I always end up with about 1/2 gallon of beer left behind in my bottling bucket due to the spigot being about 1 1/2" from the bottom of the bucket. Even after tilting the bucket, I can’t get too any less than 1/2 gal before air starts getting pulled through the spigot. Any ideas other than re-adjusting recipes the accommodate “equipment losses”? Any feedback would be appreciated. Cheers!
I always bottle with my wife. She fills the bottles; I cap them. We have it down to a pretty smooth operation. As the bucket gets low, I stop capping and hold the bucket above her on it’s side, while she finishes filling the last few.
She’s very trusting.
I read a post of how someone solved the same problem. Inside the bucket they extended the spigot with vinyl tubing. The tubing circled the bucket and the end lay under the spigot. This created an effective siphon which would pick up almost all of the beer with the bucket tilted using a block of 2 x 4.
Awesome idea! I will try this approach for sure. Besides, I’m kinda getting tired of my clothes/carpet getting wet when slurping the remaining uncarbonated beer directly from the bucket.
Awesome idea! I will try this approach for sure. Besides, I’m kinda getting tired of my clothes/carpet getting wet when slurping the remaining uncarbonated beer directly from the bucket.[/quote]
Remember not my idea. Could it have been Nighthawk?
[quote=“JMcK”]I always bottle with my wife. She fills the bottles; I cap them. We have it down to a pretty smooth operation. As the bucket gets low, I stop capping and hold the bucket above her on it’s side, while she finishes filling the last few.
She’s very trusting.[/quote]
I do the exact same thing. We joke and tell our friends that this is what keeps our marriage strong…we brew together, we bottle together! We have a bottling process down like Laverne and Shirley lol.
Awesome idea! I will try this approach for sure. Besides, I’m kinda getting tired of my clothes/carpet getting wet when slurping the remaining uncarbonated beer directly from the bucket.[/quote]
Remember not my idea. Could it have been Nighthawk?[/quote]
I have not read about that solution.
Though I can’t say I have more than 1-2 bottles left in the bucket if I am bottling.
I brew & bottle solo, so you tilt the bucket when filling(very carefully) & end up with about one full glass that doesn’t make the bottle. Set caps on loose, consume glass of brew, finish capping! Works like a charm! :cheers:
I hear ya about the solo missions. I take the bucket up high in one hand while filling the bottle with the other, tilting it slowly to get all the sweet nectar.
I tilt the bucket towards the filler and only leave behind a beer or so. Not bad in my opinion.
Go ahead and bottle that last 1/2, but put a mark on each bottle and be sure to drink those first before there’s time to react to the air that got pulled in.
I tip the bucket as well. Anything that I can’t get into the spiggot, I pour (carefully) into a pitcher and then pour that (carefully again) into a final bottle.
I mark this bottle so I know which one it is and use it as a sample bottle. It’s the first one to drink from the batch. If it’s not ready or if it’s oxidized from the pour, then oh well. If it is ready then I get a good beer out of it!
