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Batch Carbonating and Conditioning

Northern Brewer General
#1

I bottle all of my beer vs. kegging, it is what works for me.
I normally ferment for 3 to 4 weeks and do not open a bottle until they have been in the bottles for 3 weeks.
I like a variety of beers and often have 4 or 5 different batches on the shelf I can chill when I want them.
All and all the beer has been very good but I am always looking to improve if I can.

I have been thinking that I could batch carbonate and condition at room temperature for a few weeks before filling the bottles and maybe get rid of the most if not all sediment in the bottles.

I am thinking the Draft Brewers Tap-N-Fill System that NB sells would be what I would need.
It has a beer gun so I can purge with CO2 and bottom fill the bottles.

Questions….
Does anyone else do this?
Is the extra cost and time worth it?
Would it really eliminate the sediment in the bottle?
How long can a bottle be stored (at around 65 degrees) for vs. bottle carbonated ones?

Thanks for the feedback.
Ron

#2

Buy a kegging setup. Batch carb or force carb and cold crash. Bottle clear carbonated beer out of the keg.

Is it worth it? I think that’s up to you. How important is presentation to you?

3 Likes
#3

That looks like a keg with a spunding valve you can put one together alot cheaper than that. If you don’t have room get a mini keg. Bottling off a keg is a snap.

#4

:dizzy_face: Thats alot! I think that you could buy a keg, picnic tap, bottle of CO2, and a couple of kits for that price… And a 1’ piece of 3/8" hose to put on the end of the tap so you fill from the bottom… Sneezles61

#5

I feel like there are a variety of different ways to cut down on sediment that would be much cheaper…

For instance, you could double up on your false bottom by adding a bazooka tube screen (I believe this can work in series with a false bottom but I may be wrong) You could use a hop spider in your boil, or use a tea ball or muslin bag for dry hops. You could also sanitize a fine mesh filter and run all transfers (into primary, from primary to secondary, from secondary to bottling bucket) through this filter. Overall these changes would cost you much less than a kegging setup. Personally, I use the muslin bag for hops and run every transfer through a fine mesh filter, and I get very little sediment in my beers. It takes almost no additional time and a total cost of less than $15.

Now if you are looking to just become more advanced, then all the power to you. I can’t speak to the batch carb or the kegging ideas. But if all you are looking to do is cut down on sediment, you can certainly do that for much cheaper and without adding additional time to the process

#6

Even cold crashing for a few days will make a fairly clear brew. Not all the yeast will settle out, so you can still bottle condition. Sneezles61

#7

Thanks for all the feedback.
I do use a hops spider and I even filter the wort when I transfer it from the kettle to the fementer.
I will look at trying to cold crash my next batch. I am limited on space to refrigerate a full batch but I think I may be able to move some things around for a couple of days.
What about Irish Moss or Whirlfloc? Is it recommended to use one of them in addition to cold crashing or is it one or the other?
Thanks again for all the feedback.
My beer has been turning out very well thanks to information found on this forum but I am always looking to make it better if I can.

1 Like
#8

I haven’t used them for so long… Most times its just cold crashing… Some times I’ll use gelatin… But again… I can see through my brews good enough to just say… Why bother? Sneezles61

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