Okay, I got it figured out. I think.

[braukasper]

A question Dave. Did you buy a complete system or components? The reason I ask is when I bought mine. The system was balanced.

[RickBeer]

This actually sounds pretty bogus, like an excuse to drink. "Sorry honey, I've got to get the system balanced JUST RIGHT, and it requires that I pour a few mugs each time"...

Maybe I should move to kegs.

[braukasper]

Bought it from AIH. Never had any issues. The only time I got a foamy pour. Was when I did the shake and bake carbing.

[FedoraDave]

Keeps getting better Dave! I thought about that yesterday evening as I was transferring a batch into a keg. Quick & easy. I never considered bottling to be a chore or discouraging, but kegging is less time consuming.

Preach it, brothah! I always kind of enjoyed bottling day, even when it meant two cases. There was just something Zen about it once I got rolling. And since two out of every three batches is a 2.5 gallon batch, I'm bottling two weekends out of three anyway. But yeah, getting five gallons into the keg instead of into bottles is a walk in the park.

[ScrewyBrewer]

The beauty of bottling day is it's always best to set aside enough time to do it right and not feel rushed. I had the best of both worlds this weekend, I kegged five gallons and then bottled sixteen 22 ounce bombers and almost twenty 12 ounce bottles. I will finally after all these years have bottled beer in the pipeline long enough to condition and age for several months or more.

[FedoraDave]

Nice!

You're right about setting aside the time. I work every other Saturday, so those weeks, I'm bottling when I get home, but since it only takes an hour or two, I've got plenty of time to do it right.

And my process is pretty streamlined at this point. I can multi-task a number of the chores, so I'm washing bottles while I'm still boiling the priming sugar, and sanitizing bottles and cooling the priming sugar while I'm racking to the bottling bucket. When it moves along like a well-oiled machine, I even impress myself!