Bottling for Competition

This afternoon I bottled for a competition I am entering next weekend, UKG's Drunk Monk http://knaves.org/DMC/ up at America's brewpub in Aurora, IL.  Since I keg all my beer instead of bottling it when it is ready I have to fill bottles from my kegs.  So that means having some kind of equipment that enables me to transfer from the keg to the bottle.  Well there is a few ways that can accomplish this, first you can pour right into to the bottle from your tap.  This is quick and easy but does not work well if your beer is going to sit in the bottle for more than a few days.  For me that is a no go.  Second way is a counter pressure bottle filler, this has been the standard for many years.  If you can turn the correct valves at the correct time this is a much improved way.  Since you are bottling under CO2 pressure the carbonation last for some time and allows the bottles to be shipped  to contests a considerable distance away.  I am not that adept to handle a counter pressure bottle filler.  Luckily for me there is another choice, the Blichmann Beer Gun http://www.blichmannengineering.com/beergun/beergun.html.  This is the Cadillac of bottle fillers.  This is so easy to use that after one bottle learning curve you can easily bottle you beer for competitions.  Thankfully this greatly decreases the time and and stress of bottling.

Homebrewers love their equipment!  There are several place that a brewer can buy equipment.  Northern Brewer http://www.northernbrewer.com/ , More Beer http://morebeer.com/ and most important for us locally Somethings Brewn' http://www.somethingsbrewn.com/ .  If you are local to the Quad City area always look at Jim and Mary first they have everything you need.  They carry everything from Blichmann a great homebrewing supply company.

QC Beerguy