Beer Guns

[Millhaus]

I have used the Beer gun for more than a year now and found it very easy to use. I agree it is a lot of work to fill just a few bottles but if you are bottling more it is really handy. I get a bucket of star san where I place my BG and caps. I flush the system with a star san solution (keep a keg of the stuff) and then run a little beer out into a dump bucket before I begin. I usually will bottle 3-5 different beers when I do to avoid the hassle of setting it up for just one beer.

Having the bottles as cold as the beer is key and I fill until a little beer runs out the top and cap on foam. The only downside I have seen is that when my beers go to competition I get knocked for low carbonation. I think this is probably a function of my force carbonation technique rather than the BG.

For those that have used the gun 1) do you put gas to the keg when you are filling and 2) if so, what psi? I have a T on my gas line for my beer gun so the gas is hooked to the keg and the gun.

[stadelman]

I do put gas on the keg that I am filling from, around 5 psi. I adjust this until I get just enough foam to cap on. I put the co2 for the beer gun itself on a higher pressure so that I can purge faster. I never pre chill the bottles. I do chill the keg down to below serving temp - around 32 F.

[Otter]

But how do you cap on foam when the level drops as the dispensing tube is removed? Do you knock the bottle to induce more foam to rise up?

-- Animaldoc

Since I don't chill my bottles beforehand (I haven't seen a need to since it's filled under pressure) when I remove the filler it foams up slowly and pushes out the oxygen.

If it doesn't foam up as much as I need it to, I knock the top of the bottle with the a sanitized bottle. That usually does the trick.

[LoganO]

If you are going to bottle from a picnic tap what size tubing will fit inside the tap?

[DannyW]

the stuff I use has a 3/8" OD

[Dirk McLargeHuge]

If you are going to bottle from a picnic tap what size tubing will fit inside the tap?

I put regular transfer tubing over the outside of the tap when I want to do just a few bottles. I have a length cut to fit a 12 ounce bottle.

[Grist Licker]

Take the valve off a standard bottling wand. The wand fits inside the picnic tap with a good seal.

[LoganO]

Thanks I am going to give it a try!