I would like a bottling day step-through, similar to the brew day step-through. I'm still sort of a beginner and occasionally forget something, like putting the priming liquid in the bottling bucket before racking. I've created my own checklist, but it would be nice if it was integrated into the brew session page.
I see putting a checklist together; however, does it need to clutter up the brew session page? Maybe a link from there, like some of the calculators....
I was thinking an additional tab on the brew session page, just like "Brew Steps", but "Bottling Steps". Do you think that adds too much clutter?
I never thought about this issue before. We can definitely add something like this in the "bottling steps" but we'd need someone to write the steps they would need/follow.
That may be the issue: They vary. And it's not a linear process: I cook my priming sugar while sanitizing bottles. And we don't all sanitize the same way: I mix a batch of one-use Sani-Clean (3 ml/qt) and use a wine bottle sanitizer, others may just dunk the bottles in a bucket of sanitizer.... Not to mention those filling bottles from a keg. Or priming tabs vs. sugar syrup. One person vs. two. A standard checklist then would look like: - Sanitize bottles and caps - Prepare priming sugar (if using it) - Rack to bottling bucket (if using one) - Mix in priming sugar (if using it) - Fill bottles - Put priming sugar/tabs in bottles (if not using batch priming) - Put caps on botles - Crimp caps (either individually or as a batch) - Label or otherwise identify bottles - Store for priming
Yes, but we also use bottling wands (or not), siphons (or not), etc. Also, I always rack my beer into my priming solution, and NEVER stir. That's seemingly opposite of what you do. So that's one of the things we'd have to get right, and then allow people to choose their steps just as they do for the brewing steps. It could be a very big project to implement, so let's discuss some more and then I'll bring it to the developers once we "know" what we may want.
There's never a "right" way when it comes to brewing, is there? Additional complication: I'm doing these things in parallel. I sanitize my bottles, then I get the priming sugar going. While it's heating and boiling, I'm sanitizing and flushing the bottling bucket (I always flush it with CO2 - not included on my list) and my equipment, bottling wand, etc. I then rack, either by forcing the start of the siphon with CO2 (carboy) or attaching a hose and letting it run out of the spigot (buckets, conicals). When the priming syrup is ready, wherever I am in the process, I add it to the bucket. At the end of racking, I stir to make sure the blend is good, then start bottling. I cap them as I'm bottling and set them aside for crimping. Once I've filled all the bottles, I crimp. The next day I make, print and attach labels. From there, it's on to conditioning.... I'm sure there are several procedures in use out there.
