Just looking for a little information

[ziggy]

Okay, So it looks like eventually I am going to want to do the Co2, because I'm really not into drinking the yeast at the bottom of the beer...on accident....Anyways, when I am ready to start CO2ing the hell out of my beers, how do I go about doing it? Do I need to keg the fermentation? Can I just put the batch threw a filter and bottle it? Do I let the wort ferment longer in the 5 gallon jug since it won't be fermenting at bottling...???

you guys are all awesome!

Ok here are a few different methods for carbonating your beer:
1. Bottle conditioning- Once fermentation is complete you add in a measured amount of sugar and bottle. The remaining yeast ferment this sugar and turn it into CO2 and alcohol only this time you are trapping the CO2 in the bottle rather than letting it off like you were during primary fermentation. You need the yeast still alive for this. There are plenty left in suspension after primary fermentation. If you filtered your beer you would remove these yeasts and your beer would not carbonate.

2. Cask conditioning- Same as bottle conditioning only the keg is used as one giant bottle.

3. Force carbonating- Put your beer in a keg, hook up a tank and pressurize it. This forces the CO2 from the tank to dissolve in the beer, thereby carbonating it. This is what I think you are getting at.

If you want to get rid of the sediment a the bottom of your bottles you need to keg your beer. You can then drink it straight out of the keg or you can bottle it out of the keg. Whatever method people use to carbonate their beer at its most basic it is one of these three methods.

[Dmp]

Thanks, for the info!

Okay, what about option 4 letting all the ferment settle out and (like two posts ago), then bottling it (not adding sugar, hence making the yeast die(?), than attaching one of these little caps http://northernbrewer.com/pics/fullsize/carbonator.jpg and a little bottle of CO2, or just using the CO2 gun...? would that let me skip the whole issue of kegging the beer, or am I missing a big part of the process here?

(Please excuse the sentence structure, spelling, etc.)

[bcmaui]

You are still doing option #3, just in a smaller container.

That should work and if the size of bottles is better than kegs for your situtation, is an option.

Just remember that the force carbonation takes some time for the gas to be absorbed into solution, so you need to have the gas hooked up over a period of time.

I wait about 7-10 days for a keg to get up full carbonation using the same pressure the entire time that should get me to my target based on the temperature the beer is being stored at.

You can cut down on the time it takes to fully carbonate if you shake the vessel and/or initially carbonate at a higher pressure, but since the beer also benefits from some aging, I don't bother and don't have to worry about overshooting my target.

[Dmp]

So which to use than? the all so famous beer gun, or co2 injector? and if i inject the co2 and what not will i be able to drink straight out of the bottle? or will i have to worry about the yeast yada yada.

[Dmp]

Ugh, so i bottled about a week ago my first batch....It carbonated really well and hides the fact that the beer is pretty watery, and tangy...(it's my first batch). but after a sip of it, literally one sip, my stomach feels upset. before opening the bottle i see a bunch of gunk gathered at the bottom. As I opened the bottle it started bubbling, a little too much, and as it was bubbling it started picking up all the junk at the bottom. how do i get around drinking that stuff at the bottom? (which I'm assuming is making my stomach upset). should i bleed the bottles a little bit since they are over carbonated?

[BigNastyBrew]

If it gushes, it sounds like wild yeast. I've had 2 infected batches (#2 and #8). NASTY!

But I've never had gushers.

If you're drinking the sediment, it's actually good for you. But it will tear your stomach up. Farting and shitting yourself.

[Dmp]

First off yes, it's bubbling like a bottle of champaign.

2nd off, I just read chapter 11, from John Palmer's e-book, again.

Lessons learned:

1. Don't let my roommate hold the hose in the bucket while bottling. He placed it in the bottom of the bucket (even though I told him not too.) and I ended up sucking up much of the sediment at the bottom.

2. Get a sanitizing solution for the bottles. And if using tap water make sure to boil it first... (which I didn't do.)

3. Use less sugar.

So, normally when I use priming sugar vs CO2 injections, will I be able to one day master the carbonation so that I won't have a ton of yeast residue at the bottom? Or will I always need to re-pour my bottled beer?

[ziggy]

Well you could try what Sierra Nevada does. They filter to strip out all the yeast then add back just enough to carbonate. I think they use 1 gram per 5 gallons or something. That way you end up with a really small film on the bottom. You could also use a high flocculating yeast like wyeast 1968 which sticks to the bottom of the bottle pretty good or you could put some gelatin in at bottling time.