Moving to barrel to bottle

andyodell

I have only done one brew, which turned out nice.

I was recommended to transfer it all to a barrel that had some sugar/water in the bottom so that it all gets mixed evenly and then I transferred it straight away to the bottles (using the little bottler)

I am planning on doing a second brew but have read that when transferring I should let it settle for a while. Is this correct? Wont carbonation be effected to the bottle if I leave it too long?

Thanks for any help

Andy

HBO_Staff

By far the best way is to transfer from your fermenting vessel straight over into where you want it to be ultimately stored, either the barrel or bottles, or barrel some and bottle the rest if you want some in each. This is because it mixes less air in with the brew, so if you plan to store in bottles fill the bottles from your fermenting vessel (using a little bottler is by far the easiest way). Then to each bottle add any priming sugar or carbonation drops.

For the best results with the minimal amount of sediment the bottles should be filled with the brew when it has been allowed to settle and has not been disturbed. Again if using a little bottler this can help with not disturbing the sediment, and means the finished product will look it's best - a little sediment in the bottles wont affect the taste but it just doesn't look as good.

The other way is, once you have seperated the brew from the sediment into another vessel, you could then mix a solution of water and sugar which has dissolved into the whole brew so it is already mixed in, and then fill your bottles with it pre-primed. It is personal preference, but if using something like carbonation drops it is already in a measured dose for you, so just add one or two per 500ml bottle.

If transferring from one vessel to another it is good practice not to allow the liquid to splash around so as to avoid air mixing in with it as much as possible