Fill BOTTLES or CANS From The KEG: THE LAST STRAW STAINLESS BOTTLE FILLER From Northern Brewer

[@ElementaryBrewingCo]

I’ve got the Blichman Beer Gun, this seems to be pretty much the same thing as that. I’m sure it works great. I like the quick disconnect idea, I still need to do that for my system, cheers Steve!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yeah definitely meant to fill the exact same role, just from Northern Brewer. Regardless of who manufactures the bottle filler its a good piece of kit to have in the brewhouse!

[@glleon80517]

Nice! There is a video that Dr Hans did where he uses PET bottle with a screw-on ball valve to fill. Purges the bottles with CO2 first and leaves the cap slightly loose until full. Always a new way. Thanks, Steve!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Cheers! Sounds great if you use PET, unfortunately I have no experience with them

[@glleon80517]

@@TheApartmentBrewer actually you do! Bottled water bottles that you recycle are made from PET. Cheers!

[@codebowl]

I just picked up a keezer and a ton of brewing stuff and it included this little toy so I cannot wait to get everything up and running. First I need to either clean my regulator or get a new one!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Best of luck getting everything up and running!

[@rql8543]

"Trigger finger", oh you American's make me chuckle sometimes

[@andrewgalyen1024]

I too brewed a Christmas Weizenbock this year! Looking forward to seeing how yours turned out. Also, I recently helped bottle over 400-750mL bottles of saison at a local brewery using two Blichmann beer guns. It was a long day but those things worked like champs. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Working on it as I write this! Its pretty good, and I'm happy I took the time to bottle condition it! That is a TON of manual bottle filling, well done!

[@mikeolivier6794]

There's a counter pressure attachment you can buy as an accessory (foamless filler) for the last straw - it works great.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I actually had a segment on that in this review but not only is the product is sold separately but I also broke it somehow...so I ended up nixing it lol

[@pippenpippenger6759]

Have you tried the Tapcooler? It purges CO2 from the bottom and it’s stainless. It can be sanitized in a pint glass and it all packs up into a little semi hard case that’s only about 3”x5”. I think they have a can and a growler attachments too. Love mine.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I have not, but it seems to have very high recommendations!

[@TheBruSho]

Great overview, and loved seeing you use it in multiple ways too. I got one on the xmas wish list!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks Trent! Its a pretty versatile tool and a good thing to have in the brewhouse. Have a great holiday season!

[@TheBruSho]

@@TheApartmentBrewer you too man! 🍻

[@FermentationAdventures]

Good info. I have the Blichmann beer gun (among other botttle fillers) and I always this the last straw was a me-too product to the beer gun. However, interesting to see it has some differentiating features.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I think the beer gun was the OG bottle filler, and every major brand out there has been basically doing the same thing more or less. I preferred the NB version because I have a good relationship with them and they are a good company. Plus blichmann products are everywhere, so I wanted to do something a bit different. Thanks for watching!

[@curtpick628]

Happy Holidays Steve!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Same to you Curt! Cheers!

[@JusBrewing]

I rigged up a poor man's bottle filler using my Northern Brewer bottling wand (from their starter kit) on one end of some hose with a liquid disconnect on the other end. It "works" but nothing like this thing! About time for me to upgrade!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That's really creative, I bet it works nicely though and props for re-purposing older equipment!

[@Bassguitarist1985]

Hey just finished watching through the whole video. At 6:05 you DO have the counter pressure attachment for the Last Straw. That is something the blickman beer gun cannot do. This works great for already carbonated beer. That attachment though does not work for canning it's only designed for bottles in mind. The only caveat with that attachment too is the little pressure relief valve can easily get lost. It essentially restricts the pressure coming out of the bottle so that the keg and bottle pressure are nearly equal keeping the CO2 in solution. I've had best results using this attachment with the Last Straw by purging the bottle with CO2 first, then holding my finger over the pressure relief valve as I start pouring and I can control the pressure escaping the bottle a little better. As you have pointed out it does not feel very quickly but speed I don't think was considered for carbonated beverages. For non-carbonated beverages like wine, my wife and I can do an entire 6 gallon batch into 750 ml bottles clean sanitize and cork in about 40 minutes. We put the wine in a corny keg and use pure nitrogen to push the wine through.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I did get sent it, and I actually had a whole segment in here on it, but there's some serious flaws with the design. It actually was working great, but as you said the check valve in the PRV just fell out and I have absolutely no idea where it went, rendering the whole attachment useless, so I scrapped that part of the video.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

@@TheApartmentBrewer I agree it is not the best design. They do have replacement parts however. I have found that adding some keg lube on the tubes to help it slide easier and seal has helped with the use of it. If that relief valve wasn't so finicky and easy to lose I would say it would be worth the money they charge for it.

[@Bassguitarist1985]

The one thing I do like about the blickman beer gun that the Last Straw lacks is the trigger mechanism to make the beer flow. Pushing down on the valve at the bottom of the tube sounds good on paper but in practice it can be a bit cumbersome. I'd rather have the flow control at my finger rather than pushing it down. It's extremely challenging to fill wine bottles that have the thumb bulb at the bottom of the bottle. You either get it directly on top of that bulb or it slides off and it is a real pain.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yeah its a bit pricey for the material, but the bottle filler itself is rock solid and I love it. These are good points with the wine bottles, I didn't even think about that

[@Bassguitarist1985]

@@TheApartmentBrewer they can easily solve that with the pin valve having a slightly wider foot plate. It obviously can't be any larger than the inside of the wine bottle neck but it would certainly solve that shortcoming.

[@HLBmusix]

Have you already made some long term experiences with this bottle filler? What i want to understand (and i might sound like a nerd): How effective does this device actually get the oxygen out of the bottle. Yes, you can flush the bottle with CO2 with this device, but gases mix with each other very fast and a bottle neck is not a big hurdly for gases. Have you ever brewed a hop heavy beer, bottled with this bottle filler and tested the beer three to four months later? Would love to hear about your experiences! Great video, i enjoyed it, very informative!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I have only had it for a month but I've got some NEIPA in bottles that I filled with it and we will see in a while!

[@apack76]

Northern Brewer's website suggests to buy additional equipment such as CO2 ports (wye splitter) or Foamless Finish counterpressure attachment. Did you feel it is necessary to get these? Did you use a wye splitter for your demonstration? Keep up the good work, Steve!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I think it all depends on how your kegs are set up and what your individual needs are. I didn't get any accessories besides the foamless finish but I'm sure the wye would help!

[@seriomarkj]

Damn that hoppy holidays is outrageous!!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks man! Thats what I was going for!

[@garyelderman1229]

Another good one.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@tommanning7337]

👍🏻👍🏻 very cool man! Another informative video. 🍺🍺🍺🍺

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Thanks Tom, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Bassguitarist1985]

First comment! I have this Last Straw! Works great with the counter pressure attachment but its separate.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Cheers! It's a great tool for the brewhouse, but I too wish the counterpressure bit was included when you get the bottle filler. Thanks for watching!

[@estock15]

I have had the last straw for almost a year and have only had about 50% success rate of keeping the foam down. Last time I bottled I just used my growler filler tube and capped on foam, didn't notice any oxidation and they were in my fridge for 2.5 months. The thing is that the last straw doesn't come with the cap that truly makes it a counter pressure filler and that's and extra $56, and I haven't pulled the trigger on it. Interested to see some long term testing with this. Cheers!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Yeah it is unfortunate that it doesn't include the foamless finish by default. I think a lot of the foam level depends on the initial beers carbonation level. Thanks for sharing and watching!

[@AdamAmdor]

Your 50% success rate matches my experience. I switched to a DIY beer gun and eventually a TapCooler. That being said, I have a Last Straw for sale!

[@EtherealPrelude]

At 7:58 you explain how the Last Straw is different from the counterpressure alternatives and mention that they are capable of keeping the actual carbonation level intact. A few questions: does this mean that if you use the Last Straw to bottle that it's just going to be slightly less carbonated once it's bottled? You mentioned beer going flat, will this loss of carbonation result in a shorter shelf life once it's been bottled? I'm interested in getting a bottling product that provides a long term solution with bottles that have a long shelf life and I'm trying to find out if the Last Straw is the right product for the application.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

If you fill all the way up the difference in carbonation will be marginal. Theoretically there's a small loss but it wouldn't be something you could notice. There shouldn't be an issue with shelf life unless you get oxygen mixed in

[@Will-jd2br]

Yes you will lose some. I keep my keg at 35F/15psi which is 3 volumes. By the time I fill the bottle it is around 2.5 volumes. Keep in mind most of these fillers require you to purge the keg of excess pressure which will lose some carbonation. Also the transfer will lose some. I love my blichmann so I will bottle an entire keg in 1 sitting as i like having my beer portable.

[@apack76]

Since you own the Last Straw for 1 year, have you encountered any carbonation issues with your bottled beers? For instance, going flat quickly? Or lack of carbonation?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Nope, no issues so far

[@NikitaVorontsov]

This looks like one heck of a beer gun. Seems very complicated in terms of setup. Have you tried any other counter pressure filler devices?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I would argue it's actually asking the simpler designs, definitely much easier to clean, but there are still simpler devices available I'm sure. The only other counterpressure filler I've used was the iTap but that wasn't quite the right product for me

[@paskrell]

4:45 how does it compare to the iTab? I see you got one and love mine!

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Addressed at 9:45

[@afhostie]

Mixed feelings on this. Seems like a lot if you're not often bottling from the kegs and then aging. Seen plenty of local breweries either fill cans straight from the tap for to-go orders and haven't had issues with it, though i usually drink then within a week. I've also seen some places get what looks like a hose that screws into the tap to fill growlers from the bottom which was pretty cool as hooking it up, removal, and cleaning are all super simple and didn't require unhooking from the kegs or hooking up to gas line.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

I know exactly where you are coming from since I've actually progressed through all those stages of filling cans or bottles from the tap. Honestly that's the best method if you are sharing the homebrew within a day or two. The problem I had with these methods is that they never last past a few weeks since you can't get the oxygen out. Sometimes it works with the carbonation also but mine always lost a ton whenever I did that.

[@afhostie]

@@TheApartmentBrewer makes sense, i just question whether it would be better to just bottle condition at that point if you're needing to save a few for later. Provided you know you need a few bottles ahead of time.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

And there's nothing wrong with that. I personally like to avoid bottle conditioning as much as possible though, and that's just me (I say as I literally bottle conditioned the entirety of my last brew). Cheers!

[@afhostie]

@@TheApartmentBrewer lol just the way it goes sometimes. Any particular reasons why you'd prefer this method over bottle conditioning?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

Mainly just the time investment and amount of extra cleaning involved in bottling. Its definitely worth doing with certain beer styles but most of the time I just prefer to keg when I can.

[@mutantryeff]

Get a male-to-male connector and add gas disconnect to bottle filler gas port.

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

That is a great idea, thanks for suggesting!

[@PatrickSandy78]

Are you talking about the drill powered canner?

[@TheApartmentBrewer]

You'll have to wait and see!

[@deckerhand12]

Product wise they are hit and miss I had good stuff from them and bad stuff from them. So bad I didn’t even return it I just throw it in the trash. Ingredient wise they are great and have hard to find or unique grains and hops. I have a love/ hate Relationship with them