The Beer is ready to drink… almost.

[singlepic id=12 w=320 h=240 float=left]A bit late with this one, but it’s time for an update on my adventure with making my own beer. It was just over 2 weeks ago that I re-checked my keg to see how the fermentation of my wort was coming along, it still had a slight cloudy appearance to it, but had lost any hint of sweetness, so I decided that it was a good time to go ahead with the bottling. The instructions called for adding 2 1/2 teaspoons of sugar into each bottle, so I used a funnel to get that in, then slowly add the fermented beer wort into the bottles, and fill them up to the spot right around where the neck of the bottle starts.

[singlepic id=11 w=320 h=240 float=right]After I filled all 8 bottles, I had to gently flip the bottles a few times to make sure that the sugar was fully mixed in. I then had to move all the beer back to my office, again to spend the next 10 to 14 days with temperatures between 20’C and 24’C. I also took the time to add a label to each bottle with the bottling date, ready to drink date and expiration date. All this waiting is going to leave me extra thirsty… thank goodness I’m making a lot of beer!

Now to speed up to 88mph and jump ahead a few days…
[singlepic id=13 w=320 h=240 float=left]The fermentation is done, and the bottles are nice and hard, and the beer has become clear. Now, this doesn’t mean that I can just crack open a bottle and start drinking… at least not without chilling the beer, no one likes warm beer, right? I am living up to following the instructions, and will do the conditioning step, which has me setting the beer aside for 2 more weeks minimum (up to 3 months). So, now I am setting a date of 3/3/12 to enjoy the first sip of my first batch of home brewed beer, at least, that didn’t come in a 2 litre bottle, though I still enjoy my Mister Beer too.