Pouring Bottles From A Kegerator

[elronalds]

I have just purchased my bottle capper so I can now take home brew when I go out. Just wondering what everyone uses to pour bottles from their keg setups. I can't seem to pour into a bottle easily without foam, a glass pours fine though. Seems the tap is too large for the bottle opening to get the bottle horizontal for a nice start to the pour.

I was thinking of getting some silicon hose, 12mm ID to fit on the tap to a John Guest fitting down to 8mm beer line to use on the tap when pouring bottles, can't seem to find anyone that sells something like that (CB sells a similar thing for their filters but that doesn't fit my taps). I guess I could also go with a picnic tap, but that involves changing disconnects etc.

Just wondering if anyone had other ideas.

 

[Chops]

You need to search for "counter pressure bottle filler" that's the best way to fill bottles with no real loss of carbonation, although if you're just going to use your tap then putting the bottle in the freezer to chill first and turning your gas all the way down so that it pours very very slowly helps heaps too.

 

[elronalds]

You need to search for "counter pressure bottle filler" that's the best way to fill bottles with no real loss of carbonation, although if you're just going to use your tap then putting the bottle in the freezer to chill first and turning your gas all the way down so that it pours very very slowly helps heaps too.

Thanks Chops, I'l have a look into that then. Do you have any experience with them or know what one would be best?

 

[drsmurto]

Option 1 as suggested is the CPBF

Option 2 is to turn the pressure right down and run the beer into the bottle very slowly - aka the dribble method.

 

[benno1973]

You can always build a CPBF

 

[argon]

Option 1 as suggested is the CPBF

Option 2 is to turn the pressure right down and run the beer into the bottle very slowly - aka the dribble method.

Option 3 grab a bit of vinyl or silicon transfer tube and stick it up the faucet. (my perlicks will take 10mm OD) pour through that into the bottom of your bottle with the pressure turned right down as per dr s option2. As the bottle fills slowly remove the tube. Leave about an inch before capping... couldn't be easier. I get minimal to no foam.

 

[zabond]

option #4 picnic tap & diconect[long hose option $18], rubber stopper from clarks[#2 I think,$3],12" beer line[shorten pic tap line] it will fit into tap spout,drill hole in stopper for beer line,fill bottle from bottom releasing pressure by lifting stopper slightly,works well but you cant purge bottles with co2,ok if you just want bottles for party

 

[Bribie G]

Zabond's method sounds good for parties and picnics. Any method that takes the pressure off the beer will result in the beer in the bottle not being as carbonated as the beer was in the keg. The counter pressure bottle filler works by keeping a top pressure on the beer while the bottle fills, then at the last minute when the stopper is removed from the bottle and the foam starts to rise, the bottle is capped quickly. This gives you a bottle of beer that is as well gassed as, for example a VB from the bottlo. This is what you want for sending to people or for competitions, but a 'lesser' method often works just fine for parties etc.

With a CPBF and a kegerator you need to get

• a 'naked' gas-in line that goes into the CPBF, (usually steal one off another keg in the kegerator but I'm going to get a splitter and a valve so I always have a spare naked gas line available),
  [*]a beer-in line with a QD on the other end to get the beer out of the keg,
  [*]and that keg also needs gas into it through its normal gas QD.

So how it works is that the beer is being pushed out of the keg into the CPBF and into the bottle by gas I, and at the same time another gas supply II is pushing against it from above and resisting. You adjust gas II so it is a tad lower in pressure than gas I, and the bottle fills smoothly with no foaming. Then you cap as quickly as possible. Helps to have the beer near freezing as well to hold more gas.

Edit: another thing you can get, to gas up a bottle or two, is a carb cap. Not cheap but they turn the bottle into a mini keg and you shake and gas, and can even leave it on the gas overnight and get a good result, but not a good option for doing a dozen bottles, would be a PITA. Works great on 2L pet bottles to take a few pints round to a mates.

 

[technoicon]

i shake mine up anyway to get it up to pressure, like force carb it. doesnt make a huge deal 10-15min and all the foam is gone.

 

[clarkey7]

Vinyl tube is a good option, but so are PET bottles (have a wider neck than the glass tallie). I do this all the time for "samples" for friends. PET would also suit your purpose for parties - safer and no need for a bottle opener.

Then if you really want you can boost the carbonation with a carbonator cap.s

I also have a CPBF - they are good, but I hardly use ever use it. It cost around 100 bucks with all the extra fittings and splitters etc that you'll need. Consider that.

PB

 

[elronalds]

Thanks for all the replies. I have looked at the Blichmann Engineering bottle filler but any of the videos show it just being used to purge the bottle with CO2, not to keep pressure during the pour. I only have a 1kg CO2 bottle so between filtering, force carbonating and serving it isn't lasting very long, guess I need a second bigger bottle.

Just a thought, would it be okay to slightly over carbonate the beer to account for the loss of carbonation when pouring into the bottle? As long as a have a tube running to the bottom of the bottle then the foam should be minimal. I would prefer to not have to chill the beer bottles as I would like to keep preparation to a minimum.

 

[zoidbergmerc]

get your self a 2L growler of eBay, that's what I use for parties, it's amazing.

When I pour into bottles I don't use a tube, I just turn the pouring speed right down and also make sure my bottle is cold and wet before I start pouring, this helps it not fizz up and keeps the CO2 in the beer.

 

[NickB]

I also just drop the pressure and pour into the bottle very slowly. I do however run my keg freezer at 2 degrees, so when bottled and stored at 4 degrees, the beer is as well carbed as when I pour them out of my taps.

Considered getting a CPBF but to be honest, couldn't see the point in spending $100 when my current process yields pretty damn good results!

Cheers

 

[Batz]

get your self a 2L growler of eBay, that's what I use for parties, it's amazing.

You have a link for those zoid?

 

[elronalds]

Yeah I just cracked open a few that I poured into bottles yesterday using a tube running to the bottom of the bottle. Seems it didn't lose much carbonation as the bottles were room temp as well. My fridge is set to the lowest setting which should be 2C, but I don't have a temp. gauge on mine though. I think it is normally around 2-4C as it is outside and undercover so I guess it depends on the weather (cheapo chinese model and I don't think the door is insulated well enough, but it does the job well enough).

 

[TidalPete]

If you only intend to consume within 24 hours a dedicated Bronco tap & the supplied black tubing combined with the required bottle depth & a bit length of el-cheapo vinyl tubing (Fits over the outside of the Bronco) from your local hardware shop will see you sorted. a dedicated beer-out keg post fitting will complete the setup. As mentioned, pre-chill your bottles beforehand.
For keeping the beer safely carbonated for more than 24 hours you will need a CPBF.

Also keen on any eBay links re Growlers.

TP