as I pulled the unit out. This was super easy to use. Filled a couple Imperial Stouts, hooked the gun up to the StarSan keg, flushed the lines, then hooked up to the Biere de Garde and flushed out the StarSan. Filled a couple bottles of that then flushed again with StarSan. Left the StarSan in the line. Super excited to use this for more bottling.

 

When using these are you carbing the beer in the keg first and then transferring to a bottle? These don't carb your beer for you do they?

 

I purchased but haven't used yet. I need to get some additional hardware. It comes with mfl type connectors, which I have not used in my kegging setup. But it looks like it will be a great addition for me.

 

So, is the consensus that this is the bottle filler to buy over its competition?

 

What volume do you consider way too much? My headspace concerns revolve around oxygen, but if you are flushing with CO2, not as big a deal, maybe? Mind you, I have no experience in this area, yet. When I bottled in the past I uses a bottle wand and found the displacement to be fine. But that was bottle priming, so the yeast were given something to do with that oxygen.

 

One inch seems to be a defacto standard (and the beer gun leaves that or a little more (maybe 1.5" or nearly that) if you don't lift the wand toward the end of the fill). I like a half inch or less of headspace. I think it's true that if you are flushing with CO2 it's not as important than if you're not flushing. But still, an inch of flushed headspace is going to contain about twice as much O2 as a half inch of flushed headspace, because you can't banish all the O2, not even with magical solid-piston-like CO2 blanket-wads.

The nice thing about the beer gun is that the tip doesn't have to be at the bottom of the bottle to operate, i.e. you can lift the wand toward the end of the fill without stopping the flow.

 

The Last Straw left just over 1/2" head space. You can also give a small blast of CO2 when you hit the top.

 

Yeah, those are over-rated for sure.

 

Midwest Supplies has a 20% deal using the code: ANNUITY.

 

It just says limited time offer...I really want one but I'm balking at the $10 shipping...

 

any updates on this

Still on the fence about buying one of these bad boys. Would it be worthwhile to set this baby up if I was only interested in filling 6-12 beers? How long does it take to prep?

 

I only fill 6-8 beers at a time. I leave it assembled at all times with StarSan in the line. Whenever I do a bottle run I mix a gallon of StarSan in an empty keg and have it on hand and pressurized. I hook up the gun to whichever beer I am filling and release the head pressure on the keg. I decompress the wand in the bottom of a bucket until the beer runs the line clear of StarSan. I give the outside a good spray down with StarSan from my spray bottle then put the gun into the bottles. I give it a few seconds of CO2 then decompress and fill. Small burst of CO2 as I pull the gun out and then put a cap on. After each run of beer I give it a StarSan fill before switching to a different beer, then run the filling procedures again. When I am done with the fillings I flush it with StarSan and then leave StarSan in the line. I store it laying down inside a rubbermaid storage container with my carbonating keg lid. When I am ready to fill I spray it with StarSan and flush with beer just as before.

Since I don't leave any beer in the lines or gun, and there isn't any krausen gunk I don't see any reason to tear it down to clean every time. I did leave beer in it on the last fill I did since I had to rush out the door for an event that night after I dropped off the beer entries. I cleaned a few kegs over the weekend and ran the hot cleaner through the gun, then the hot water to rinse, and then StarSan which I left in the line again. I'll probably break it down for a deep clean every few months or so.