cl00bie
Member
I asked my 17 year old daughter if she wanted to help bottle the beer that she helped brew and she said "sure!". My wife looked sad and said: "Can I help too?" I said: "Sure!" so the three of us went down to my grandfather's wine cellar. It had been about 2.5 weeks of fermentation, and the recommended gravity on the recipe was 1.010 - 1.014. The fermentation had sat at 1.018 for 5 days (I figured it was close enough for government work).
The day before, I had filled my bottling bucket with 5 gallons of water and 2oz of Clorox. I then siphoned each bottle half full (with racking cane attached), shook it 10 times, poured the water back into the bucket and put it on the bottle tree. When the bottle tree was full I carried it out to the stationary tub, attached the bottle washer, and washed out all the bottles and put them in the tub. I washed off the bottle tree, then washed off the outside of the bottles and put them back on the tree and carried them into the beer room (formerly my grandfather's wine room). I then rinsed out the bottling bucket and top, and set the top loosely on the bucket.
I went upstairs to my mom's kitchen to dissolve 5oz of priming sugar into 2 cups of water (as per instructions) and set it to boil. I then boiled up my bottle tops. Once the sugar and tops were boiled, I took the sugar down and placed it in my bottling bucket. I filled my cane and tubing with water, and began the siphon from the carboy into a jar until it ran "beer colored". I then put the end of the siphon down in the bottom and with as little disturbance as possible, siphoned the beer into the bucket. I then sanitized my "big honking perforated spoon" and swirled the beer gently for a minute or so to make sure the sugar was evenly distributed through the beer.
We then began siphoning the beer into the bottles. We ran the tube all the way to the bottom, and when it was full to the top, took the tube out and stuck it in the next bottle. This left about a half to three quarters of an inch at the top of each bottle. I then passed the bottle to my daughter to cap, and I passed the next empty bottle to my wife to fill. The assembly line was finished in about 10 minutes (counting one time where a cap got stuck in the bench capper).
I then cleaned out my carboy. There was a bunch of kreusen in the top of it, so I filled it partly with hot water, 4 teaspoons of oxy clean, and put a cork in it and turned it upside down.
When my daughter went up stairs I re-checked the caps, and recapped a couple that were not tight enough.
I figure I'll have beer by the beginning of August, and after all the money I spent, this first batch cost $5 for each 22oz bottle.
I got a picture of my grandfather, my dad and two uncles (all the guys who made wine in my grandfather's wine room) and hung it on the wall in there. I filled up one large brown beer bottle that my grandfather left for me, and a rippled juice glass he used to use to sample his wine (my mom said he never cleaned it).
I'm going to open that bottle first, and use the juice glass my grandfather used to take my first sip of my wares, and say a toast to him and those who have gone before me.
The day before, I had filled my bottling bucket with 5 gallons of water and 2oz of Clorox. I then siphoned each bottle half full (with racking cane attached), shook it 10 times, poured the water back into the bucket and put it on the bottle tree. When the bottle tree was full I carried it out to the stationary tub, attached the bottle washer, and washed out all the bottles and put them in the tub. I washed off the bottle tree, then washed off the outside of the bottles and put them back on the tree and carried them into the beer room (formerly my grandfather's wine room). I then rinsed out the bottling bucket and top, and set the top loosely on the bucket.
I went upstairs to my mom's kitchen to dissolve 5oz of priming sugar into 2 cups of water (as per instructions) and set it to boil. I then boiled up my bottle tops. Once the sugar and tops were boiled, I took the sugar down and placed it in my bottling bucket. I filled my cane and tubing with water, and began the siphon from the carboy into a jar until it ran "beer colored". I then put the end of the siphon down in the bottom and with as little disturbance as possible, siphoned the beer into the bucket. I then sanitized my "big honking perforated spoon" and swirled the beer gently for a minute or so to make sure the sugar was evenly distributed through the beer.
We then began siphoning the beer into the bottles. We ran the tube all the way to the bottom, and when it was full to the top, took the tube out and stuck it in the next bottle. This left about a half to three quarters of an inch at the top of each bottle. I then passed the bottle to my daughter to cap, and I passed the next empty bottle to my wife to fill. The assembly line was finished in about 10 minutes (counting one time where a cap got stuck in the bench capper).
I then cleaned out my carboy. There was a bunch of kreusen in the top of it, so I filled it partly with hot water, 4 teaspoons of oxy clean, and put a cork in it and turned it upside down.
When my daughter went up stairs I re-checked the caps, and recapped a couple that were not tight enough.
I figure I'll have beer by the beginning of August, and after all the money I spent, this first batch cost $5 for each 22oz bottle.
I got a picture of my grandfather, my dad and two uncles (all the guys who made wine in my grandfather's wine room) and hung it on the wall in there. I filled up one large brown beer bottle that my grandfather left for me, and a rippled juice glass he used to use to sample his wine (my mom said he never cleaned it).
I'm going to open that bottle first, and use the juice glass my grandfather used to take my first sip of my wares, and say a toast to him and those who have gone before me.
