This how-to video is an excerpt from the Northern Brewer University online course, Multiple
Keg Draft Setup.
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use a bottle filler to package carbonated beer
from a keg into bottles.
See our full catalog of NBU classes at northernbrewer.com/university.
And if you want to see more videos from Northern Brewer, be sure to like this clip and subscribe
to our YouTube channel.
A cool thing about a mutli-line setup is we’ve made it easier to bottle your beer.
It may seem counterintuitive to talk about bottling beer in a kegging class.
But, with either a double-bodied regulator or a keg system with a manifold, you can attach
one of your lines directly to a bottle filler like our Last Straw Bottle Filler.
The Last Straw works similar to a bottling wand, but allows for oxygen-free transfer
by purging the bottles with CO2 and filling directly from the keg.
One tube or chamber of the bottle filler delivers CO2 into the bottle via the CO2 cylinder;
the other tube delivers beer via the pressurized keg.
With your beer carbonated exactly how you want in the keg, you can fill only the number
of bottles you need.
Maybe you want to share some homebrew with friends or enter a few bottles in competition
and leave the rest on tap.
Before you use a bottle filler, it’s good to understand that CO2 comes out of solution
when agitated or disturbed so we want to minimize any foaming during filling.
Here are a few suggestions:
First, don’t over-carbonate your beer.
Carbonating to 2 to 2.5 volumes of CO2 is sufficient.
We suggest the low-and-slow method discussed in our Intro to Kegging course, where beer
is carbonated at a lower psi for a longer time.
This is one way to avoid over-carbonating.
Carbonating with the quick method will likely lead to excessive foaming issues.
Also, be careful not to shake your keg moving it to your bottling station.
Remember any agitation will allow CO2 to escape from solution and create excessive foam.
Second, refer to your specific bottle filler manual for recommended PSI when filling.
The last straw comes with a 10-foot serving line so you can leave your beer at a normal
serving pressure, 8-12 psi.
Carbonation stays in solution better at colder temperatures.
So, make sure your beer is cold, even turning down your temperature to just above freezing
ahead of filling bottles.
For the same reason it’s good to chill your bottles.
If your beer comes into contact with a warm surface, CO2 will come out of solution.
If possible, put the bottles somewhere cold the day before; maybe on a bottle tree in
the fridge.
If you don’t have room for a bunch of bottles or a bottle tree in your fridge, you can also
sanitize the bottles in very cold water just prior to filling them.
Let the bottles sit for a minute in the cold water to cool.
One last tip we know from personal experience: do not depress the CO2 push-button while beer
is filling in the bottle.
Now, let’s look at the Last Straw in action.
The Last Straw comes with easy-to-follow assembly instructions, so we won’t go over that here.
We just want to show you how to use it within the larger system.
Your double-body regulator will look something like this.
The gas line on the left is running to the Last Straw and it’s set to about 15 psi
for purging bottles with CO2.
The gas line on the right is pushing beer from the keg to the Last Straw.
It’s recommended to have this set between 8-12 psi.
An important note - do not bleed the keg using the keg’s pressure valve when adjusting
to filling pressure as this will cause the beer to foam.
Before hooking the Last Straw up to your keg of beer, you want to sanitize.
Do this by attaching the bottle filler to a keg of sanitizer.
Depress the tip of the bottle filler into a sanitized bucket, pitcher or pint glass,
and run a bit of sanitizer out to sanitize the bottle filler.
Once sanitized, move the liquid and gas line connections to your keg of beer.
Run the sanitizer out of the line by once again pushing the filler down into a sanitized
vessel until you see the sanitizer replaced by beer coming out of the bottle filler.
Now, you’re ready to start filling bottles with carbonated beer.
Insert the filler into a sanitized bottle and depress the CO2 push-button for 2 or 3
seconds to fill -- or purge -- the bottle with CO2.
This flushes oxygen from the bottle, protecting your beer from oxidation.
Once the bottle has been purged of oxygen, depress the bottle filler tip onto the bottom
of the bottle.
This will allow beer to flow from the filler into the bottle slowly with just a small bit
of foam on the top.
Fill the bottle until the liquid layer comes just to the top lip of the bottle.
You might get a bit of foam coming over the side of the bottle, and that’s okay.
Once the bottle is full, lift up on the filler tip to stop the flow of beer.
Slowly remove the Last Straw.
This slight displacement of liquid will bring the beer level down a bit, and leave the perfect
amount of headspace before capping.
Now, cap the filled bottle with a sanitized cap and repeat for as many bottles as desired.
Pro tip: have a few extra caps than you think you need in sanitizer in case one gets mis-crimped
or fall on the floor during bottling.
If you have experience bottling beer, you know it can be a messy process.
Who hasn’t knocked over a filled bottle before it’s capped?
For that reason, don’t attempt to use the Last Straw or any brand of bottle filler on
your precious 12% barley wine or a barrel-aged stout you’ve been saving until you are comfortable
with the process.
In addition, understand you are filling beer under pressure so it might take a few attempts
to dial in the correct pressure and technique for purging CO2 and depressing the wand to
dispense beer.
One thing you NEVER want to do is to accidentally blast the bottle with CO2 in the middle of
filling it.
This will definitely result in a foamy eruption!
We recommend using a small tote to catch any overflows.
Finally, the filler’s handle doubles as a hook to hang it on a bucket between bottle
fills.
If you’ve ever filled bottles with a bottle wand and had nowhere to put it between bottles,
you know that this feature is very handy!
Again, filling bottles using the Last Straw or other type of bottle filler is useful for
packaging up a few beers to enter in competition, for taking to a party or event, or for giving
as gifts.
However, this is not a great option for beers you plan to store for a long time.
If it’s longevity you’re looking for, we suggest you consider bottle-conditioning
your beer with a bit of priming sugar and maybe some additional yeast.
But that is a lesson for another class.
Again, this video lesson is part of our Northern Brewer University online course on advanced
kegging techniques and draft setups.
Get more information on this course and many other classes including extract and all-grain
brewing, Kegging 101, and our Ingredient Series – at northernbrewer.com/university.
The link is also in the video description below.