Bottling directly from fermenter

[brewbrew]

I'm thinking of changing my secondary/conditioning step to bottle straight from the fermenter.

Currently, I don't filter any trub after my boil - it all goes into the fermenting bucket. I make about 15% more than the yield target so that the yeast and trub gets left behind when I siphon into demijohns after 4 days for secondary fermentation/conditioning (I leave in demijohns for about 3 weeks prior to bottling). When I siphon out of the fermenting bucket I get a good 2 inches left behind and little if any sediment/trub goes into the demijohns.

I know some folks don't do the demijohn/second vessle bit and bottle straight from the primary fermenting vessel using a bottom tap. I fancy giving this a go to save work - but how do you stop the yeast and trub simply getting pulled into the bottles? Will the layer be low and tight to the bottom to stay there and not just make a soup in every bottle? Do people use some sort of filter to stop this?

Thanks for any advice or comments from those that have tried this.

BB

[Good Ed]

You would siphon off to a "bottling bucket" adding the priming sugar (still stir gently to ensure proper mixing), you then bottle from this.

[Cheesey]

Normally I leave a second week at a lower temp in the FV. This helps drop the yeast, and depending on the type used I usually get a good solid layer of settled yeast which can withstand a fair bit of tipping to get the last of the brew into a bottling bucket.

[millmaster]

I normally check the gravity in the FV, once its stable for three days in a row and somewhere near where I expect it then I bottle straight from the FV. I use a piece of stainless steel tube, the top end of that is shoved into a plastic pipe as a simple siphon, then a tap and a bottling wand. The first half litre or so pulls out most of the loose material at the bottom of the FV from around the end of the siphon so I get that out into a jug first and then start filling the bottles. Probably the first bottle or two filled and the last one or two have a thicker layer of yeast than you might like though.

I dissolve the priming sugar in boiling water and using a sanitised measuring scoop and funnel, pour a dose into each bottle - before I start siphoning the beer - that bit is tedious, but I'm bottling around 20 litres at a time, so I can live with that

The yeast used does matter in terms of how well it "sticks" to the bottom of the bottle.

[Fil]

I will charge each bottle still, i do miss the odd one now and again, but its rare..
with a fv tap its a case of using a drain hose with a 2nd (inline)tap on its end and extra tube on its exit to reach the bottle bottom, surface tension can keep the beer in the short length of tube at the end mostly.. and watching the beer level in the FV and tilting/wedging the base to keep the tap entry submerged.

With a siphon tube imho you really need a 2nd pair of willing hands, 1 set focusing on the bottle end and the other pair of eyes/hands maintaining a clean siphon off the sediment bed.

it can be done on your own with a good siphon clip to hold the dip tube steady and a regular depth check pre each bottle fill..

[IPA]

Here we go again
Two buckets two taps one length of silicone hose and a Little Bottler.
Job done!

[BrannigansLove]

Here we go again
Two buckets two taps one length of silicone hose and a Little Bottler.
Job done!

. This is the same procedure I follow. Bottling is much less messy, and far quicker than priming each bottle separately. Priming sugar boiled with a bit of water and added to the bottling bucket, then drain the beer from the fv onto it ensures that it's all well mixed before it's bottled.

[critch]

Here we go again
Two buckets two taps one length of silicone hose and a Little Bottler.
Job done!

. This is the same procedure I follow. Bottling is much less messy, and far quicker than priming each bottle separately. Priming sugar boiled with a bit of water and added to the bottling bucket, then drain the beer from the fv onto it ensures that it's all well mixed before it's bottled.

same for me at commercial levels though, my "bottling bucket" is a 600l ibc

[IPA]

Here we go again
Two buckets two taps one length of silicone hose and a Little Bottler.
Job done!

. This is the same procedure I follow. Bottling is much less messy, and far quicker than priming each bottle separately. Priming sugar boiled with a bit of water and added to the bottling bucket, then drain the beer from the fv onto it ensures that it's all well mixed before it's bottled.

same for me at commercial levels though, my "bottling bucket" is a 600l ibc

At least we all agree
I blame the makers of beer kits who tell novice brewers that you only need 1 vessel and a syphon tube.

[brewbrew]

Reference the above mention of a stainless steel dip tube for a syphon, does anyone know a supplier of such tubing? It sounds like a top tip to me.

Thanks for everyone's input on this - I'm now going for my first bottling bucket attempt.

BB

[Old Hooky]

I used to rack off into a secondary fermenter. Now I don't bother. I go straight into bottles or into a pressure barrell. I couldn't see any difference in quality to be honest. Just save myself extra work.

[Wezzel]

I used to rack off into a secondary fermenter. Now I don't bother. I go straight into bottles or into a pressure barrell. I couldn't see any difference in quality to be honest. Just save myself extra work.

+1

[Fuggled Mind]

Here we go again
Two buckets two taps one length of silicone hose and a Little Bottler.
Job done!

This is the same procedure I follow. Bottling is much less messy, and far quicker than priming each bottle separately. Priming sugar boiled with a bit of water and added to the bottling bucket, then drain the beer from the fV onto it ensures that it's all well mixed before it's bottled.

I always do it this way too. Boiling the priming sugar in a bit of water sanitises the sugar first and if added to the bucket first, the swirling motion as the beer is syphoned onto it ensures it's pretty well mixed. A bottling stick makes life even easier

Cheers

Jason