Bottling Your Brew - Bottle Time

Here are the steps I take and a basic description of why.

Decanting from brew drum to priming drum

BULK PRIME

1. Measure out the right amount of sugar. I use 190g of dextrose for 23L of brew.

2. Add just enough boiling water to totally disolve the dextrose into CLEAR solution.

3. Add this to the bulk priming drum.

190 grams dextrose for bulk priming

DECANT THE BREW INTO THE PRIMING DRUM

1. Simply open the tap! Make sure your second drum has the tap closed. Get the beer out of the fermenting drum without disturbing the sediment. Best to do this without moving the drum AT ALL.  If you were clever when you put the beer down, you have it somewhere you can drain the beer off without moving it at all.

Sediment left in the brew drum.  You don't want this stuff, so avoid moving the brew drum around.

MIX THE DEXTROSE INTO THE BREW

1. Using the clean, sterile stirrer, stir the brew to ensure the dextrose is evenly mixed.  Skipping this step will lead to gassing inconsistencies.



FILL BOTTLES

1. Fill slowly to prevent foaming.

2. Leave a good air gap at the top.

3. Cap as soon as you can, two people is ideal.  On my own, I work in batches of six.



STORE IN A DARK PLACE

1. The yeast still has to work, so like before you want 22 - 27 degrees C.

2. Let it go for two weeks or so before moving to the fridge.

3. Try and leave it alone for four weeks so it matures. Six months is ideal, and there is a big difference in taste.



During storage, the waste will drop out of solution leaving a nice clean clear beer.  The longer you leave the sediment undisturbed, the harder it will pack down and the easier pouring will be.