Need help concerning bottling...

[ChuckMac2005]

Hello everyone, I'm new here so take it easy on me, but I've been brewing since I was about sixteen or so.
The only problem is, I've never really been all into bottling and to be honest, I have little to no idea what I'm doing. I currently have a carboy full of Amber Ale fermenting, and it should be finished on Tuesday.

I need to know what should I do concerning bottling, I've always just filtered and force carb'ed my brews before into a keg, but this process actually kinda scares me.

So in short,

How can I guarantee carbonation after bottling?
How long should the bottles condition before drinking?
What can I do about a flat beer?

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm a plethora of knowledge when it comes to Chemistry and the world of spirits, but I'm just at a deadend here.....

[Jidas]

Transfer the beer when its done fermenting into a bucket with 3/4 or 1 cup sugar depending on the level of carbonation you are going for. Make sure you mix it in well, then bottle. Store them for a couple weeks in a warm area, like 70ish.

Hope this helps

[alan_marks]

Lets get a little more specific now...

The basic idea is -

1. Prepare a priming solution of 4 ounces sugar or 5 ounces corn sugar with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes to sterilize. Cool down to room temperature

2. Check the specific gravity of your finished beer, so you KNOW that it is finished. Based on your starting gravity and the ability of your yeast to munch on malt (percent attenuation), it will probably be around 1.012 to 1.008.

3. Clean and sanitize all the equipment you are going to use, siphon, hoses, bottling bucket, bottle filler... oh and bottles and caps.

4. Put the priming solution in the bottle bucket, then siphon the beer onto this without splashing, mixing the priming solution into the beer by whirlpooling. Fill the bottles from the bottom up, so when you remove the filler it will leave a head space of about an inch and a quarter. Cap the bottles.

5. Let the bottled beer rest in a warm quiet place for about a week or two, until the beer clears. Give the yeasties time to eat their snack and clean up any mees they have made.

More details can be found on John Palmers website http://www.howtobrew.com .
Get a copy if you don't have it already.

hope this helps,
Alan

[brewinhard]

Using a priming sugar nomograph is excellent for really closing in on the desired amount of CO2 volumes you want in your finished product.

+1 to buying John Palmer's "How to Brew".

[ChuckMac2005]

Thanks for all the advice. I think we actually may have a decent product now.

[PSUHomebrewer]

Also make sure you get a good seal on the bottles with your caps; if you don't all the co2 produced will be in the air and not the beer.
Unlike counter pressure fillin / beergun filling you don't have to rush capping. After you fill the bottle you can place a cap on it and set it aside till you fill all your bottles and then crimp down the caps.


Also if you are worried about o2 pickup during bottling, it isn't a problem. The inch of space in the bottle supplies just enough for the yeast to carb the bottles and doesn't oxidize the beer. If you are paranoid about it though you can always use o2 absorbing caps.

[Afterlab]

Chuck did you purchase a case of new bottles from your LHBS or are you cleaning out commercial bottles that have already been used? If you are reusing bottles chances are you need to add a few more steps into your cleaning and sanitation process. Bottling is actually pretty simple once you get going, but can be time consuming filling and capping 48 bottles.

[Ironman]

If you have a dishwasher you can open the door and bottle over it. When you finish just close the door and the mess disappears. I always spilled beer on the floor when I bottled until I learned this trick. Also, you can hold the empty sanitized bottles in the racks until they are filled.