Bottling losses

[Belgian freak]

Does anyone have any advice for a novice regarding bottling.

I've done a few brews and notice that if I try to get every last drop into bottles I can end up with quite a bit of sediment.

I've started using a big auto siphon in the bottom of a plastic fermenter, I then put this in a bottling bucket, I seem to lose about 2-3 liters if I avoid siphoning any trub. The tap on the bottling bucket is then about an inch and a half from the bottom of the bottling bucket which leads to me losing another couple of liters when bottling!

Should the tap be right at the bottom of the bottling bucket (this would involve buying a new bucket!) or is it just inevitable that I will lose this much beer, it seems a bit of a shame because as far as I can see all the beer in the bottling bucket is of drinkable quality!

Just bottled American pale ale, dry hopped with gorse flowers

 

[PZ]

If you have a spigot on your fermenter you can rack the beer with some tubing directly into the bottling bucket. (Gently now, you don't want to aerate the beer at all.) With or without a spigot, as the fermenter empties, tilt the bucket. You can use a piece of wood to keep it steady and free up a hand. A little trub is ok. Your bottling bucket should have a spigot. Use the same tilting technique. Anything left can be poured into a jar to settle out and used for cooking. No waste!

 

[PZ]

Of course, the best suggestion is to invest in kegs asap

 

[Belgian freak]

That's what I've been doing, maybe I just need a little more practice or maybe I'm just a perfectioninst!

I presume I need to know my equipment as I put enough bottling sugar in for 21 liters but only got 19 liters in my bottling bucket maybe leading to overcarbonation.

Any other tips would be appreciated!

 

[Arbe0]

I seem to leave a lot of beer in the fermenter, just to get away from the trub and have a nice clean, clear beer.
It works but you loose some beer

 

[PZ]

You might try cold crashing the fermenter for a couple days before bottling. The lower temperature encourages the yeast to fall out and settle firmly to the bottom.

 

[griz]

As PZ siad, tilt your bottling bucket when filling bottles. Also, tilt your carboy when you siphon beer into bottling bucket. I always leave a little beer in the carboy because I do not want to be sucking up any of the dead yeast. I'd rather have cleaner beer!! Losing 6-10 ounces of beer is worth it. And finally, double ferment your beer batch. By moving your 1st fermentation batch into a 2nd carboy will make your final product so much more cleaner you will be amazed. I do these 3 steps on every batch of beer I make and I rarely have sediment issues, if at all. Take the time to double ferment your batch of beer!!