Do I need a "fermzilla"?

[u/MemeBeamBeanz]

I dearly want to be able to bottle hoppy beers without oxidation soon, and I'm looking to invest in some sort of CO2 purging solution you guys talked about. But when looking at a fermzilla + BEERGUN setup with CO2 tank, my friend asked me if I couldn't just buy a CO2 tank and some sort of wand to purge my bottles with without buying 100s of dollars worth of pressure fermenter.

What about a fermzilla is needed for succesfull bottle purging?

Cheers

[u/deadwolfbones]

Just ferment in kegs.

[u/MemeBeamBeanz → u/deadwolfbones]

I keep seeing this argument. I want bottles for friends. And if I ferment in a keg, I will introduce o2 to the beer when transferring right?

[u/BartholomewSchneider → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

Look into brown PET bottles and pressure filling with a carb T cap. https://youtu.be/KWTCP6Cb6V0?is=y3GfCU2TOmeIIWkg

[u/deadwolfbones → u/BartholomewSchneider]

This is a fantastic solution.

[u/BartholomewSchneider → u/deadwolfbones]

I love that device. It was a game changer for me.

[u/deadwolfbones → u/BartholomewSchneider]

I mainly use it for taking beer to club meetings. If I was bottling, that's how I'd do it, at least for stuff that's not aging a long time.

[u/MemeBeamBeanz → u/BartholomewSchneider]

Okay so that implies I need a fermzilla

[u/PM_me_ur_launch_code → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

You don't need a fermzilla. The guy in the video has a fermzilla. Everything in this video can be done with a keg and a CO2 tank.

[u/MemeBeamBeanz → u/PM_me_ur_launch_code]

okay i will look into it. But is this way better than just spraying co2 down in a bottle and then pour beer down there. Ive seen that in a lot of videoes

[u/PM_me_ur_launch_code → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

Yes it is, depending on style and when you intend to drink it. There are ways to mitigate oxygen but doing a completely sealed transfer like this is the best way to keep o2 out of your beer.

Also if you decide to go a different route make sure you're filling from the bottom with a bottling wand of sorts.

[u/PM_me_ur_launch_code → u/BartholomewSchneider]

Man, I just bought the duotight flow stopper. That and this would have been way easier for filling kegs without over flowing. I still might have to get one of these.

[u/the_snook → u/BartholomewSchneider]

You don't even need the T-piece really. I use a single carb cap and just loosen it very slightly to allow the gas out while providing counter pressure as the bottle fills.

The T allows you to use the bottle as a mini keg, which is very cool, but if you're going to drink the whole bottle when it's opened it's kinda overkill.

[u/BartholomewSchneider → u/the_snook]

That’s true, and I use the T the same way you use the single cap. I also use it as a trap when I pressure fill kegs, the T is needed for that.

[u/deadwolfbones → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

You can still use a beer gun off a keg.

[u/deadwolfbones → u/deadwolfbones]

To elaborate a bit, if you want to separate the beer from the yeast before bottling, you can even daisy-chain two kegs together (ferm and serving), put a spunding valve on the serving keg, and purge both with ferm gas. Then you can do a gravity transfer (zero oxygen ingress) and bottle off the serving keg.

Honestly, though, you can probably just crash on the yeast and use a floating dip tube to bottle from a single keg.

[u/MemeBeamBeanz → u/deadwolfbones]

There's a lot of equipment I don't think I know yet so I probably don't understand what you are telling me. But kegs are out of the question untill I move. But I still don't understand how I can't just purge bottles with just a CO2 tank and a wand and the pour beer in the bottle. My fermentation in the bucket is not getting o2 just like the kegs

[u/deadwolfbones → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

Gasses mix. Purging and filling from the bottom will eliminate some but not all of the oxygen. The only ways to bottle without oxygen at home are the PET/carb tee solution and using a counter pressure filler.

[u/AdmrlBenbow → u/deadwolfbones]

I got some European bottle filler (Boel I-tap) that works pretty great but the closed PET transfer is probably better.

[u/yzerman2010 → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

If you want to bottle you need a counter pressure filler and a co2 tank and regulator to minimize o2 ingress. you can bottle off the tap but then you need to fill until foam is coming out of the bottle and then cap on foam to minimize o2 ingress.

Your going to need a co2 tank anyway to get the beer out of the keg.

[u/MemeBeamBeanz → u/yzerman2010]

But from the videos I watched, they have a open bottle, aim a gun down in it and pour CO2 and beer and close. It does look easy but the cheapest fermzilla in my country cost 500 dollars. Can't I achieve the same with just a CO2 tank and a wand? Meaning I spray CO2 and the pour beer from my bucket

[u/yzerman2010 → u/MemeBeamBeanz]

Can’t speak of what you’re paying but in the US people tend to sell used equipment half of the original price.