Blichmann Beer Gun

[BlackDuck]

I put my Blichmann Beer Gun to the test this past weekend. It was really easy to use. I bled the pressure off my keg and set it at 5 psi. Then hooked the gas line set at 5 psi to the gun. Purged the bottle with CO2, filled the bottle (which foamed out the top a little), purged the head space with CO2 and capped on foam.

I opened one of the bottles tonight and poured it into a glass. It poured perfect. Great head and carbonation. The whole process really was easy. I bottled 6 bottles in about 10 minutes time.

The gun is an awesome contraption.

[Beer-lord]

I like it too but got spoiled with how easy it is to keg and now if I use it, it's likely going to be for more than a six pack. The trick is to be sure your keg is carbed like you like it and the rest just works.
It's not cheap and you can make your own but I'm lazy and like how simple it was for a stupid old guy like me.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I keg a lot more often than I bottle these days but I love having a beer gun too. While it does take a little additional setup up time, the beer gun can't be beat when it comes to bottling a case or two of beer. I also like the carbonation level consistency in each bottle filled with a beer gun, they all carb up the same as my kegged beer.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Love mine, what went out to you guys was bottled with it.

[MadBrewer]

The Beer Gun is a pretty damn nice tool. I usually over carbonate just slightly before bottling. I have noticed some carb loss when I bottle say a full case of beer or so. Maybe thats from the beer in the keg releasing co2 to equalize the pressure in the keg once we purge it to bottle. Bottling a full case of beer or so from the keg can take a while, that's more time for co2 to come out of the beer in the keg.

[Dawg LB Steve]

Just recently bottled a case, every six I stopped and capped to avoid that.

[ScrewyBrewer]

Just recently bottled a case, every six I stopped and capped to avoid that.

Yep same here. Bottle six or eight then cap them on foam. I also put the sanitized bottles inside an Igloo cooler and cover them with frozen ice sheets, like those used inside of keg jackets. Having the bottles cold when filling reduces the amount of foaming and my beer doesn't seem to lack carbonation even after weeks in the bottle. Possibly longer but they don't seem to last much longer than that around my house.

[BlackDuck]

I bottled mine into basement temp bottles. They foamed a little, but not too much.

[MadBrewer]

Screwy and Dawg* I cap every bottle individually, I'm not talking carbonation in the bottle I'm saying as we purge the co2 of the keg prior to bottling it makes sense the co2 in the beer in the KEG would then come out of solution filling the keg trying to equalize pressure...like opening a bottle of soda. That's where I would assume there would be carbonation losses.

I'm not talking significant differences, but that's the only way I can think of it. So the longer you have that keg purged and the more bottles to fill over that time, there's co2 comming out of solution in the beer in the keg while doing so.

[ScrewyBrewer]

I also have mine setup so the keg stays inside the refrigerator during the bottling. I don't think what I do eliminates all of the Co2 pressure losses during filling but between the cold bottles and the chilled beer I feel it must reduce the losses. I'd say if the bottled beer still seems less carbonated then carbonating the kegged beer a few psi over what you would typically serve it should make up the difference.

[Stinkfist]

Love my blichmann actually love all my blichmann stuff

[LouieMacGoo]

Just got an email from Brad at BeerSmith regarding Counter Pressure Bottling. Some good information. Even if you don't use the BeerSmith app you should sign up for the emails and follow the podcast. Brad always has a good information on homebrewing in general.

Home Brewing with BeerSmith

Kegging your home brewed beer is a great time saver. Once I started to keg my beer, I never went back. However, kegging presents a dilemma for the home brewer who wants to compete, as most competitions require bottled beer. Also you sometimes want to share a bottle of homebrew with your friends.

A beer gun or counter-pressure bottle filler provides the best of both worlds - allowing the brewer to bottle beer directly from the keg without losing carbonation. Virtually all commercial breweries use counter-pressure bottling systems to fill their production beer bottles.

Counter pressure bottle fillers come in many shapes and sizes. One common design is the T shaped filler shown to the right. Another popular alternative is the Beer Gun, a counter pressure filler with a simplified trigger system to provide one-handed operation.

How a Counter Pressure Bottle Filler Works

The premise behind a counter pressure bottle filler is to fill the bottle while it is under constant pressure to prevent foaming and loss of carbonation. The actual process takes place in stages:
•In the first stage, the bottle is filled with CO2 to purge all of the air from the bottle
•Second, the bottle is pressurized so that the CO2 in the bottle is at the same pressure as the carbonated beer to be added
•Third, the bottle is filled, and CO2 is allowed to escape from the bottle as beer displaces it while maintaining constant pressure
•Finally the filler is removed and the bottle is quickly capped

If the steps are done properly, the beer will be under constant pressure during the entire process and will retain its carbonation.

Recently the Blichmann Beer Gun has become a very popular bottle filler. The advantage of the beer gun is that it replaces a complex system of separate valves on the older T-fillers (pictured above) with a simple trigger system making single handed operation possible. This lets you hold the bottle with one hand and fill with the other. Using the older models usually requires two people - one to hold the bottle while a second person operates the valves on the filler. Here's a video of the gun in action.

Counter Pressure Bottling in Practice

While the theory is straightforward, using a counter pressure bottle filler the first few times can be a challenge. Here are some tips I've learned to help keep things under control:
•Keep the keg at serving pressure, and if possible use a filling line that is approximately the same as your normal serving line. This will assure that the bottle is carbonated at the correct pressure.
•Chill the bottles in the refrigerator before using so there is no change in temperature when the beer contacts the bottle.
•The bottles must be sterilized, which presents a challenge since they also should be cold. One trick I've used is to fill them with an iodophor solution before putting in the fridge, then dump before filling.
•Make sure that the bottle filler is properly seated before filling. I've had more than one popout and make a big mess.
•Fill the bottles nearly to the brim, as removing the filler will leave you with the correct amont of headspace.
•Moderate spillover when removing the filler is normal due to the pressure release before capping.
•Cap as quickly as possible after removing the filler to minimize the chance of air getting into the bottle.

I also recommend reading our summary on kegging your homebrew beer linked above. Thanks for reading!

Brad Smith

BeerSmith.com

Follow BeerSmith on Twitter and Facebook

[Beer-lord]

Brad's podcasts are usually very good though long.
He's given some good advice on their use.

[Beer-lord]

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[Dawg LB Steve]

Same type of method of bottling as the Blichman but much less in price and a little simpler operation since your pushing on the tip in the bottle to release the beer, where you need to hold the trigger for the Blichman, and it has a hook built into the handle so you can cap. I just put my Blichman in a sanitized bottle that is captured inside the keezer so it stays upright in between capping and filling. I think I might have bought that instead if I had seen it before hand.