Bottling your Beer

When you are satisfied that your beer is ready to be bottled i.e. it has finished it's bubbling or better still, when you test with your Hyper ventilator or whatever it's called, and it says that the brew is ready, it's time to bottle.  We use 66ml bottles mainly because it's a good size to share between two people.
Over time we have removed all the labels as they are a pain in the arse and look a mess.  Instead we write on the cap with marker pen to indicate what the contents are.  Stomach Pumpkin is SP, Rosemary and Bay is RBA etc etc. 

Bottling is best done as a two man job and should not be attempted without a nice glass of homebrew close to hand....just sayin.

Sort out your bottles.  35 for a 23ltr keg and 21 for a 14ltr.  Fill a bucket or sink with lukewarm water and add your Chemipro OXI about 3Tbsp in the container you see below, and stir it around till dissolved, it will be cloudy.  Half fill each bottle and shake vigorously for a few seconds, hold towards K and take your finger off the top in the hope that it will spray her with water, she finds this most amusing.  Empty the water back in the bowl and place the bottle on your draining rack.  At this point it normally degenerates into a massive wet t-shirt competition so it's not all work.  When all bottles are done, get a dry t-shirt, a fresh brew and retire to a safe distance to watch them drain for 15 minutes or so.

Dry the outside of the bottles and line them up in rows.  Using your trusty funnel so you don't chuck sugar around the kitchen, unless you want to of course, add a tsp of sugar to each bottle.  Set up the area around the keg by lining the bottles up ready to go, placing a bit of kitchen roll under the tap to catch spillage, remove the airlock and top and most importantly ensure there is a space for you beer close by.  Clamp your capper to the table, ensure you have enough caps to hand along with the marker pen and a crate to put the bottles in.

Fill each bottle carefully, some may be frothier than others, up to the shoulder and hand to the capper.  Cap the bottle, write whatever you need to write on the cap then two at a time, turn each bottle over a few times to mix the sugar in with the brew.  Place in the crate ready to move to the store.  For our brews we let them sit upright in a cool place for at least 10 days preferable 2 weeks to allow the yeast to settle and for secondary fermentation to take place.  If you don't you will end up with a beer without any hiss or fizz i.e. flat.  Remember when pouring that you don't want to disturb the yeast sediment if you can avoid it so be careful and leave a bit in the bottle.  Rinse the bottle immediately and put on the draining rack.