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Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 9:17 pm
by GORDON
I bought new brown bottles, but of course plan on reusing them.
My relatives who drink a lot of beer either prefer cans, or twist-off bottles. They haven't been buying the Sam Adams (or whatever) like I asked them to. I am hoping when they taste a 6-pack of my beer it motivates them to collect some bottles for me.
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 9:37 pm
by GORDON
SO I guess I will be bottling tomorrow. I have another 5 gallon bucket with a spigot at the bottom for filling the bottles, so when I transfer from the carboy I'll try to leave the sediment undisturbed.
Should I just put the bottles back in the box they came in with the caps sitting up, or do I want them laying on their sides, or what?
Posted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 10:49 pm
by Malcolm
Bottles of beer ought to be kept from excessive light, humidity, or heat. Unlike champagne, I've never had it need to be stored cork down or whatever.
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 1:02 pm
by GORDON
Bottling day! Priming sugar water is boiling. Pics later.
Lesson learned (so far): Maybe wash my bottles the day before bottling day and save myself 45 minutes on bottling day.
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:36 pm
by Paul
GORDON wrote:SO I guess I will be bottling tomorrow. I have another 5 gallon bucket with a spigot at the bottom for filling the bottles, so when I transfer from the carboy I'll try to leave the sediment undisturbed.
Should I just put the bottles back in the box they came in with the caps sitting up, or do I want them laying on their sides, or what?
Keep them right side up.
You want all the sediment to go to the bottom and stick to the bottom. That way, when you pout your beer you just leave the last little bit of beer in the bottle and get very little settlement into the glass.
Like Malcolm said, with campaign they keep the bottles upside down so the sediment settles at the top of the bottle. Then they pull the cork and let that sludge pour out before adding some more campaign to the bottle and recorking it.
Beer ain't that fance, Dude.
Posted: Sun Aug 07, 2011 9:51 pm
by TheCatt
Paul wrote:Like Malcolm said, with campaign they keep the bottles upside down so the sediment settles at the top of the bottle. Then they pull the cork and let that sludge pour out before adding some more campaign to the bottle and recorking it.
Beer ain't that fance, Dude.
Never heard that before, always thought it was to keep corks from drying out
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 11:51 am
by Paul
I saw it done on one of James May's alcohol road trip shows a couple months ago on BBCA.
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:08 pm
by TheCatt
Paul wrote:I saw it done on one of James May's alcohol road trip shows a couple months ago on BBCA.
Yeah, I wikipediad it after your post.
After aging, the bottle is manipulated, either manually or mechanically, in a process called remuage, so that the lees settle in the neck of the bottle. After chilling the bottles, the neck is frozen, and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the ice containing the lees, and the bottle is quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution. Some syrup (le dosage) is added to maintain the level within the bottle.[1]
Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 8:37 pm
by GORDON
According to my calculations my alcohol content is 4.2%. Apparently was supposed to be about 3.5%.
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 3:49 pm
by GORDON
Hey wow, I just learned brewing root beer requires the exact stuff I already have.
Guess what else I'm going to brew.
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:28 pm
by Cakedaddy
What's your total investment so far?
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:41 pm
by Paul
I like that you have a bottle tree. I wish I had one of those early on. They make things a lot easier.
___
I made cream soda once. It's kinds of frightening how much sugar goes in.
That's when I've exploded the most bottles! The ones that didn't explode were so carbonated that they were a hassle to pour, kinda painful to drink, and a total burp-fest once you had it down.
What's to stop the yeast from continuing to ferment anyway? Did I miss a step?
From what I recall, I just poured a small bottle of flavoring into 5 gallons of sugar water, then added yeast and bottled. It was really simple.
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:57 pm
by GORDON
Paul wrote:What's to stop the yeast from continuing to ferment anyway? Did I miss a step?
From what I have read, a lot of people say to use champagne yeast for soft drinks, but they don't mention you have to keep it very cold to avoid exploding bottles. The sites I have read suggest ale yeast as you have fewer explosions.
FROM WHAT I HAVE READ yeast (or certain yeasts? don't know) are supposed to die (or just go dormant?) when they hit a certain pressure inside the bottle, supposedly before they explode.
Also, I have heard you can cut your sugar with zero-calorie sweeteners, and, "It will taste 100% better than the diet swill you buy at the store."
Posted: Wed Aug 10, 2011 9:00 pm
by GORDON
Cakedaddy wrote:What's your total investment so far?
So far:
Kit: $80
48 Bottles: $25 (reusable)
Bottle tree: $16
1 beer ingredient kit (not sure if this counts as investment, as it is a consumable): $29
Will be getting another 48 bottles soon, I'm thinking a batch of root beer. Then it will be $7 for a bottle of root beer extract, and 4 pounds of sugar, for 5 gallons.
Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 10:48 am
by GORDON
When I first bottled my first batch (Bat 1) I could tell the beer was still cloudy, and I was a little bummed about that. I don't like cloudy tea, and I didn't want cloudy beer. But I just took a peek and even through the brown bottles I could tell it had clarified a lot, and there is still 10 days to go until it is bottled 2 weeks.
21st is the big day.
Yay!
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 2:47 pm
by GORDON
Put some bottles in the fridge for tonight!
Hope it doesn't suck.
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 7:49 pm
by GORDON
God damn, mother fucking, titty sucking, two balled bitch...... this beer is tasty.
Edited By GORDON on 1313884204
Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 9:40 pm
by Paul
GORDON wrote:God damn, mother fucking, titty sucking, two balled bitch......
Sounds delicious.
Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 5:56 pm
by GORDON
Going to have bottles from multiple batches around soon, as well as a plan of giving 6-packs for Christmas, so
Just going to print them on skinny little envelope address labels.
