If you’re as lazy, ehm… as busy as me, you really appreciate the relative ease of kegging your home brew (when compared to bottling). But what do you need to do if you want to bottle some of your best brews for friends, or competitions?
I used to split a 10gal batch; bottle condition 1/2 and keg the other half- but that was a lot of bottling, and you know how “busy” I am… Also a couple of cases of “unproven” beer takes up a lot of space (multiplied by every batch you want to bottle), and even worse, what if you go through all the extra work for an average / not competition worthy brew?
In our March meeting JR Hampton (aka Chachie) showed how easy it is to make a “poor man’s counter pressure bottle filler” that will allow you to fill bottles straight from the keg. Besides eliminating the need to bottle (woo hoo!) this method will ensure that that great tasting brew will have the perfect level of carbonation- per BJCP guidelines (and don’t underestimate the affect of carbonation on the taste of your brew- it can make a big difference).
Below is a great instructional video on this easy build. Below the video you will find a diagram (thanks to Ken Schwart for providing) that shows how to add a C02 blanket (to help avoid oxidation issues). Lastly, For those that want to build a true CPBF, there is a link to a BYO article for a inexpensive, DIY build.
Enjoy!
If you want to get a little more fancy there is a nice article in BYO that shows you how to build a true counter pressure filler for about $30.
