I make up a 50% solution of DME (with some ascorbic acid to minimise oxidation) and add this to each bottle. This means that I can bottle straight from the fermenter. One change that I have made, is to have a strip light behind the bottle when it is filling. It was difficult to see when the bottle was full, but the light really helps.
I use a piece of silicone tube between tap and bottling wand. Then I don’t have to pick up the swing top bottles, just put them in a crate and fill. While the bottles filling flip the cap onto the previous bottle. Done. Use a towel under the crate mind!
I use the same cleaning/sanitizing agent, called Chemipro OXI to sanitize my bottles. What I'm concerned about, is the safety tip written in the manual. It says, that the sanitizing agent shouldn't be in contact with an acid liquid, because doing so, the agent releases harmful gases. Considering, that a beer is an acidic liquid, one should avoid the beer to be in contact with this sanitizing agent. But seing, how people use it - filling the bottles, while they are still wet with the agent and also capping them with caps also still being wet from the agent - I'm confused about this safety measure described in the manual. From one hand I understand, that filling and capping the bottles while still being wet with the agent, ensures them staying properly sanitized, but on the other hand I'm concerned about the health side. Another question concerns the bottles. I presume the beer in this video is a live beer, i.e. still fermenting, thus constantly letting off CO2. Is it really safe to use ordinary thin wall beer bottles for a live beer? Will it not explode? I have seen many times people telling on TH-cam, that one should use thick wall bottles for a live beer/soda, like the flip top bottles you also used in the video, in order to avoid any accidents caused by the constant fermentation in the bottle. I like the flip top bottles, because they look really exclusive and they are very convenient as well. But if I wish to sell my own made beer/soda, the flip top bottle is too expensive. That's why I'm considering using an ordinay beer bottle, but I'm concerned, whether it will not explode.
Thanks for your comment, In relation to technical question on the sanitiser can i suggest pinging the supplier an email for clarity, we have used this process on countless occasions without any negative affect ourselves. The priming of beer bottles with a sugar solution or carbonation drop should take into consideration the gravity of beer and amount of priming to ensure you are safely carbonating. The beer bottles we supply to commercial breweries and homebrewers have been successfully used for bottle conditioning as the priming solutions are calculated to prevent any incidents. High gravity belgian beers have been known to use a different grade of bottle from my experience. What are you packaging?
I've always wondered having started with wine, the purpose of the bottling bucket. Why not just bottle with a racking cane as winemakers do. The oxygen exposure is the exact same in this case and you don't have these weird ergonomics of having to squat to fill the beer bottles off the bucket tap.
Yeah thats also possible, if batch priming its handy to use a bottling bucket to add the priming sugar so you don't have to prime each bottle individually, if you added this to primary fermentation bucket when mixing you could pick up yeast trub etc.
As a new home-brewer myself, really enjoying the content. Always preferable to see how others do it, and get the benefit of experience.
Some of the stuff on TH-cam is trash. GEB is a much more professional watch. I wasted my first brew on advice from Wilko's shoppers 😁
Thanks so much
I make up a 50% solution of DME (with some ascorbic acid to minimise oxidation) and add this to each bottle. This means that I can bottle straight from the fermenter.
One change that I have made, is to have a strip light behind the bottle when it is filling. It was difficult to see when the bottle was full, but the light really helps.
I use a piece of silicone tube between tap and bottling wand. Then I don’t have to pick up the swing top bottles, just put them in a crate and fill. While the bottles filling flip the cap onto the previous bottle. Done. Use a towel under the crate mind!
Yeah that sounds like a nice little time saver. What have you been brewing recently?
I use the same cleaning/sanitizing agent, called Chemipro OXI to sanitize my bottles. What I'm concerned about, is the safety tip written in the manual. It says, that the sanitizing agent shouldn't be in contact with an acid liquid, because doing so, the agent releases harmful gases. Considering, that a beer is an acidic liquid, one should avoid the beer to be in contact with this sanitizing agent. But seing, how people use it - filling the bottles, while they are still wet with the agent and also capping them with caps also still being wet from the agent - I'm confused about this safety measure described in the manual. From one hand I understand, that filling and capping the bottles while still being wet with the agent, ensures them staying properly sanitized, but on the other hand I'm concerned about the health side.
Another question concerns the bottles. I presume the beer in this video is a live beer, i.e. still fermenting, thus constantly letting off CO2. Is it really safe to use ordinary thin wall beer bottles for a live beer? Will it not explode? I have seen many times people telling on TH-cam, that one should use thick wall bottles for a live beer/soda, like the flip top bottles you also used in the video, in order to avoid any accidents caused by the constant fermentation in the bottle. I like the flip top bottles, because they look really exclusive and they are very convenient as well. But if I wish to sell my own made beer/soda, the flip top bottle is too expensive. That's why I'm considering using an ordinay beer bottle, but I'm concerned, whether it will not explode.
Thanks for your comment, In relation to technical question on the sanitiser can i suggest pinging the supplier an email for clarity, we have used this process on countless occasions without any negative affect ourselves. The priming of beer bottles with a sugar solution or carbonation drop should take into consideration the gravity of beer and amount of priming to ensure you are safely carbonating. The beer bottles we supply to commercial breweries and homebrewers have been successfully used for bottle conditioning as the priming solutions are calculated to prevent any incidents. High gravity belgian beers have been known to use a different grade of bottle from my experience. What are you packaging?
I've always wondered having started with wine, the purpose of the bottling bucket. Why not just bottle with a racking cane as winemakers do. The oxygen exposure is the exact same in this case and you don't have these weird ergonomics of having to squat to fill the beer bottles off the bucket tap.
Yeah thats also possible, if batch priming its handy to use a bottling bucket to add the priming sugar so you don't have to prime each bottle individually, if you added this to primary fermentation bucket when mixing you could pick up yeast trub etc.
Hmm this beer tastes like sanitizer.... Wonder what happened 😊
Forgot to add carbonation drops bro
Don’t forget to sanitize the inside of your mouth before you put the bottle to your lips 😂😂
AKA, Sanitise everything. One-minute video.