Bottling
Forum Moderator Reg introduces the subject!
I though I might spend a little time on the subject of bottle storing and
conditioning beer and the problems associated with this. Whilst a pressure
barrel tends to be my ideal solution, this does mean that the beer has to be
drunk within a certain period and more importantly can be quite an expensive
option for the new home brewer who might have taken up the hobby because,
amongst other things, money is tight.
Is is perfectly possible to brew beer with little more than two brewing bins,
one for fermenting and one for racking off the beer. This is particularly true
if you are making brews based upon malt extract, where there is no need for
mashing and water treatment can be limited, at a minimum, to boiling the water
you are about to use. Even if you are using recipe that involve some partial
mashing or boiling in of ingredients, cheap large kitchen equipment can serve
many purposes, provided it is properly cleaned and sterilised prior to use.
However, it can be a frustration having kept costs to a minimum at the
front-end to then find yourself shelling out considerably to store and
condition your beer. The solution is, of course, to recycle. Whilst the
standard, brown beer bottles sold by homebrew suppliers are not expensive
individually, the costs do mount up. Then there are the caps and a cap applying
device, then labels and so on.
If, as is likely, you enjoy your beer, you should be able to gather a good
supply of suitable bottles fairly easily. Whilst you will have to buy some
caps and a capping device, the caps are not expensive and if you are prepared
to sacrifice convenience for cost, the cheapest of capping tools should only
cost a few pounds rather than £20-£30. The simplest capping device is a
bottle top shaped concave metal tube rather like a smoothed out socket from a
socket set. It tapers on the inside so that it can be place over the bottle
cap and gently hammered to force the sides of the cap over the bottle. There
is, as with anything, a knack to using these devices, as you don’t want to
damage the bottle and hence make your beer undrinkable.
DO NOT BE TEMPTED. The UK HSE specifies that all uncovered food must be
thrown away in case of a glass breakage. This is because glass shatters
explosively, projecting the smaller glass shards well away from the original
location of the breakage. The smallest shard of glass or ceramic can cause
considerable damage when ingested! If you damage the top of your bottle whilst
capping, the only place for it and the beer contained within is the bin!
Equally important is the choice of “pre-owned” bottles you use. It is best
to go for bottles that have been used for ales that are also sold cask
conditioned as the beer might have been expected to condition a little in the
bottle and the bottle must be strong enough to cope with this. If the label
says, “bottle conditioned”, this is all the better. Whilst these are a
rarity these days, any bottles with live yeast at the bottom are the most
ideal as the bottles have been manufactured to properly cope with the
secondary fermentation this implies. Above all common sense is important. If
the bottle is flimsy, it is much more likely to be unable to hold the pressure
and much more likely to fracture when being capped. High-volume producers
operate to slim margins, so if a bottle looks chunky then this is typically
for a reason. Hence if the bottle looks disposable, then that is what you
should do with it. Shepherd Neame bottles like Whitstable Ale and Bishops
Finger, (squat almost port bottle like); make a good choice, as do most of the
other chunky, beer bottles you will find in the premium beer section of any
supermarket.
Most importantly, apply common sense! If you find a certain type of bottle has
a tendency to explode whilst conditioning or fracture whilst capping. Move on!
Over time, you will most likely improve your equipment, but when you are
starting out, keeping costs low without compromising the quality of your beer
can be a major priority.
Cheers!
Reg
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