Should I buy a counter pressure filler?

[TheDarkSide]

I love my beergun but I'll only pull it out when I'm bottling a bunch of stuff. For club meetings, I just turn down the pressure, attach my growler filler tube to my perlick faucet and fill form the bottom. If I'm ambitious, I'll purge with CO2 first but usually I just bottle the day of the meeting.

[TimmyR]

I love my beergun but I'll only pull it out when I'm bottling a bunch of stuff. For club meetings, I just turn down the pressure, attach my growler filler tube to my perlick faucet and fill form the bottom. If I'm ambitious, I'll purge with CO2 first but usually I just bottle the day of the meeting.

+1 for any fast growler fill

[Jackhole]

I'm brewing a batch for a party and I don't really have the cash for a jockey box. You think I could just fill the bottles the morning of the party like you'd fill a growler?

Should I chill the bottles?

Do I turn the gas down? If so, why?

[crashlann]

I'm brewing a batch for a party and I don't really have the cash for a jockey box. You think I could just fill the bottles the morning of the party like you'd fill a growler?

Should I chill the bottles?

Do I turn the gas down? If so, why?

Definitely. I have done that many times.
I have chilled the bottles to minimize temp change and foam, but thats also the reason for turning down CO2.
Using the tubing to fill the bottles or growler from the bottom has worked well enough for me reducing foam.

[Jackhole]

I'm brewing a batch for a party and I don't really have the cash for a jockey box. You think I could just fill the bottles the morning of the party like you'd fill a growler?

Should I chill the bottles?

Do I turn the gas down? If so, why?

Definitely. I have done that many times.
I have chilled the bottles to minimize temp change and foam, but thats also the reason for turning down CO2.
Using the tubing to fill the bottles or growler from the bottom has worked well enough for me reducing foam.

What do you suggest that I turn it down to? The system is at 12 PSI currently. In your experience, how long do the bottles last when filled this way?

[crashlann]

I'm brewing a batch for a party and I don't really have the cash for a jockey box. You think I could just fill the bottles the morning of the party like you'd fill a growler?

Should I chill the bottles?

Do I turn the gas down? If so, why?

Definitely. I have done that many times.
I have chilled the bottles to minimize temp change and foam, but thats also the reason for turning down CO2.
Using the tubing to fill the bottles or growler from the bottom has worked well enough for me reducing foam.

What do you suggest that I turn it down to? The system is at 12 PSI currently. In your experience, how long do the bottles last when filled this way?

I don't keep my kegerator that high, more like 5-7psi. I have never tried to keep the beer for more than 48 hours, but that seemed to be just fine. Try pouring the bottles without turning the pressure down, if you dont have a foam prob then you are probably ok. I think the tubing is key though, so you can fill from the bottom of the bottle.

[hop loader]

I turn up the psi from 10-12 up to about 13-14 the day before (this tends to get the beer to the right carbonation in the finished bottle) , drop the temp on the keezor to 1 degrees C (34F), then on the day I drop the psi to 1-2. then I bottom fill (I use a blichmann beer gun for this) into a chilled bottle.

[Ozwald]

I'm brewing a batch for a party and I don't really have the cash for a jockey box. You think I could just fill the bottles the morning of the party like you'd fill a growler?

Should I chill the bottles?

Do I turn the gas down? If so, why?

Definitely. I have done that many times.
I have chilled the bottles to minimize temp change and foam, but thats also the reason for turning down CO2.
Using the tubing to fill the bottles or growler from the bottom has worked well enough for me reducing foam.

What do you suggest that I turn it down to? The system is at 12 PSI currently. In your experience, how long do the bottles last when filled this way?

Definitely up the pressure a bump to get the beer slightly over carbed first. Put it in the bottles at maybe 4-5psi. If you flush the bottles before filling they'll last for a long, long time. Otherwise your only concern is oxidizing from the headspace.

A growler has more surface area exposed to the headspace than a bottle & a cap that doesn't seal as well which is why they don't tend to last all that long.