11 replies to this topic

[DaBearSox]

So I rack from my 2ndary to my bottling bucket, add the primer, then bottle straight from the spigot into the bottles on a tilt.I have never had a problem with oxidation using this method but some people tell me I should use a bottling wand attached to the spigot so I do not introduce any more oxygen to the brew. I feel like this is just something else I have to sanitize and it really isn't worth it.Since I bottle condition don't the yeast eat up the oxygen anyway?

[Deerslyr]

So I rack from my 2ndary to my bottling bucket, add the primer, then bottle straight from the spigot into the bottles on a tilt.I have never had a problem with oxidation using this method but some people tell me I should use a bottling wand attached to the spigot so I do not introduce any more oxygen to the brew. I feel like this is just something else I have to sanitize and it really isn't worth it.Since I bottle condition don't the yeast eat up the oxygen anyway?

The goal is to introduce as little oxygen as possible, and filling from the bottom up accomplishes that much better than having it run down. That being said, I don't know how much it would affect. We certainly expose our beer at varioius times, so it very well may be negligible. That being said, I love my bottling wand. With the spring loaded action, you bring the level of beer up to the top and when you pull out the wand, it leaves the proper amount of headspace. Not too difficult to clean. When I'm cleaning my bottling bucket, I leave the hose and wand attached and let the water run through. Then, when I santize my bottles, I fill the bottling bucket with about 5 gallons of sanitizer and fill each of the bottles individually with the wand. This sanitizes the hose, the wand, the bottles, the buckets all at once.But, if it works for you... why change? However, if you submit some to a competition, which I think you indicated you wanted to do, and you get an "oxidation" comment back, it may be worth looking to getting a bottling wand. They aren't that expensive, but from what I gather it's more a matter of not wanting to deal with the extra cleaning.Get into kegging... then you won't have to worry about it. Although if I bottle a few after kegging, I drop Coopers Carb tabs in the bottle, attach the wand to my picnic tap, set the CO2 to about 2psi, open the picnic tap and start filling.

[Jimmy James]

Since I bottle condition don't the yeast eat up the oxygen anyway?

I believe so. I bottle a good percentage of what I brew and in fact only just got into kegging after many years and batches. I've not noticed a problem with oxidation. Then again, I haven't entered comps either, which I plan to do. Still, I believe the yeast will absorb the O2 and use it for respiration. I'm careful not to introduce O2 at bottling and I use the wand like the previous poster as I find it to be easy to sanitize (just put it in the bottling bucket while it's being sanitized) and for the other reasons already listed.

[davelew]

Since I bottle condition don't the yeast eat up the oxygen anyway?

There are competing reactions going on. The yeast want some of the oxygen to build up their sterol reserves, but there are a bunch of other compounds that want to attract the oxygen in order to go stale.In the end, nothing is 100%. The yeast get some of the oxygen, but some oxygen does go into making things stale. I've seen estimates that the yeast consume as little as 30% of the available oxygen in the headspace of the bottles (from George Fix), but I would guess that it was a higher percentage since so many other sources talk about protection from oxidation achieved by refermenting in the bottle.

[DaBearSox]

But, if it works for you... why change? However, if you submit some to a competition, which I think you indicated you wanted to do, and you get an "oxidation" comment back, it may be worth looking to getting a bottling wand. They aren't that expensive, but from what I gather it's more a matter of not wanting to deal with the extra cleaning.Get into kegging... then you won't have to worry about it. Although if I bottle a few after kegging, I drop Coopers Carb tabs in the bottle, attach the wand to my picnic tap, set the CO2 to about 2psi, open the picnic tap and start filling.

Yea, I actually just dropped off 3 entries for a comp yesterday. So when I get the feedback I can see what the comments say. 2 of the entries were bottled in Jan and Early feb so if I have an oxidation problem that should show up on the comments. I think i just might invest in one anyway. When I rack to the bucket i just use a tube and make sure it runs down the side of the bucket as to not pick up much O2. THen maybe I can just rack with the wand and have it fill from the bottom. I want to keg when the time is right. Money/space is the issue for me. I currently live in a studio apartment so bottling just works better. My closet is filled with cases but my fridge (if it could) isn't filled with a keg at all times. I can just pop a 12er in for the weekend and be good. Maybe renting a house here in a few months so that issue may change. My GFs sister is getting married next year sometime so I am taking some up to Montana for the 4th and gonna let her try some out. I am hoping that she likes them so much that she'll ask me to brew for the reception and foot some of the costs for kegging equipment. fingers crossed...

[Deerslyr]

Yea, I actually just dropped off 3 entries for a comp yesterday. So when I get the feedback I can see what the comments say. 2 of the entries were bottled in Jan and Early feb so if I have an oxidation problem that should show up on the comments. I think i just might invest in one anyway. When I rack to the bucket i just use a tube and make sure it runs down the side of the bucket as to not pick up much O2. THen maybe I can just rack with the wand and have it fill from the bottom. I want to keg when the time is right. Money/space is the issue for me. I currently live in a studio apartment so bottling just works better. My closet is filled with cases but my fridge (if it could) isn't filled with a keg at all times. I can just pop a 12er in for the weekend and be good. Maybe renting a house here in a few months so that issue may change. My GFs sister is getting married next year sometime so I am taking some up to Montana for the 4th and gonna let her try some out. I am hoping that she likes them so much that she'll ask me to brew for the reception and foot some of the costs for kegging equipment. fingers crossed...

Setting aside any oxidation issues, I think you will be happier with how clean bottling can be with the wand (once you figure out the fill level). Good luck with the GF's sister. I personally wouldn't commit myself to something like that, but that's just me. Wouldn't mind being an assistant for a project like that. I guess it's just a fear of criticism from those who will be drinking.

[DubbelEntendre]

Yea, I actually just dropped off 3 entries for a comp yesterday. So when I get the feedback I can see what the comments say. 2 of the entries were bottled in Jan and Early feb so if I have an oxidation problem that should show up on the comments. I think i just might invest in one anyway. When I rack to the bucket i just use a tube and make sure it runs down the side of the bucket as to not pick up much O2. THen maybe I can just rack with the wand and have it fill from the bottom. I want to keg when the time is right. Money/space is the issue for me. I currently live in a studio apartment so bottling just works better. My closet is filled with cases but my fridge (if it could) isn't filled with a keg at all times. I can just pop a 12er in for the weekend and be good. Maybe renting a house here in a few months so that issue may change. My GFs sister is getting married next year sometime so I am taking some up to Montana for the 4th and gonna let her try some out. I am hoping that she likes them so much that she'll ask me to brew for the reception and foot some of the costs for kegging equipment. fingers crossed...

That sounds like a fun project. We are trying to skip the champagne toast for a home brew toast instead. Providing the reception hall lets us, I'll probably have a Tripel for the toast. The reception is at a brewery though, so I don't know if they will let us.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

So I rack from my 2ndary to my bottling bucket, add the primer, then bottle straight from the spigot into the bottles on a tilt.I have never had a problem with oxidation using this method but some people tell me I should use a bottling wand attached to the spigot so I do not introduce any more oxygen to the brew. I feel like this is just something else I have to sanitize and it really isn't worth it.Since I bottle condition don't the yeast eat up the oxygen anyway?

I would think so - but I don't know how much oxygen. Wands are pretty cheap if you are at all worried.

[zymot]

+1 on minimizing the splashing.My bottling bucket has a spigot on it. I have a short hunk of tubing that goes to a bottling wand. This is the kind of wand that relies on gravity to close the valve. You can't lay it down. The beer flows much more freely than the spring loaded style of wand.All I have to do is bring the bottle up under the wand and fill it up. Drop the bottle down and it stops filling. I do this one handed and use the other hand to grab the next bottle to fill or put a cap on the last bottle. For me, the goal is to have as continuous a flow of beer into bottles. I can fill 16-18 bottles before I have to stop and cap them to clear the bench.zymot

[Noontime]

When I'm cleaning my bottling bucket, I leave the hose and wand attached and let the water run through. Then, when I santize my bottles, I fill the bottling bucket with about 5 gallons of sanitizer and fill each of the bottles individually with the wand. This sanitizes the hose, the wand, the bottles, the buckets all at once.

That's a very good idea. It's funny how the simplest solutions are not always self evident. I've been making wine for years and never thought of that. Thanks!

[MyaCullen]

That's a very good idea. It's funny how the simplest solutions are not always self evident. I've been making wine for years and never thought of that. Thanks!

heh, that's how I always do it when I bottle, but that's how I learned to do it from my LHBS.

[Noontime]

When I'm cleaning my bottling bucket, I leave the hose and wand attached and let the water run through. Then, when I santize my bottles, I fill the bottling bucket with about 5 gallons of sanitizer and fill each of the bottles individually with the wand. This sanitizes the hose, the wand, the bottles, the buckets all at once.

That's a very good idea. It's funny how the simplest solutions are not always self evident. I've been making wine for years and never thought of that. Thanks! I definitely recommend some kind of bottling mechanism. I'm assuming beer is as susceptible to oxidation as wine is. My first wine I ever made I didn't use the wand (I got it in my kit and didn't know what it was and just poured it in with the hose ). It wasn't until a year later that the wine started turning brownish. I know beer is on a different timeline so it may not be as profound an effect since it gets consumed quicker. I'm thinking of upgrading to a Ferrari bottle filler that automatically shuts off at the right fill level (big spender upgrading to a $15.00 piece of equipment ).