Should bottling take this long?

[EoinMag]

Hmmm I don't understand personally how people wreck the two handled cappers all the time. I can't imagine that a bench capper would be any better than my two handled one, and it definitely can't be any faster. I've done literally thousands of bottles with my capper and not an issue with it at all. I am careful with it and don't over press it, if you're getting rings in the tops of your bottles your using it wrong.

[AceMcAce]

Hmmm I don't understand personally how people wreck the two handled cappers all the time. I can't imagine that a bench capper would be any better than my two handled one, and it definitely can't be any faster. I've done literally thousands of bottles with my capper and not an issue with it at all. I am careful with it and don't over press it, if you're getting rings in the tops of your bottles your using it wrong.

I've only just finished the first batch with my bench capper, and I already have to disagree with you.
Much much much faster and easier with the bench capper. It feels like a much more sturdy product. I have no doubt this will last.
Is your two handled one metal, plastic, or cheap plastic?

[EoinMag]

Hmmm I don't understand personally how people wreck the two handled cappers all the time. I can't imagine that a bench capper would be any better than my two handled one, and it definitely can't be any faster. I've done literally thousands of bottles with my capper and not an issue with it at all. I am careful with it and don't over press it, if you're getting rings in the tops of your bottles your using it wrong.

I've only just finished the first batch with my bench capper, and I already have to disagree with you.
Much much much faster and easier with the bench capper. It feels like a much more sturdy product. I have no doubt this will last.
Is your two handled one metal, plastic, or cheap plastic?

http://www.africanhomebrewing.co.za/ind ... &Itemid=53

[duffymoon]

I give my bottles a bit of a clean after use, then on bottling day i just shove them in the dishwasher & set off an intense (70 degree) wash. I don't use any sanitisers or bleach & haven't as far as i can tell had a bottle go bad yet. I reckon if I did get a bad one then it'll be a one-off, it's not like a keg where if you get an infection then your whole batch is ruined.

Seems to save me quite a lot of time!

[Noodles 09]

Bottling for me is a process that starts a few days before bottling day.

After emptying a bottle I give it a couple of quick rinses inside with somew ater and store it in a box with the others. A few days before bottling day I will use thin bleach and water to fill a large rhino bucket that holds about 30 submerged bottles. I will just leave the bottles in this solution overnight and then empty them out and put in the next lot. Once they have gone in I will scrub any labels off them that need to come off. I try to go for bottles that will just soak off. Sadly I find Budweiser bottles are great for the beer I brew but there labels are some of the toughest to get off!!!

On bottling day I will give each bottle 2 rinses with cold water and empty. They will all go on the side ready for bottling. Then it gets into the nitty gritty of dispensing and capping. My last yield was 71 bottles and it took about 90 minutes for them to be done. I am tempted to look into a little bottler next for a more smoother bottling process. The taste is definitely worth the effort particularly for a lager.