Blichmann Beer Gun V2 vs Last Straw w/ Foamless Finish

[BeerBaron1985]

So I've been kegging for years, sorta skipped the whole bottling phase in home brewing because well...its time consuming.

Now I find myself giving more samples to friends and family. To be able to do that quickly would be great. Just bought the Blichmann quick carb and love its efficiency. Local brew supply store sells the Blichmann Beer Gun V2 and they swear by it. It is not a true counter pressure filler though. As we all know carbonated beer that stays under pressure never loses CO2 in solution. The Last Straw now has the foamless finish attachment, and I've heard equally good things.

Any thoughts? Looking for pros and cons before dropping some coin.

Bass

 

[Nagorg]

I have the Blichmann Beer gun and it works great. The key is to bleed pressure off the keg and operate the beer gun under ~5psi. I have no troubles with carbonation loss; that I can tell anyway.

Looking at the Last Straw foamless finish attachment makes me think of Biermuncher's much cheaper solution. I haven't tried it personally but many on the fourm have and sware by it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/we-no-need-no-stinking-beer-gun.24678/

So, it would seem that its a sound method but one that can be had at a much cheaper price point.

 

[BeerBaron1985]

Nagorg, Thank you for the response. I noticed that the Last Straw you need to push down on the tip to have beer flow, versus the beer gun has a trigger. different method that may or may not be an issue for some. Has anyone been able to outfit the Blichmann with say a rubber stopper and gas relief valve? I would think such a mod can make the Blichmann into a true counter pressure filler

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I was shopping for a beer gun and tried the BierMuncher approach. Works great, is cheap, and unless I get one as a gift see no reason to buy a commercial version. Check out the thread linked above.

 

[BeerBaron1985]

I was shopping for a beer gun and tried the BierMuncher approach. Works great, is cheap, and unless I get one as a gift see no reason to buy a commercial version. Check out the thread linked above.

I have read through that thread, and i have all the components to build it with exception of the rubber stopper. I'll give that a shot and report back

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Awesome! Here's my experience. I use a bottle filler (if it's spring loaded remove the spring. I think a racking cane cut at an angle would work even better...less foam) and the rubber stopper. Reduce pressure on the keg to 5psi or so. Long beer lines help. I just installed the Intertap tower and o love the ball lock adapter. Take your time and make sure you have a pitcher or something to rest it in between bottles. Cheers! [emoji482]

 

[BrotherJames]

I used to use a picnic tap with a bottling wand stuck in it, and a stopper (sometimes not). Overall, it did fine, but wasn't perfect and often came apart causing a mess. And there was always the fear of oxygen exposure (I did try to purge my bottles first with a hose, but that was a pain too).

I used my friend's counter-pressure filler (More Beer's design: https://www.morebeer.com/products/deluxe-counter-pressure-bottle-filler.html) and it was ok, but it required one person to operate it and one person to do everything else (sani-prep bottles, cap, wipe down). And it didn't work consistently great on each bottle (from the same keg).

So I splurged and got the Blichmann v2 beer gun. It's EXCELLENT. Comfortable, ergonomic design. Easy to handle, didn't leak, super-easy operation overall. And CONSISTENT fills every time. It worked great when I had a helper (do to the capping and wiping of the bottles), but still was fine when I did everything myself, because I could set the gun down without fear of leaking. Easy to disassemble and clean, sanitize.

If you feel like making bottling day as easy as possible, I recommend the Blichmann!

 

[BeerBaron1985]

I used to use a picnic tap with a bottling wand stuck in it, and a stopper (sometimes not). Overall, it did fine, but wasn't perfect and often came apart causing a mess. And there was always the fear of oxygen exposure (I did try to purge my bottles first with a hose, but that was a pain too).

I used my friend's counter-pressure filler (More Beer's design: https://www.morebeer.com/products/deluxe-counter-pressure-bottle-filler.html) and it was ok, but it required one person to operate it and one person to do everything else (sani-prep bottles, cap, wipe down). And it didn't work consistently great on each bottle (from the same keg).

So I splurged and got the Blichmann v2 beer gun. It's EXCELLENT. Comfortable, ergonomic design. Easy to handle, didn't leak, super-easy operation overall. And CONSISTENT fills every time. It worked great when I had a helper (do to the capping and wiping of the bottles), but still was fine when I did everything myself, because I could set the gun down without fear of leaking. Easy to disassemble and clean, sanitize.

If you feel like making bottling day as easy as possible, I recommend the Blichmann!

Thank you for the feedback James! I actually bought the Last Straw from Northern Brewer with the foamless finish. I'm still dialing in the pressures. When I bottled a few of my Imperial Stouts I got a little bit of foam, but that is because I was using a CO2 splitter line for the keg and also the wand. Same pressure is no good, need to pressurize bottle more than the keg is dispensing at. That way the foamless finish valve releases the pressure slower than the keg pressure allowing it to have some resistance to keep the co2 in solution.

Now that I have a secondary CO2 pressure regulator, if I run the beer wand slightly higher pressure than the keg I can control the foam way better. Still a little bit of trial and error. I have a New England IPA and peanut butter porter I will be kegging/bottling soon. Will update this thread more after that.

 

[TheBrewBrotha]

Thank you for the feedback James! I actually bought the Last Straw from Northern Brewer with the foamless finish. I'm still dialing in the pressures. When I bottled a few of my Imperial Stouts I got a little bit of foam, but that is because I was using a CO2 splitter line for the keg and also the wand. Same pressure is no good, need to pressurize bottle more than the keg is dispensing at. That way the foamless finish valve releases the pressure slower than the keg pressure allowing it to have some resistance to keep the co2 in solution.

Now that I have a secondary CO2 pressure regulator, if I run the beer wand slightly higher pressure than the keg I can control the foam way better. Still a little bit of trial and error. I have a New England IPA and peanut butter porter I will be kegging/bottling soon. Will update this thread more after that.

I've actually own a CP filler from MoreBeer and a Last Straw for two years without ever using them. Finally got around to doing so a few months ago and just couldn't dial in the pressure for the life of me on the Last Straw. After trail and error with the CP filler I was able to get fills but still can't avoid foam which is leaving my bottles flat. As with the Last Straw, getting that damn foamless finish attachment on is a pain and maybe I am pressurizing the bottles too much because getting the foamless finish and wand out of the bottle causes a suction which of course causes beer to shoot out everywhere lol.

Are you recommending, for the Last Straw, not to use a splitter for gas but instead have a tank feeding the keg while the filler is connect to a separate tank? I have a NEIPA and Hefe I would love to bottle.

 

[BeerBaron1985]

I've actually own a CP filler from MoreBeer and a Last Straw for two years without ever using them. Finally got around to doing so a few months ago and just couldn't dial in the pressure for the life of me on the Last Straw. After trail and error with the CP filler I was able to get fills but still can't avoid foam which is leaving my bottles flat. As with the Last Straw, getting that damn foamless finish attachment on is a pain and maybe I am pressurizing the bottles too much because getting the foamless finish and wand out of the bottle causes a suction which of course causes beer to shoot out everywhere lol.

Are you recommending, for the Last Straw, not to use a splitter for gas but instead have a tank feeding the keg while the filler is connect to a separate tank? I have a NEIPA and Hefe I would love to bottle.

Yes, I got a secondary regulator added to my CO2 tank. Right now I have a blueberry honey Amber ale sitting in the secondary fermenter, my hope is to carbonate it and get a few bottles. The Keg pressure I'm setting to 5 PSI and the CO2 wand to 12 PSI. I've also found that a little bit of keg Lube to get the phone was finish attachment on works wonders.

When I initially start to fill, I pressurize the bottle after evacuating the oxygen and once it starts leaking through the relief valve I put my finger over it to hold some pressure in the bottle and then start dispensing the beer. The beer will come out slow at first but it helps to keep the foam to a minimum. After that I take my finger off the relief valve and allow it to fill up as it normal. So far that trick has worked for me.

Truth be told though I am still trying to dial in the pressures myself. It's a bit of trial and error and I hoped you get some pictures and maybe a video on my YouTube channel showing this thing in action.

 

[Smellyglove]

I've been using two different kinds of CPF's and the G1 Beergun. If I would win a beergun I'd sell it and be able to buy three CPF's. They are cheap (comparing to the BG) off ebay, and imo works way better. No hassle with foam of reducing pressure. I have a HP-line coming directly from my pressure reducer, and the other line (output of reducer is split in two lines) is my kegerator line. So the HP line holds 2.5 bar, while the kegs are reduced by a secondary down to serving pressure. Filling with 2.5 bar with a CPF is a dream, no foam, and it goes fast. No need to bleed off any kegs or anything.