The first few days of fermentation should be quite active. There will be lots of froth, and the fermentation lock will be jumping. Within a week to 10 days, the activity will cease as the yeast converts all the sugars into CO2 and alcohol. When all visible signs of fermentation have stopped, it is time to bottle. (This can be verified by watching for several days of stable hydrometer readings.) To start, Sanitize all the bottles and equipment the ale will come in contact with. I fill the bottling bucket with sanitizing solution, and soak the hoses and bottles in it. Rinse well, Boil the bottle caps in a pan on the stove for a few minutes. Everything sanitized? OK let's bottle some brew! |
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| First, disolve 3/4 cup of corn sugar in a cup of boiling water. Pour this into the bottling bucket, then siphon the ale from the fermenter (carboy) to the bottling bucket. Take a small sample from the siphon to get a final hydrometer reading. From the starting and ending readings, we can compute the alcohol content. |  |
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When the ale has
been transferred to the bottling bucket, Place the bucket on a counter,
connect the hose, and fill the bottles. Leave about 1" air space.
(Have a mop handy) |
| Now we can cap the bottles, using the caps we had previosly boiled. |  |
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Our 5 gallon brew
should yield 48-50 (12 oz) bottles. |
| Let the bottles set for a few weeks at the same temperature you brewed them at. During this time, the residual yeast will process the sugar we added during bottling. This will create natural carbonation. At this time, it will be ok to drink, but will continue improve over the next few weeks............. Cheers! | |
