How to Bottle Your Homemade Beer

You've brewed your own beer and can't seem to drink it fast enough? Consider how you'll bottle your newest brew with these easy steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Empty beer bottles (enough for all your beer! 5 gallons of beer is roughly 640 ounces, so do some math...)
• saucepan
• piece of plastic hose
• bottle caps
• bottling bucket
• mixing spoon
• dextrose

1. Thoroughly clean bottles. Use a brush, use dish soap, use whatever you need!
2. Sanitize the bottling bucket, bottles, bottle caps, plastic hose, saucepan and mixing spoon.
3. For the priming solution (aids in natural carbonation): Pour two or three cups of water in the saucepan and dissolve 3/4 cup of dextrose in it over medium heat. Bring the solution to a boil and then cover it and set it aside to cool for one hour.
4. After the priming solution has cooled, pour it into the bottling bucket and place it on the floor. Place the primary fermenter on a chair, table or counter directly above the bottling bucket.
5. Attach the plastic hose to the spigot on the primary fermenter and put the other end of the hose in the bottom of the bottling bucket, letting the beer flow into the priming solution.
6. Remove the fermenter and put the bucket in its place, attaching the hose to its spigot. Get your bottles ready!
7. Line up the bottles and put the hose all the way to the bottom of the first one. Open the spigot slowly and watch the beer flow! Quickly move the hose into each subsequent bottle as they fill. The level of liquid will drop when you pull out the hose--aim for roughly 1 inch of air space between the beer and the cap.
8. Quickly cap all the bottles and store them in a cool, dark place so secondary fermentation can get started (it must continue for two weeks before you can drink it!). This does not include a refrigerator.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't try to empty the fermenter until its dry to the bone--the last of it isn't tasty!
• Set up an assembly line with some friends. This will move the bottles easier and get the caps on faster, minimizing the beers' exposure to the elements.
• Use dark brown bottles and do not use twist off caps to protect your beer.