Homebrew

[bigwhiteash]

Have you thought of getting a stand alone propane burner?

So when was your first bottling day? I'm still waiting on funds for my equipment

[chefchris]

Have you thought of getting a stand alone propane burner?

So when was your first bottling day? I'm still waiting on funds for my equipment

I got a turkey fryer from the start. Got it at Cabelas for $37 shipped. That's a brewpot (6.5 gallon) and a burner. Has worked great so far and I really enjoy brewing outside.

My first bottling day was last Saturday (not yesterday). Then I bottled again Friday night by myself. DO NOT BOTTLE BY YOURSELF!. At least until you have your process down. It's a pain.

I purchased a wort chiller today and will be going all grain before too long. All I need is a bigger pot, which is only around $60. I just got some more learnin' to do.

[Kenyth]

There's a few tricks to bottling. The easiest method is a bottling bucket with a spigot and a tube that goes all the way to the bottom of the bottle. Pull your bottles out of the idophor solution, shake them out, fill them up, and cap them off. 22 oz bottles are easiest since they cut the work in half. If all you have is a siphon and racking tube, it can still be done. Create a siphon you can turn off and on by making sure you loop your siphon tube down below the bottom of the bucket, then back up again to your bottle. Put the end of the siphon in your bottle. Now drop the bottle and siphon end below the level of the beer in the bucket. The bottle will start filling. The further down you move the bottle, the faster the flow. When full, raise the bottle and siphon end above the level of the beer. The flow will stop, but your siphon won't empty because of the loop that is still lower than the beer level in the bucket. The setup of the siphon tube looks like a letter "S" on it's side.

[chefchris]

I got a bottling bucket with a spigot. I used the 22oz bottles last time and it went by a lot quicker. I might make the jump to kegging soon.

[nhcigarfan]

kegging is a snap.

A 10 gallon round rubbermaid water cooler converts really easy and can down double batches.

[Kenyth]

kegging is a snap.

A 10 gallon round rubbermaid water cooler converts really easy and can down double batches.

Do you mean for kegging or for a mash?

[chefchris]

I think he's referring to a mash/lauter tun.