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    Beer Bottling
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    Beer Bottling

    Introduction

    This protocol is for bottling ~4.5-6.5 gallons of beer after a 2-week primary ferment for a 2-week secondary ferment, intended to carbonate the beer.

    Materials

    • Equipment
      • Bottling Table
      • Tarp
      • Large spring clamps
      • Refractometer
    • Equipment (Sanitize)
      • 7-gal Bottling bucket, with spigot
      • 5-gal Bucket
      • Sampling dropper
      • Bottling wand
      • Tubing for bottling wand
      • Tubing for draining fermenter
      • Small spring clamps
      • Sieve
      • Jar for sugar solution
      • Jar for caps
      • Capper
      • Spray bottle
    • Consumables
      • 48-70 12 oz Amber glass bottles
      • 48-70 Rust resistant caps
      • 48-70 Labels
      • Star San solution: 1 oz per 5 gallons lukewarm water
      • Sponges
      • Dish Soap
      • Bottling sugar solution: 5 oz of dextrose (corn) sugar to 3/4 cup water per 5 gallons of ferment
      • Water (filtered and non-filtered)
      • Caustic solution (1 tbsp baking soda per 1 cup water)

    Procedure

    • Prepare ahead
    1. Dissolve baking soda in warm water: 16 tbsp baking soda to 2 gallons water in a 5 gallon bucket.
    1. Soak recycled bottles in this solution for 30 minutes to remove their labels.
    1. Wash the bottles with soap and scrub off any remaining labels/glue.
    1. CRITICAL
      Raise fermenter to a higher potential energy than the bottling bucket on the morning of/night before bottling. Do this carefully to limit re-suspension of solid particulates/dead yeast.
    • Sterilize all the things and prepare bottles
    1. Fill 5-gal bucket with Star San solution, place all of the other equipment that needs sanitizing inside.
    1. Fill spray bottle Star San solution.
    1. Spray down bottling bucket and bottling racks thoroughly with Star San solution.
    1. Spray bottles with bottle sanitizer, placing them upside down in bottling rack.
    1. Fill a jar with Star San solution and the requisite amount of bottle caps.
    1. Sanitize the sampling dropper.
    • Make bottling sugar solution
    1. Prepare bottling sugar solution and filtered water separately
    • 5 oz of dextrose (corn) sugar to 3/4 cup water per 5 gallons of ferment.
    1. Microware water in jar until boiling.
    1. Dissolve sugar in water.
    1. Cool to room temperature, lidded to prevent contamination.
    • Bottling
    1. Set up bottling area.
    • Clear area
    • Lay tarp, secure with clamps
    • Arrange chairs and bottling table

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    1. Spray fermenter spigot to sterilize and attach hosing to it.
    • Dipping hose ends into hot water softens them and makes it easier to attach to spigot.
    1. Pour the cooled bottling sugar into the bottling bucket.
    1. Lay sieve on bottling bucket and clamp.

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    1. CRITICAL
      Remove airlock.

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    1. Decant the primary fermented beer into the bottling bucket through the sieve. Take a sampling with the sampling dropper as the solution flows for a Final Gravity (F.G.) reading.
    1. Calculate ABV based on the original gravity (O.G.) and F.G.
    1. Raise the bottling bucket to a higher potential energy than the bottling table.
    1. Hook the bottling wand to spigot of bottling bucket. Prime the line with beer.

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    1. Set up bottling table

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    1. Fill each bottle with the requisite 12 oz of beer using the bottling wand. Do this by pressing the bottling wand on the bottom surface of the bottle until the beer almost reaches the bottles lip.

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    • Try to limit introducing any solid particulates. Demarcate the final 2-3 bottles separately from the rest, with silver caps to indicate they might have more solid particulates.
    1. Have a helper cap each bottle and resupply bottles.
    1. Wash everything.
    • End of the process
    1. Two weeks later take another gravity measurement of the beer, this will be the final gravity (F.G.). Calculate the ABV as follows:
    ABV Calculator
    Collapse table
    A
    B
    C
    D
    1
    		DateBrix (%)GravityABV
    2
    		5/24/2012.51.055
    3
    		6/6/201.0283.7
    3 rows
    1. Print out labels with the beer name, style, brew date, ready to drink date, and ABV.
    1. Wipe the surface of each bottle and slap a label on.
    1. Chill and enjoy responsibly, you wild stallion.

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