Brew Four - Bottling the IPA

Progress on the fermentation of Brew Four has been smooth sailing.  On day seven I added 30g of Imported Cascade hops into the fermenter for dry hopping.  I've read that some people bag it up but I decided it was just as easy to drop the pellets in and hope they don't block the tap when it comes to bottling.

I took a gravity reading on day nine and it was already down to 1014-ish so the plan was to bottle on either Saturday or Sunday (Day 14 or 15).

I've decided to bottle the IPA on the same day as I make the next brew which has the potential to complicate matters somewhat but I've managed to enlist the assistance of my brother Jeremy for the brew so two extra sets of hands should make light work of it.

I'm planning to carbonate with less sugar - because there is only 21L I don't want to overcarbonate the beer and since I've had such success with carbonation so far I figure I don't need it to be so bubbly.  I'll aim to prime the beer with 180g sugar before bottling.

Brew Three - Amber Ale Fermentation and Bottling

No, I haven't forgotten about the blog - more that there hasn't been much going on in the last month or so.

As per my previously entry relating to Brew Three - the Amber Ale, the beer went into the fermenter on Saturday 12th May.  I took a gravity reading on Friday 25th May which was 1015ish.  When I took another reading the following week it had dropped slightly to 1014 but I figured it was ready for bottling.  Unfortunately we went away down to the Hawkes Bay for Queens Birthday Weekend so the beer wasn't bottled until Sunday 10th June which means it was in the fermenter for more than four weeks.  I don't know if there is any possible negative impact on the beer itself so only time will tell.

The bottling went smoothly and the bulk priming seems to make the whole process a lot more straight forward.  The only thing I was a little bit concerned about what that at the bottom of the fermenter there was a lot more trub than previous brews so I wasn't sure whether I would get the full 30 bottles worth - as it turned out I needn't have worried as I easily managed to fill the 30.

Now we wait to see what the beer tastes like.

Brew Two - Bottling the kit "IPA"

Following on from the gravity reading on Sunday 22nd April I took a further reading on Tuesday and Thursday, both of which gave the same result of 1011-12.  

On Friday I popped down to Hauraki Home Brew again to pick up some more bottles and sodium met for sterilising but let me rewind for a second here: 

I was doing some reading about hop teas and how you can steep some hops in a french press for 10 minutes then add to the fermenter, apparently the longer the better but I figured I wasn't going to bottle until Sunday so two days in the fermenter would be better than nothing.  I picked up a Fuggles hop bag along with the rest of my purchases... I should have really done more research on which type of hop to get (especially since the dude at Hauraki was no help whatsoever) and then added the hop tea to the brew at the same time as I added the finings on Friday.  Only time will tell whether it improves any of the character of the beer.


Bottling on Sunday went off without a hitch.  This time I've stored the bottles in the garage where the temperature is a little warmer during the day (circa 20 degrees today) which will hopefully stimulate the carbonation process.


Now to decide what to make for the third beer... another kit? Something more complicated?  I'll leave that discussion for another post.

Brew One - Bottling

Easter Friday I took another reading using the hydrometer... three same readings in a row all but decided it for me to bottle the beer.  I figure it's not going to be perfect the first time round anyway!

Bottling was a pretty straight forward process - gave the bottles a quick dunk in the steriliser/water mix in the sink and let them sit for 20 minutes, cap on.  Once drained it was just a matter of chucking two carbonating drops into each bottle and filling away.  Of the thirty 750ml bottles I think I managed to fill 27 before the beer turned to sludge at the bottom of the fermenter.

The beer has taken up residence in the shed under lock and key.  I'll be trying my first beer on my return from Singapore on the 21st - something to look forward to.

Time for a new brew....

One more thing: strictly speaking I should have added a clarifying agent to the beer two days before bottling it but I didn't this time.  It will be interesting to see what it looks like when I pour the first bottle.

Ok, another thing:  It's interesting to talk to other home brewers about the process - both Grant and Harry have offered sage words of wisdom about their experiences thus far which is encouraging.  I'm looking forward to sharing a beer with them soon.