Bottling Wednesday

I've never siphoned without some form of racking cane, so I don't know how hard that's going to be. I suspect it's going to be a PITA seeing where the inflow end of the hose is unless you have a pale, clear beer.

You should boil the priming sugar.

 

You definitely want an auto-siphon to get the beer from your fermenter into the bottling bucket. It is possible to siphon without the auto-siphon, but there is little margin for error.

Also, yes you do need to boil your bottling sugar. Just mix it with a quart or two of water and bring it to boil for 10 minutes or so. Then let it cool down before putting it in the bottling bucket. Just a tip: if you put the sugar in the bottling bucket first, it will mix in evenly when you siphon the beer on top of it.

 

I'd pick up or speed-order an auto-siphon and a bottling wand before bottling, even if that means you have to delay bottling. A few more days won't hurt anything. Those two pieces of equipment, along with the wine thief, are IMO the most useful pieces of equipment you can own. They're not at all expensive either. I would wait to bottle.

Use the bottling wand as such: fill until the bottle just barely overflows, then quickly pull it out. You'll get the perfect amount of head space that way.

Yes, boil the priming sugar. I've found the exact amount of water doesn't matter so much, but don't use more than you need. Add it to the sanitized bottling bucket/carboy and let it cool before you add the beer. The exact amount of sugar DOES matter. A gram scale is WAY better than trying to use a measuring cup. If you have bought pre-measured bags, they are no doubt weighed, so go with it.

 

whew, I don't know. You probably can, but I don't know what to tell you as to how to do so. I'd just amazon/online beer store the parts you need and wait a few days. Perhaps someone else has a suggestion as to how to do it with what you have.

 

BTW, as far as the pruning sugar goes, I normally bring a cup or so of water to a boil, mix in the sugar till it dissolved,Boer it boil for another minute or so. I'll dump that in the bottling bucket and rack the beer onto it.

 

I broke my auto siphon once right before bottling and I made one out of a short piece of 1/4" copper tubing. Just bent into a cane shape and hose clamped the tubing onto it.

Also, boil your sugar just like JrGtr described above.

 

This all assumes your fermentation vessel has a spigot on it, if so:

Yes. Sanitize your spigot on your fermenter and open it up, collecting into some sort of sanitized vessel (measuring cup, etc.) and take a look at what comes out... most likely the first bit of stuff you'll pull off wil be cloudy or yeasty, but after that it should clear up.

Sanitize tubing and attach to sanitized spigot, making sure tubing reaches into the sanitized bottling bucket you have on the floor that also contains your boiled priming sugar solution (Make sure you don't splash liquid when emptying out of the fermenter into your bottling bucket). Open valve on spigot, ensure the beer mixes with the priming sugar and bottle then normal.

 

I would wait. No reason to rush things except anticipation.

 

For my earliest batches, I bottled without a racking cane, bottling wand, and bottling bucket. It was a PITA. All of my early beers sucked and poor bottling procedure probably had something to do with it. I quit homebrewing for almost 15 years, convinced that it was really difficult. In reality, I just wasn't armed with the right equipment and information. There is probably nothing magical about this Wednesday that necessitates rushing it and doing a crappy job. Get yourself some decent bottling equipment and do it the right way.

 

Just a note as I bottled some apple cider tonight, which was my first bottling session in a long time (I keg ). Someone here once suggested bottling on to their dishwasher door when open. Did it today. Brilliant idea, and no real clean up after.

I suggest a racking cane & tubing with a clamp. I hate my bottling wand as it sometimes doesn't shut off and I have to clamp it anyways.

 

Bottling wand is a definite must, if you don't want beer everywhere. Also, don't fill to overflow - fill to the lower lip at the top of the nottle

 

A quart or two is way too much water. You really just want enough to dissolve the sugar completely, without scorching when heated. A cup or two should do it. Two quarts of water in say, a 5 gallon batch of 6% ABV beer, will dilute it down to less than 5.5% ABV, along with similar dilution of body, flavors, and aromas.

 

Racking without a cane can be easier achieved if you have a buddy system. One will hold the hose to the bottling bucket, and the other will hold the siphon down about 1/2 inch from the top line of the beer you are racking. I also recommend that you tilt the bucket so you go in at an angle.

 

Bottling sucks bad enough. I'd suggest getting the right stuff together before you rush into it.

On the positive side.. If you DO attempt it with little aide, you'll undoubtedly hate it, and wouldn't have wasted the money on the bottling stuff when you move to kegging.