How to Pack Your Beer in Zymurgy

Beer is considered perhaps the oldest and the most popular alcoholic beverage in the world. Beer is brewed and fermented from starches of malted barley, wheat, rice or maize. Zymurgy (or zymology) is the scientific and systematic study of fermentation, but the word currently describes just the process of brewing alcoholic beverages. "Zymurgy" is also the name of the magazine regularly published by the American Homebrewers Association, which contains advice on how to make beer, beer recipes and history related to beer. The brewing and fermentation process are the primary steps in making beer but equally important is packing and bottling the beer. This is the best way that the alcoholic beverage can be stored, sold, consumed and preserved.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Beer brewed inside a 6-gallon fermenter
• Bottle brush
• Soap and water (for sanitizing equipment)
• Sanitizing solution (or dishwasher)
• Boiled water (optional for rinsing)
• Saucepan
• 3 cups of water (for the priming solution)
• ¾ cup of corn or table sugar (or 1¼ cup of dry malt extract)
• 6-gallon bottling bucket
• Stirring paddle (or spoon)
• Siphon (or hose)
• Bottle caps (either standard or oxygen-absorbing)
• Bottle capper (either hand capper or bench capper)

Instructions

1. Prepare the beer for bottling after the bubbling stops or at about two or three weeks.

2. Clean the bottles using a brush, soap and water.

3. Immerse the bottles in sanitizing solution or run them in the dishwasher with the drying option to sanitize them. A third option is to rinse them with boiled water. Allow them to drain before using them.

4. Sanitize the priming container (bottling bucket), stirring paddle, bottle caps and siphon unit in the same way.

5. Boil 3/4 cup of table or corn sugar, or 1 and 1/4 cup dry malt extract in a saucepan with 3 cups of water. Allow it to cool. This creates the priming solution.

6. Pour the priming solution gently into a sanitized bottling bucket. Never let it splash to avoid adding oxygen.

7. Open the fermenter and gently pour the beer into the bottling bucket. Stir the beer very gently with a sanitized stirring paddle.

8. Get a bottle and place it on the floor, and use a sanitized siphon to transfer the beer into it. When the bottle is filled to about one inch from the top, release the pressure to stop the flow of beer. Keep filling your available bottles to about 1 inch from the top. Stop filling when the beer is around 3 to 4 inches from the bottom of the fermenter.

9. Place a sanitized cap on each bottle and cap it using a bottle capper. Make sure that the cap is secure on each bottle.

10. Allow the bottles to age somewhere out of direct sunlight for about two weeks while carbonation is taking place. This is referred to as bottle conditioning.

Tips & Warnings

• Always keep the beer out of direct sunlight, especially if you use green or clear bottles; brown bottles are preferred. Use room temperature for aging.
• Never suck the hose to initiate the siphon. The hose will be contaminated with "Lacto Bacillus" bacteria that comes from your mouth. Never expose the beer to oxygen at any point during the siphoning of the beer into the bottle to avoid contamination. If the bottled beer has a milky layer at the top, smells too sweet or tastes cardboard-like, these are results of accidental oxidation or faulty sanitizing and bacterial contamination. Never drink the yeast layer on the bottom of the bottle three to four inches from the bottom as this may cause digestive problems. If the beer is bottled too soon, it will be over-carbonated and the pressure may exceed the bottle strength and cause the bottle to explode. Do not use 1 tsp. sugar per bottle for priming as the beer may carbonate unevenly and explode.

References

• How to Make Your Own Beer
• How to Brew Your First Beer
• Homebrewing

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