Siphoning

Siphoning is an important skill for any homebrewer or winemaker to master. Siphoning allows you to transfer beer or wine from one container to another without disturbing the sediment, and with minimal oxidation. Northern brewer starter kits contain the Auto-Siphon, which is the easiest and most sanitary way to start a siphon.

To siphon, place the container you are siphoning from at a higher level than the receiving container. Connect the 5 foot length of 5/16” I.D. tubing to the Auto-Siphon. One stroke of the racking cane will normally be sufficient to pull beer or wine all the way to the highest point in the siphon assembly. Once the column of liquid gets past this highest point, gravity will do the rest of the work. All the beer or wine in the top container will drain into the receiving container.

The black plastic tip at the bottom of the Auto-Siphon prevents the siphon from sucking sediment off of the bottom of the carboy. With this tip in place, you can lower the Auto-Siphon almost to the very bottom of the fermenter; just don't submerge the tip in sediment.

To minimize waste, tip the top container slightly by wedging a small object about the size of a hockey puck underneath one end. With the top container tipped slightly, you can siphon out of the low corner, and get nearly every ounce out of the fermenter without transferring sediment.

Beer or wine that has recently fermented can form bubbles while siphoning. These bubbles of CO₂can gather into one large bubble, and this can cause the siphon to fail. If you see bubbles forming where the tubing meets the rigid plastic tube, pinch the flexible tubing where you see the bubbles, and they will be forced down stream.

As with everything else that touches your beer or wine, make sure the siphoning equipment is sanitized.