26 replies to this topic

[HVB]

It was time, I have waaaay too much brewing crap.  So far 5 better bottles given away, 10 Kegs and 4-3g kegs sold and a nitro tank and regulator with an interested party.  I should have got rid of some stuff long ago and the cleaning continues!

[Big Nake]

I tried to sell my Better Bottles on CL but no takers.  I might just drop them in the recycle bin one by one.  Oh hey, any flasks in your purge material?   

[Bklmt2000]

I did a smaller-scale purge the other day: dumped a good 8 Mason jars of yeast slurries that needed to go.

 

Certainly cleared out some room in the ol' lager fridge.

 

Down now to 6 jars (2/strain) of US-05, 34/70, and WY1469.  All look good and are pretty fresh.

[BrewerGeorge]

Getting rid of everything this summer.  Starting tomorrow, actually.

[HVB]

I tried to sell my Better Bottles on CL but no takers.  I might just drop them in the recycle bin one by one.  Oh hey, any flasks in your purge material?   

Two with your name on them .. Sorry 

Getting rid of everything this summer.  Starting tomorrow, actually.

 

I am definitely not getting rid of everything, I understand your situation though.  I just have to clean out the crap that I no longer use.  My brewing style has taking a turn in the last couple of years to be more streamlined.

[matt6150]

I got lucky and sold about 6 better bottles to a wine guy for $40.

[HVB]

I got lucky and sold about 6 better bottles to a wine guy for $40.

I did not even try and sell them.  I figured my best chance to have them go was free!

[matt6150]

I did not even try and sell them. I figured my best chance to have them go was free!

I didn't really either. Just got talking to a guy and the next thing you know, Sold!

[Big Nake]

I got lucky and sold about 6 better bottles to a wine guy for $40.

That's what I was hoping for.

 

 

Two with your name on them .. Sorry 

Just bustin' yo bawls Drez! 

[Seven]

Why is everyone getting rid of their better bottles?

[HVB]

Why is everyone getting rid of their better bottles?

For me it is the fact that I use all SS fermenters these days so I can cap them and completely close transfer.

[Big Nake]

Yeah, I go straight from plastic primary with a port to a keg. No need for BBs anymore.

[Seven]

Thanks! Closed transfer is on my to do list.

[Big Nake]

But... But... Don't you want to buy my better bottles?

[positiveContact]

I use my BB for hard cider and 007 starters.

[Poptop]

Yeah, I go straight from plastic primary with a port to a keg. No need for BBs anymore.

Ken,
Can you link me to what you're using these days?

[Big Nake]

Ken,
Can you link me to what you're using these days?

It's basically THIS.  I started down this path and many of the people doing this are using a stainless fermenter with a port on it.  Those fermenters are somewhere between $120 and maybe $200 depending on what you get.  I wanted to try the process first and then determine if the stainless fermenter was necessary.  I also wasn't sure the SS version would fit in my small fridge.  I already had a plastic bottling bucket like that and then I went and got another one at my local supplier so I could overlap, make two beers in a short time, etc.  I asked the low-O2 guys about the idea of the beer being in plastic like this and they agreed that with the beer being in the plastic vessel for such a short time, O2 intrusion wouldn't be an issue.  So I've made 10-12 beers this way and I really like how easy it is to just open the port and close-transfer the beer directly to a waiting keg that's already been cleaned, sanitized and purged of O2.  

 

If you didn't see the other thread where I mentioned this, I have an airlock in the primary and then tubing running from the airlock to a liquid-out QD connected to the keg.  Then I have a gas QD with tubing running into a small bucket of Starsan.  The CO2 from fermentation purges the keg while the beer is fermenting which I also really like.  When it's time to transfer, take the tubing from the airlock and connect it to the port.  Then take the gas-in QD out of the Starsan and connect it to the airlock so the primary is not sucking in air during the transfer... it's sucking in CO2 from the keg.  The closed transfer is a little slower than an open one but it's manageable.  When done, disconnect everything, harvest yeast if you want, chill the keg, etc.  

[Poptop]

Great concept Ken. Doesn't seem like that much of a PITA all things considered and introducing the closed transfer etc.

[Big Nake]

I love the concept but I can't take credit for it.  One of the weak parts of my process was an open-transfer from primary to keg and even primary-to-Better-Bottle-to-keg in the old days.  Some of the guys on the low-O2 board helped me through the transfer process by describing a number of variations of this and then based on the equipment on hand I came up with this.  I had to drill a hole in the door of my fridge to accommodate the tubing running from the primary to the keg (when I'm done I just cover the hole with a big magnet ).  It's a bit of a frankensystem but I like the way it works.  The trickiest part is determining how much beer you have in the keg during the transfer because you can't actually see it.  The port on these bottling buckets are positioned so that most of the yeast & trub in the fermenter should stay behind and mostly clear beer should make it to the keg.  It's a work in progress.   

[Mike Green]

http://www.jimsbeerk...pic.php?t=76104