As much as filling beer from the keg is easy and convenient, sometimes we miss drinking straight out of a bottle without having to do the extra work of filling, don’t we?
But how do you fill the beer bottles without losing all the carbon dioxide from the beer? The answer – a beer gun! But it costs you pretty much for such a simple thing. To your rescue, we’ve collected some of the best DIY beer gun ideas in this post.
1. HBW Homemade beer gun.
The Youtuber from The Alchemist Brewery made a homemade beer gun using a splitter and bottle fillers. He first purged the oxygen in the beer bottle and filled it with CO2. Finally, he filled the bottle with beer with the filler, ensuring that the beer remains carbonated.
However, the entire system looked quite messy. Instead of leaving the fillers loose, you can fix them in the wall such that you can swiftly move the bottles from one filler to the other.
2. DIY Beer Gun for Under $40
The blogger from Homebrew Talk realized that $100 price tag of Blichmann Beer is not justifiable. So, he decided to make his own DIY beer gun, that too under $40!
All the items, measurements, and the costs are mentioned in the table at the beginning of the blog. The procedures and working mechanism are clearly detailed, and a labelled picture is also featured on the blog.
3. DIY BEER GUN – BLICHMANN INSPIRED
These Blichmann inspired DIY beer guns cost only 15-20 bucks per piece. Well, the price might’ve increased since 2013, but still, it’s significantly low compared to the market price.
The exact DIY procedure is not demonstrated in the video, but the parts and the pricing are described in detail. If you’re a newbie to these kinds of DIYs, this tutorial might not be enough for you.
4. We no need no stinking beer gun…
Rather than a blog post, this is a forum thread. But the content within is so wholesome that all the replies are encouraging and appreciative.
This thread doesn’t have any guidelines on DIYing a beer gun. But the commenter has written steps to fill beer into the bottles without using any beer gun at all. Give this thread a read, who knows, you might be the next one to thank him!
5. Home Brewing Tutorial: Two Simple Ways to Fill Bottles from a Keg
Like all of us, the Youtuber from WelcomeToTheRoofTop felt that $70-$100 for something that simply fills beer into the bottle was too much to spend.
So, he came up with two creative ideas for filling the beer from the keg. And guess what? None of them requires a beer gun! If you’re in no mood for DIYing a beer gun but still want to fill the bottles up, this video is all you need to watch.
6. DIY Counter Pressure Bottle Filler: Make It for $20 (or Less)
In this blog, you’ll get to know how to build a counter-pressure bottle filler as well as a CO2 purging device. At the end of the blog, the blogger has detailed all the steps you need to know for filling the beer bottles using these two DIY devices.
Remember, don’t forget to check out the ‘Tips and final thoughts’ section of the blog. This section might have all the answers to your queries.
7. DIY Project: Beer Gun
This Youtuber from Scrambingvision Gaming built a beer gun using all the spare parts he’d collected during his years of brewing.
Moreover, in the comment section, he has also mentioned that the carbonation in the beer bottled using this technique lasts as long as any commercial bottling setup.
To know what supplies he used during this DIY along with a straightforward procedure, you can directly read the video’s description.
8. Beer Gun and Counter-Pressure Filler Comparison
Now, let’s look at a clear-cut comparison between a beer gun and a counter-pressure filler. In this post, you can read the comparison between these two devices in terms of ease of use, build quality, results, and costs.
Most importantly, the tips and tricks mentioned at the end of the blog can come really handy at unexpected times. So, give that section a quick read.
9. How to Use the Blichmann Beer Gun
Blichmann beer gun is the market standard when it comes to beer guns. So, even if you’re making up your mind for DIYing the homemade version, firstly, you must know how it works.
In this Youtube video tutorial, the Youtuber from Great Fermentations demonstrates how to use the Blichmann beer gun. Once you understand the mechanism, you can DIY it on your own easily.
10. HOW TO BOTTLE BEER FROM A KEG WITHOUT A COUNTER-PRESSURE BOTTLE FILLER
If you want to fill your beer bottles but are in no mood of making or buying a beer gun, this blog post is the one you must read!
Know two methods of filling the beer bottles without using a beer gun. As both of these methods are elaborated in-depth, accompanied by exact steps you must follow, you’ll probably find this tutorial easy to follow along.
11. Poor Man’s Beer Gun – Craft Brewing™
Follow this YouTube tutorial to DIY a beer gun for only a few dollars! The list just gets better and better, doesn’t it?
The Youtuber uses a hose clamp, partial racking cane, a small rubber stopper, some rubber tubing, and a standard picnic tap for this DIY project. He ensures that his DIY works great.
Moreover, we couldn’t help but notice a comment that said chilling the beer bottles would result in less foaming. Why don’t you give this trick a try?
12. BUILD YOUR OWN COUNTER-PRESSURE BOTTLE FILLER! UPDATED
Here’s another counter-pressure filler DIY. Following a few bulky paragraphs of introduction, there’re a few advantages and disadvantages of this DIY project.
All the supplies necessary are listed in the blog, followed by an elaborative description of the procedure. This blog post also features a descriptive video somewhere in the middle, which you must watch before starting the project.
13. Home Made Beer Gun
This Youtuber from Make Beer Easy Big Robb, filled his beer bottles so easily and perfectly, without even using a beer gun! If you think that we went over-the-top with the word ‘Perfectly’, check out the comment section of this video, where here’s nothing but appreciation.
He used a bottle filler to fill the beer bottles and regulated the CO2 in the kegerator such that there was minimal foaming. If you want to save money and the effort needed for a DIY, go for this tutorial!
14. Bottle from the Keg – The DIY Beer Gun
With a few materials and a paragraph of the assembly procedure, you’ll be able to make a brand new beer gun for yourself.
All grains has a range of baking and brewing blogs, including some delicious recipes! So, if you’re into any of these two, or both of them, you’ll definitely love this site.
15. Bottling from kegs without a beer gun
In this video tutorial, the Youtuber has demonstrated two methods for filling the beer bottles without using a beer gun. The downside of the first method is that it takes a bit of time to fill the bottle. And, for the second method, you’ll need properly threaded bottles.
Dudes Brew has a range of brewery-related videos. So, if that’s where your interest lies, check the channel out!
16. Bottling beer directly from the tap without any fancy stuff!
Did you know that you can even fill the beer bottles directly from the tap without using any fancy equipment? If you want to know how, head over to this YouTube tutorial.
If you want to use this technique to fill the bottles, the most important thing for you to remember is to chill the bottles and beer as low as possible to decrease the foaming.
17. Make Your Own Beer Gun
In this forum, the user named Matho has explained how he made his own DIY gun. He has mentioned all the tools he used for the build and has even posted a few photos for reader’s convenience.
18. Filling Bottles from Kegs Without the Headaches
If you don’t know whether or not you’re filling your beer bottles from the keg right, this post might have the answer.
Moreover, you can read on using a counter-pressure filler and a beer gun to fill the bottles. In case you want a DIY solution, read the section ‘Option #1B’ of the post!
Summary
Passing beer bottles to your friends while chilling outdoors is much easier than refilling from the keg every single time. But up until now, you might’ve thought that doing so wouldn’t be possible unless you spend a handsome amount of money on a beer gun.
Well, we’ve proved you wrong, haven’t we? Now, select any of these DIYs that best meets your budget and skills, and get to work. You know what’s great? Most of these DIYs uses supplies that most homebrewers already own!