A bottling wand is a piece of portable equipment used to speed up the bottling process of drinks or beverages. It is also used for reducing the aeration of the beer there, increasing its shelf life, and decreasing the chances of contamination.
If you are a brewer, using a bottling wand for your drinks is very important because it makes everything very easy.
You may be wondering what the benefits of a bottling wand are; check them out below.
- A bottling wand is very simple to use. If your spigot is open, all you need to do is push your bottle against the bottom of the wand, and it helps to fill it with beer.
- It decreases the quantity of oxygen in your beer that is caused by bottling. If you use the wand, your bottle will get filled from the bottom to the top, reducing the amount of beer splashed around. It is far better than bottling directly from the spigot. This prevents oxygen from getting into the beer. Usually, the air has germs, bacteria, and other microorganisms that want to enter your beer and degrade it. That’s why you must avoid splashing the beer and aerate it.
- Another benefit of using bottling wands is that they help fill your beer bottle from the bottom up. Due to this benefit they offer, you don’t have to do guesswork about the quantity of headspace you need for carbonation. The bottling wand helps to eliminate space in the bottle. The moment the bottle is full of beer, stop the flow immediately. When you remove the wand, you will get the correct amount of headspace.
- Using a bottling wand also helps you to maintain absolute control overfilling the bottles. Usually, the wand is attached to the spigot on the barrel or container used in brewing before it is kept inside the bottle until it gets to the bottom. You can also open and close the wand as it helps to provide better control while filling because there is a possibility of you closing the wand and stopping the flow of beer.
- When you use a bottling wand in filling your bottles, it does not result in foaming, which helps decrease the quantity of oxidation. It is possible because the end of the wand is placed directly against the bottom of the bottle. When the bottle gets filled up, the quantity of foam diminishes. And a lack of oxidation indicates that the brew will last longer, and the taste will still be great.
Since you are now aware of the benefits of using a bottling wand, let’s show you how you can use it. Check it out below.
Based on the period you purchased your beer kit, you may have one or two types of spigots. There is a kind of spigot that has a barbed end that opens from left to right and one other one that does not open from left to right, but the top pushes up and down.
For the pushdown spigot, this is how to use it.
If you want to get the bottling wand to fit perfectly, avoid using a rubber attachment. All you need to do is slide the bottom of the wand into the spigot opening and push it up as high as you can. Take your time to position it in such a way that it will sit for a few minutes and not fall out. Then, open the spigot by pulling up on the top lever. It will aid the spigot to remain open. Go ahead to insert the bottom of your wand into your bottle. As soon as you push the bottle on the black tip, beer will start to come out, and you are done.
For the barbed spigot, this is how to use it.
You will use the attachment, and it will slide over the barbs. As soon as you get it on, give it some minutes to ensure that it is secure and won’t fall off. Then, go ahead to open your spigot, and you are done.
Also, take note of the following when you are using your bottle wand.
Ensure you always place a small bowl under the wand. This will help catch drips that fall off if your bottling wand mistakenly falls out; this prevents a huge loss on your production.
Ensure you always sanitize your bottling wand before using it to prevent contamination. Feel free to run your bottling wand through a sanitizer. Take it apart at the end of every use and clean it. This is because most times, debris or hops can get stuck in the spring inside the wand.
During filling your bottles with your wand, ensure you fill them to the bottom of where the cap goes. The bottling wand usually takes up space in the bottle, so when you pull the wand out of the bottle, the beer will be settled at the right level.
Before you start bottling your beer, ensure you sanitize the bottles. Place the bottles upside down in your dishwasher a few hours before the bottling process begins. Then, run them through a wash cycle. Please avoid using any soap or harsh detergent to wash them; use hot water. Hot water will help sterilize the bottles. When your bottles get dried, position your bottling buckets on the counter above the dishwasher. Then, connect your vinyl tubing to the spigot and your bottling wand. Open the dishwasher door before you go ahead to bottle on the door. If you do this, if you have any spills, they will wind up on the dishwasher door and not everywhere on your floor.
What are some of the problems of bottling without a bottling wand?
You will go through many complications and struggles when you bottle a beer without using a bottling wand. The procedures involved are tedious because you will have to use a tool that is not designed specially for bottling purposes.
There is a choice that requires pouring the beer through a funnel. Here, two people will need to hold the bottle and the funnel steady while the other person raises and puts the beer. The result is always a mess of spilled beer and foaming that alters the taste of the beer.
Utilizing a spigot can, to an extent, decrease the number of spills and give you a form of control, but it has a high risk of foaming and oxidation that pushing through a funnel will provide. The spigot will make the beer travel through the air before filling the bottle.
There is also the risk of under or overfilling the bottle is very high. When this happens, it can cause problems when it comes to pressure build-up or oxidation that makes the beer go flat while it is being stored easily. Oxidation is not healthy for your beer; that is why you must try to avoid it by all means.
What are the problems with bottling wands?
Using bottling wands are very comfortable to use when filling a bottle, but there are some types of bottling wands that have the likelihood of malfunctioning. And then they will end up stuck open or closed while filling the bottles. If you don’t want to expect that, ensure you get a bottling wand of good quality. Don’t just be focused on getting the cheapest plastic bottling wands; always consider high quality over price. If you go for a bottling wand of high quality, you will not have to deal with replacing the wand whenever it gets stuck and ends up damaging your bottles of beer.
Conclusion
When you are getting a bottling wand, make sure you opt for high quality and not just anyone with the lowest price. If you don’t want to struggle with purchasing new bottling wands frequently, then go for a good one with gold quality that serves you for a very long time.
Using a bottling wand has many benefits attached to it; some of them are: It is very easy to use, it decreases the quantity of oxygen in your beer that is caused by bottling. If you use the wand, your bottle will get filled from the bottom to the top, thus reducing the amount of beer that is splashed around, thus preventing your beer from getting contaminated, you have absolute control overfilling your bottles, you don’t have to deal with the foaming of your beer, and there is a decrease in the quantity of oxidation. If you use a bottling wand, you are assured of consuming fresh and not flat beer.
Don’t go through the difficult process of filling your bottles with beer without using a bottling wand. You will end up spilling your beer because the tool used for filling the bottles is not manufactured solely for bottling, you may end up under or over filling your bottles, and this will call oxidation that will make your beer go flat after a while.
A bottling wand is essential in making bottling your drinks easy. You should consider buying one and practice how to use it. You will be glad you made the right choice.