Blichmann Beer Gun

[BelgianBrews]

I searched the forums and found some info, but not that much. I'm interested in the filling procedure most are using with the Blichmann Beer Gun. I'm using it to send off bottles to GABF, and I'm concerned about my carbonation since the bottles will sit for about a month after filling. I'm filling beers with a normal carbonation level, around 2.5-2.6 volumes.

I did a practice run about 3 weeks ago. I filled 5 gallon kegs and put the kegs in a trash can completely covering the kegs and much of the beer line in ice. I had a 10.5 psi CO2 line hooked up to the keg and purged the bottles for about 10 seconds, filled, shot some CO2 on top of the bottle, and had a friend cap the beer. I did not cap on foam, as some have suggested. Instead I pulled the beer gun out of the bottle when the liquid was about to overflow out of the bottle. My fill rate in the 22 oz bottles looks pretty standard and is consistent. Now 3 weeks later I have noticed maybe a 15-20% loss in CO2 in the beers.

I would appreciate all info and tips from others who have successfully used the Beer Gun.

Or, am I better off just getting a counter pressure filler?

Thanks,

Matt

[yap]

over-carb the beer slightly. you generally will lose a little CO2 using a beergun. make sure your line is sized properly to prevent over-foaming. also make sure your capper is in good working order so that you are not losing co2 over time due to poor seal...

[callmetim]

We bottle using the beergun - 30k or so. I do not use the CO2 purge but always cap on foam. I fill at about 8psi. I have a bottle tree and one of the bottle spritzer things from the homebrew shop. I put in a sanitizing solution in the spritzer. So i spritz the bottle then fill. while that bottle is filling I spritz another bottle and pout it on the bottle tree. once the bottle is full hand to the Bottle Capping Technician (my wife) and start filling the next bottle immediately. that is an important step as you don't want the beer in the line to get warm. We do about 8 cases an hour this way. I have bottles of beer that were bottled in February 2011 that have no noticeable loss of carbonation.