How To Bottle Beer

How To Bottle Beer

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Bottling your home brew is the final step which needs to be finished before you will finally have the opportunity to enjoy and drink your home brewed beer. The initial fermentation needs to be completely finished. For ales this normally takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks. The airlock on the fermenter should have very occasional, if any, bubbles moving through it. The beer will also begin to clear due to the fact that the inactive yeast settles on the bottom of your fermenter.

To prepare the beer for bottling it will have to be primed. This process consists of introducing a small quantity of sugar to your fully fermented but uncarbonated beer. Although your beer may seem relatively clear there is still sufficient yeast remaining to consume the added sugar. After the primed beer is bottled it will undergo a short fermentation which will actually produce the carbonation. This is referred to as bottle conditioning.

Bottling beer is a relatively simple process, but, it does require a certain amount of preparation to get everything ready. There are several pieces of home brewing equipment necessary for bottling beer. Generally home brewing equipment kits contain all of these things except for the bottles.

Here is a list of the items needed for bottling beer:

- Bottles
- Priming Sugar
- Bottle Brush
- Bottle Caps and Capper
- Bottling Bucket with Spigot and Bottle Filler Attachment
- Additional 5 Gallon Plastic Bucket
- Racking Cane with Siphon Hose
- Cleaning Solution
- Sanitizing Solution

Here are a few additional household things needed:

- Small Bowl or Container
- Saucepan
- Large Mixing Spoon (stainless steel or plastic)
- Rubber Gloves

You are going to need to have enough bottles to contain all the beer you have brewed. The preferred kind of bottles are brown glass ones with standard tops (not the twist-off variety) which are going to accept a cap from the bottle capper. Green glass bottles are also alright; the idea is to keep light out of the bottle. Based on the bottle size you will be required to do a small amount of math. A 5 gallon batch of beer is about 640 ounces; so if you are using 12 ounce bottles you'll want to have around 54. If you decide on 16 ounce bottles you're going to need to have 40 bottles. It is actually a good idea to have a few extra bottles just in case there's a problem or a small miscalculation.

Once again cleanliness is one of the most important issues. It's VERY important that all of the bottles are completely cleaned before they are sanitized, particularly any time you are reusing bottles. The way to clean your bottles is to soak them all in a cleaning solution and scrub all of them inside and outside using the bottle brush. Some great cleaning solutions are PBW (Powdered Brewery Wash), B-Brite and Easy Clean. You might want to use clean rubber gloves when you are cleaning and sanitizing. The solutions that youll be working with can cause skin irritation.

The following step will be to sanitize all your bottling equipment and bottles. There are lots of sanitizers to select from. Some of the common options are Star San, and 5-Star. Add the specified quantity of sanitizer to your bottling bucket and also to an additional 5 gallon bucket then fill each with water. Place all of your bottling equipment that will come in contact with the beer in the sanitizing solution in the bottling bucket. Use the extra bucket to soak your bottles. Put as many bottles that will fit in the sanitizing solution so that they are fully submerged. Once the bottles have soaked in the sanitizing solution for the appropriate length of time (take a look at the sanitizer manufacturers directions) remove and allow them to drain. Continue this until all of the bottles are sanitized. Empty the sanitizing solution from the bucket. Many of the sanitizers are no rinse therefore you won't have to bother with rinsing all of the bottling equipment or bottles.

While the bottling equipment is in the sanitizing solution you need to make the priming solution. The standard choice for priming sugar is corn sugar. It is a simple sugar and will not affect the taste of your beer. To do this step add 2 cups of water to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Add cup of corn sugar and mix gently until it is completely dissolved. Put a lid on the saucepan and remove it from the burner.

Take the time to arrange your bottling area. Make sure that all your bottling equipment is easy to access. Gently put your fermenter on the countertop or table, try not to disturb the sediment on the bottom. It's also a good idea to take a few notes. Document the date of the bottling and all other notable things about the beer. You might want to refer back to this information in the future.

Remove all the bottling equipment from the sanitizing solution in the bottling bucket and place it in the extra 5 gallon bucket. Then add some of the sanitizing solution from the bottling bucket just in case you might need it. Discard the remainder of the sanitizing solution from the bottling bucket and allow it to drain.

Alright lets get started. Just don't forget anything that touches your beer MUST remain sanitary.

Carefully add the priming solution to the bottling bucket. It doesn't matter if it's still warm. Make use of your freshly sanitized racking cane and siphon hose to move your beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Place the end of your siphon hose on the bottom of the bottling bucket. Don't allow the beer to splash for the duration of the transfer, you dont want to add any additional oxygen to the beer at this stage. Hold the intake of your racking cane just above the sediment at the bottom of your fermenter. You do not want any of the sediment in the bottling bucket. When all of your beer is within the bottling bucket lift it up on to the counter or table. Slowly stir it using a sanitized large spoon to make certain the priming solution is evenly blended throughout the beer.

Place your bottle caps in a bowl with some sanitizing solution. Attach the hose with the bottling wand to the spigot on the bottling bucket. Turn on the spigot. Only do this if you are using a bottling wand along with its own valve.

Finally it is time for you to start bottling the beer! The bottling wand incorporates a convenient valve at the tip. To use it just simply press it on the bottom of your bottle and let it fill up. Stop just short of overfilling and withdraw the wand. This should create a good fill level. Your beer should be of an inch from the top. Place a sanitized cap onto the top of the bottle and use your capper to seal the cap. Many home brewers will just set caps onto the filled bottles and wait to cap a number of them at the same time. Do whichever is easier for you or recruit somebody else to help cap the bottles.

When you finish capping, inspect each bottle to make sure the cap is correctly sealed. Once all the bottles are filled they'll have to be rinsed off to remove any beer from the outside. Do not forget to also clean all the bottle filling equipment. It is a lot less difficult to clean as soon as you're finished working with it. Additionally cleaning your equipment right away will avoid many possible sanitation problems during future uses.

Now that you have bottled all of your beer it needs time to properly condition. Your bottles should be stored upright in a place away from the light at a temperature range of 65 -75 F. This kind of conditioning method should take a minimum of 10 days. If possible your bottles should really be allowed to condition for 3-4 weeks.

Obviously you'll definitely be rather excited to drink your beer so after waiting 10 days cool down a bottle or two. When you open a bottle there should be the familiar hiss if it's carbonated. Bottle conditioned beer is best enjoyed from a glass. Gently pour it into a glass being aware to leave the sediment in your bottle. Have your very first taste! How is it? If it is not very carbonated it needs to have additional conditioning time. If your beer tastes good give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy your creation!

Once you feel that the beer is adequately conditioned it needs to be kept at cellar temp or in the fridge.

About the Author:
So you're interested in home brewing beer? Click for more details regarding how to make your own beer. If you would like to read more about how to bottle beer please visit my home brewing site.



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