Bottling Your Beer

1. If your bottles are already clean and you have a dishwasher you can sterilize them placing them upside down on the bottom rack of your dishwasher and running them through a wash with the heat dry cycle on. Do not include any detergents or finishing formula. If using Iodophor sanitizer, soak your bottles for 5-10 minutes and allow them to drip-dry upside down.

2. Mix 1 to 1 1/4 cups dry malt (or 2/3 to 3/4-cup corn sugar) with 1 1/2 cups of water and boil for 5 minutes.

3. Fill your bottling bucket with 1 1/2 tbs. of Iodophor and cold water. Allow it to soak for 5-10 minutes and then syphon out. This will sterilize your syphon system.

4. Put your malt extract (or corn sugar) solution into the bucket and rack beer from your carboy into the bucket very slowly, being careful not to splash excessively. (Helpful hint: just as you start to draw air from the carboy clamp your syphon hose so you maintain your syphon)

5. Give the beer in your bottling bucket a gentle stir with your racking cane to mix. Proceed with filling each bottle. As you bottle place a cap on the bottle and leave until all the bottles are filled. Then go back and crimp the caps.

6. Store your beer in a cool dark place for 2-3 weeks for conditioning. Your beer will be at its peak conditioning in 4-6 weeks.