Time to Bottle

Racking the Beer

We are coming down the home stretch for home brewing. You've created the wort and have let the yeast ferment your brew. After two weeks (longer for lager) aging the beer in the secondary fermentation container (carboy), you are ready to bottle. **You could also keg at this point, put we do not have the know-how or equipment for putting the beer in a keg.

You will need bottles, but they don't have to be brand new. We have set aside 60 bottles from various commercial beers. The most important attributes of the bottles are: 1) completely in tact, 2) NOT screw top, 3) clear of sediment. You should test one or two of your bottles with your bottle cap and capper, just to make sure the bottle and cap are compatible.

Before racking (bottling), you need to place 50-60 bottles (new or used) in the dishwasher. DO NOT ADD SOAP, but run the bottles through a complete cycle utilizing heated drying. This sterilizes the bottles. If you do not have a dishwasher, you can purchase a bottle cleaning attachment for your kitchen sink.







The last part gets a little crazy, because a lot of components are coming together. You will want to sanitize the primary fermentation bucket, siphon, hose, and bottle racker. Wrap the bottle racker with plastic wrap for the time being.

Get a sauce pot out and boil 1 cup of corn sugar in one pint of water. Boil steadily for 10 to 15 minutes, but do not let the water completely evaporate. You will add this solution to the beer to wake the yeast back up. The extra food will help carbonate and pressurize the bottles.

In a second sauce pot, boil 60 bottle caps in enough water to cover the caps. Once the caps have been 'dancing' for a minute, remove the heat. The bottle caps are now sanitized.






One last time, you will transfer the beer from one container to another. Place the carboy on the counter and set up the siphon and tube. Transfer the beer from the carboy to the primary bucket on the floor. As with the last transfer, make sure you put the hose in the bottom of the primary. Make sure you keep the siphon off of the bottom of the carboy - you do not want to suck up sediment. Once this transfer is complete, add the sugar water solution to the bucket.

Now you can bottle. Place the bucket with the siphon and tubing on the counter, above the dishwasher. Attach the racking device and open the dishwasher door. You'll want to fill the bottles over the door, because it helps to catch any spills. Take the plastic wrap off of the racker, get the beer flowing and you are ready to bottle.

The auto-racker only lets beer flow when the bottom is completely pushed in. Once you pull up on it, the flow will stop. Allow the beer to fill the entire bottle. The racker displaces enough volume, so when it is removed, you will have some space in the bottle.


It is best to work with a friend. Hand the filled bottle to your friend and have them cap the bottle. Make sure the bottle cap is seated on the top of the bottle, then set the capper on the cap and bottle. Push the levers down until the cap's edges have crimped around the bottle opening. You have now completely bottled your first beer.




Continue this process until you have used all the beer, or as much can fill a complete bottle. Place your bottle beer into crates or other storage devices... whatever will make the bottle transport easiest.

For ales, you will want to store this at room temperature (68 to 74 deg F) for at least 2 weeks for further aging (lagers take longer, up to a month in colder storage situations). Refrigeration slows down the carbonation and aging process, so don't be in a rush to put all 50+ bottles in the fridge. I would suggest, after two weeks, moving about 6 bottles to the fridge at a time. You may want to refrigerate the remaining bottles only after 16 to 20 weeks to keep them fresh (if they last that long).

The final step... take one of your chilled brews out of the fridge, get your favorite beer glass out, poor the beer and enjoy!



Update: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3