How to Bottle Beer - By: Bruce Carter

Bottling your beer will be the last step which has to be carried out before you'll finally be able to enjoy and drink your very own home brewed beer. The initial fermentation must be completely finished. For ales this typically takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks. The airlock on your fermenter should have very infrequent, if any, bubbles passing through it. The beer will likewise begin to clear due to the fact that the inactive yeast falls to the bottom of your fermenter.

To prepare your beer for bottling it'll have to be primed. This method involves adding a small amount of sugar to the completely fermented but uncarbonated beer. Despite the fact that your beer may appear fairly clear there's still plenty of yeast present to consume the added sugar. After the primed beer is bottled it will undergo a brief fermentation that will make the carbonation. This method is generally known as bottle conditioning.

Bottling beer is a relatively basic process, but, it does require some preparation to get all the things you need ready. There are multiple items of home brewing equipment required for bottling beer. Many home brewing equipment kits contain all of these things with the exception of the bottles.

Listed here are the things 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

The following are a few additional household things needed:

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

You will have to have a sufficient quantity of bottles to contain all the beer you have brewed. The ideal type of bottles are brown glass ones that have standard tops (not the twist-off kind) that can accept a cap from the bottle capper. Green glass bottles are also fine; the concept is to not allow light in the bottle. Depending on the bottle size you will need to do a little bit of math. A 5 gallon batch of beer is about 640 ounces; so if you’re going to use 12 ounce bottles you're going to want to have around 54. If you select 16 ounce bottles you'll want 40 bottles. It is a good plan to have a few extra bottles in the event there's a problem or a minor miscalculation.

Once again cleanliness is among the most critical things. It's tremendously important that all bottles are thoroughly cleaned before they can be sanitized, specifically when you are reusing bottles. The right way to thoroughly clean your bottles is to soak them in a cleaning solution and scrub 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 you will be using can cause skin irritation.

The next step is to sanitize all of the bottling equipment and bottles. There are numerous sanitizers to choose from. Some of the well-known choices are Star San, and 5-Star. Add the allocated quantity of sanitizer to your bottling bucket and also to an additional 5 gallon bucket then simply fill each with water. Place all the bottling equipment which will come in contact with the beer in the sanitizing solution within the bottling bucket. Use the extra bucket to soak the bottles. Place as many bottles as you can in the sanitizing solution ensuring that they are fully submerged. Once your bottles have been in the sanitizing solution for the suggested length of time (read the sanitizer manufacturer’s instructions) remove and allow them to drain. Continue this until all the bottles are sanitized. Empty the sanitizing solution from your bucket. The majority of the sanitizers are “no rinse” so you won't have to worry about rinsing any of your bottling equipment or bottles.

While the bottling equipment is in the sanitizing solution you'll need to prepare the priming solution. The most typical choice for priming sugar is corn sugar. It's a simple sugar and will not have an impact on the flavor of your beer. To do this step add 2 cups of water to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Combine ¾ cup of corn sugar and stir gently until it's entirely dissolved. Cover the saucepan and take it off the burner.

Take the time to set up the bottling area. Make certain that all the bottling equipment is readily accessible. Gently place the fermenter on the countertop or table, try not to disturb the sediment on the bottom. Additionally it is a good idea to take a few notes. Document the date of the bottling and all other notable things about the beer. You might like to refer back to this information in the future.

Take all the bottling equipment out of the sanitizing solution in the bottling bucket and put it in the extra 5 gallon bucket. Then add some of the sanitizing solution from the bottling bucket in the event you need it. Empty out the remainder of the sanitizing solution from your bottling bucket and allow it to drain.

Okay let’s get rolling. Keep in mind everything that will touch your beer has to remain sanitary.

Carefully pour the priming solution into the bottling bucket. It doesn't matter if it is still warm. Make use of your newly sanitized racking cane and siphon hose to transfer your beer from the fermenter to the bottling bucket. Put the end of your siphon hose on the bottom of the bottling bucket. Do not ever let your beer to splash during the transfer, you do not want to introduce any oxygen to your beer at this stage. Hold the intake of the racking cane just above the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter. You want to avoid getting any of the sediment in your bottling bucket. Once all the beer is within the bottling bucket lift it up on to the counter or table. Gently stir it using a sanitized large spoon to make certain the priming solution is evenly mixed throughout the beer.

Put the bottle caps in a bowl with some sanitizing solution. Attach the hose with your bottling wand to the spigot on the bottling bucket. Open the spigot. Don't do this unless you actually are using a bottling wand along with a valve of its own.

At last it's time to start filling your bottles! The bottling wand incorporates a convenient valve on the tip. To use it just simply push it on the bottom of the bottle and allow it to fill up. Stop just short of overfilling and take out the wand. This should generate the right fill height. Your beer needs to be ¾ of an inch from the top of the bottle. Place a sanitized cap on the bottle and use the capper to secure the cap. Many brewers choose to put caps on the full bottles and wait to cap several at that time. Do whatever is simpler for you or get someone to help with capping the bottles.

When you finish capping, examine each bottle to be sure that the cap is correctly sealed. After all of the bottles are filled they might have to be rinsed to get rid of any sticky beer on the outside. Make certain you also clean all the bottle filling equipment. It is a lot easier to clean as soon as you are done working with it. Furthermore cleaning your equipment immediately will get rid of many possible sanitation problems during future uses.

Now that you've bottled all of your beer it must have time to correctly condition. The bottles need to be kept upright in a place out of the light at a temperature range of 65 -75 F. This conditioning process should take at the very least 10 days. Preferably the bottles should be permitted to condition for 3-4 weeks.

Of course you'll be rather anxious to test your beer so after patiently waiting 10 days cool down a bottle or two. When the bottle is opened there should be the familiar “hiss” when it is carbonated. Bottle conditioned beer is better enjoyed from a glass. Slowly pour it into a glass being aware to leave the sediment in the bottle. Have your very first taste! How is it? In the event that it is not very carbonated it requires additional conditioning time. If the beer tastes good give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy your creation!

When you feel that your beer is properly conditioned it needs to be kept at cellar temp or in the fridge.

About the Author

So you're thinking about home brewing beer? Click for more information regarding how to make your own beer. If you would like to find out more about how to bottle beer please visit my home brewing site.

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