How to re-use beer bottles for beginners

Many beer bottles can be re-used for home brewed beer, sodas and even wine. This is a great way to save on the bottom line when making your own beers, soda's and wine. As an alternative, you can purchase new beer bottles at any homebrewing supply store, but adds to the base cost of your beer. I estimate that homebrewing beer costs around $0.40 to $0.60 per 16 oz serving (except Hoppy IPA's and High ABV beers). However, include a bottle at $0.50 each and your cost is now the same as purchasing a beer at the store.

How to choose beer bottles for re-use

The type of bottle that you can re-use is important. First, the typical beer bottles have two types of caps; screw top and clamp on (not sure of the term for "clamp on," so hopefully your still following). You can't re-use the screw top bottles. That's because there are no caps available for them, or at least that I know of as of the date of this publication.

The second issue is glass vs. plastic bottles. If you insist on using plastic bottles, it is my opinion that short

term use is fine. However, plastic has a degree of oxygen absorption, which can oxidize the beer and make it dull and cardboard-ish tasting. But, for those of us that use our bottles every 30 days, it is my opinion that oxygen absorption is not going to be an issue. In fact, I've seen some very famous home brewers use plastic Litre bottles for storage.

Bottles also come in clear and different colors. This is very critical when brewing beer, but not so critical for sodas. Beer is sensitive to light. That is because light can change the chemical properties of the beer (simple terms without going into detail). Some molecules within beer change when struck by light and morph into a new chemical compound that is similar to a skunks glands. That is why you will find some beers smell "skunky." That is meant literally, the beer has a slight smell of a skunk. Therefore, you need beer bottles that block light to avoid "skunking" your beer.

With that said; the best beer bottles are brown. You should avoid clear and green bottles if possible. If you choose the clear, green or plastic bottles (typically clear or green) and will require extra care to avoid skunking your beer. This is accomplished by keeping your bottles in the dark.

How to Remove the Label

Fill a bucket, sink or container full of hot water. Place the bottle in the hot water and allow to sit for 15-30 minutes. I like to use the back side of a knife to scrape off the label, but anything with a straight or slightly curved edge will work. After the label is off, place the Bottle back in the water to soak the remaining paper and glue. I typically use a scrub pad within a few minutes of soaking to wipe off the last remaining paper from the bottle.

How To Clean Beer Bottles for Re-Use

The following are basic steps for cleaning a beer bottle to re-use for your beer, soda or wine.

1. If you re-use your store bought beer bottles, be sure to rinse thoroughly immediately after consuming the beer. This will help avoid mold and bacteria growth.
2. To begin cleaning a beer bottle; physically inspect the interior of the bottle. Use a strong light and place the bottle in front of the light and inspect the interior for dark formations. If found, these spots are typically mold. If you find dark spots, put the bottle to the side along with any other bottles that show mold spots. These bottles will require extra scrubbing and an additional inspection after cleaning.
3. Fill the bottle a quarter way up with water, add a small amount of soap in the bottle and scrub the interior with a bottle scrubber. The bottle scrubber can be found at a homebrewing supply store. 
1. When you scrub a bottle that shows mold formations during the interior inspection, be sure to scrub, rinse, check again and repeat the scrubbing until there are no signs of mold and/or bacteria growth.
4. Thoroughly rinse the bottle with clean water and make sure there is no soap remaining in the bottle, which could be construed as a beer defect.
5. Rinse the bottle with a sterilizing solution that is often found at your homebrew supply store.
6. Immediately fill the bottle with new beer.
7. Cap the beer with a new cap (make sure you sterilize the cap first) using a caper, both found at a homebrew supply store.

The process is fairly simple. However, some of the steps require a bit of extra attention.

How to use old beer bottles for home brewed beer
How to clean beer bottles
How to use used beer bottles
How to use old beer bottles for soda. 
Can I re-use old beer bottles for homebrewed beer
Can I clean old beer bottles for homebrewed beer 

How to Pasteurize Your Beer and Why?

How to Pasteurize Your Beer and Why

Pasteurization was discovered by Louis Pasteur (1822-95), a French chemist and bacteriologist, who invented the process of heating food, milk, wine, etc., to kill most of the micro-organisms in it; distinguished from sterilization, which involves killing all of them. 

The process is to elevate the temperature of food, wine or beer for a period of time that is sufficient to destroy certain microorganisms, as those that can produce disease or cause spoilage or undesirable fermentation of food, without radically altering taste or quality. The general rule is to hold at 163°F to kill most organisms.

Why pasteurize and how does this apply to home brewing? If there is any microorganism present in the beer, along with the unfermented sugars remaining in the beer, it will spoil. The result is a beer that may gush when opened due to the over fermenting of sugars that beer yeast can't process. In addition, harsh off flavors will be produced that will ruin the beer.

There is always a risk that microorganisms live in your home or garage that can infect your beer. However, due to the process of cleaning and sterilization, along with the antiseptic qualities of hops, most beers will be fine. 

The application of pasteurization is important for those that send their beers to competitions. Yes it is true that many beers are fine to send to competition without pasteurization. However, if you're like me, and want to win. Why not take the extra step and pasteurize your beer before sending it? The reason I believe the extra step is worth the effort is that I've seen a lot of beers that went sour at our clubs beer competition.


With that said, here is the process of pasteurizing your beer:

1. Place your bottles in your boiler kettle and fill with water about 3/4 way up the bottles side.
2. Open one of the bottles and place a thermometer in the bottle to track the temperature.
3. Start the fire on high and track the temperature. Your goal is to reach 165°F.
4. Turn off the flame at about 163°F and allow the temp to rise to 165° F.
5. Remove the bottles from the boiling kettle and allow to cool.
6. Recap the open bottle. BTW: It will foam during the heating, but don't worry it will be fine.

How to brew beer
How to brew home made beer
How to make homebrewed beer
How to enter beer competitions

How to Make Christmas Hard Cider With Mulling Spices

The following recipe is my Annual Christmas Cider that I bottle and gift every year. It's the perfect "sit by the fire" type of drink with a warming amount of alcohol. I only make this at Christmas since the spices are for the season.

This is a still cider, so there is no carbonation involved, and is meant to be warmed before serving. Do not allow the temp to get above 170°F, otherwise you will burn off the alcohol.

If you don't own brewing equipment, ferment juice in a gallon container like the one used for juice packaging. However, only fill 3/4 full and place foil over opening. But, don't put the cap back on. The fermentation will blow off the cap under pressure.

There are two cups of sugar, one white and the other dark brown, which will move the OG from around 1.03 to 1.055-1.06. The brown sugar only adds a slight fullness, or caramel flavor. But, definitely makes it better.

I use two vials of English Ale Yeast and nutrient so that it ferments out properly. This yeast strain leaves

some remaining sweetness and produces a slight fruitiness, which compliments the Cider.

The tea bags add a slight tanic flavor similar to wine. I use a pinch of Sulphate to preserve it from spoiling and possibly becoming a bottle bomb (gifts that explode are typically frowned upon).

I prefer Tanic Acid additions after fermentation has completed. Apples contain natural Tanic Acid, so using this type compliments the drink. I usually start with a teaspoon and work my way up from there. Don't skip this, it gives the Cider a nice bite, or tartness. Unfortunately, some apple juice is not very tart and needs some help. There are two steps as follows:

Primary fermentation-

3 Gal Apple Juice
1 Cup dark brown sugar
1 Cup white sugar
1 tsp nutrient
2 tea bags – Black tea (tanic additive)
2x Vial English Ale Yeast – White Labs WLP002
Bi-Sulphate, 1 pinch (1 gram)

 Secondary Fermentation - time to add the Christmas spices

When the primary fermentation has slowed, place the following spices in two cups of boiled water (low boil the water 20 minutes prior to adding the spices, which removes extra Oxygen molecules (allowing oxygen in your fermented cider will make it taste like cardboard). Make sure the spices are added at flame-out. You can add the water along with the spices. You will need a funnel, and make sure the orange pieces are small enough to easily pass through the carboy neck. Otherwise you'll be digging them out with a stick.

Here are the mulling spices:
3-5 Cinnamon sticks
1 Tblsp all spice
1 Tblsp Nutmeg
1/4 Orange, sliced into thin 1/4 sized pieces
1 Vanilla beans, cut and scrape

Post fermentation:
1 tsp +/- Tanic Acid (preferred), Phosphoric Acid, or other (add to taste).

OG: 1.057
FG: 1.01 to 1.02
ABV: 5-6%

Serving:
Serve warm with a stick of cinnamon and slice of orange.


Cheers and enjoy,

how to make hard apple cider
how to make cider
how to make christmas hard cider
how to make mulling spices for hard cider
how to make mulling spices

How to Clean Beer Lines Cheap and Easy

Clean Beer Lines Cheap and Easy

How many of homebrewers actually clean the beer line? Until recently, like myself, probably not that often. When I first started kegging my beer, the beer line was cleaned by running new beer though it. I didn't know that dirty beer lines made my beer taste funky. This applies to any draft beer lines connected to a keg of beer.

Beer line at restaurants, bars, clubs etc is typically cleaned as often as weekly. In watching the process of cleaning the line at a bar, I noticed a lot of cleaning liquid flowing through the keg spout. So, where does that leave a homebrewer on a limited budget? I wanted a do-it-yourself project that used existing equipment and was quick and easy.

The challenge: Clean beer lines, including ones with debris and discolored lines. I found that if you let the lines soak in Oxyclean for an hour or two, it will clean the line to like new. Oxyclean is amazing at cleaning equipment. Beer, trub, hops and anything else is easily oxidized and cleaned out of the line.

If you clean on a regular base. It's as simple as Moving cleaning solution through the beer line. How to: A keg, cleaning solution (BLC Beer Line Cleaner by National Chemical) and CO2. It's that simple, and these are items readily available to a homebrewer.

Fill the keg with water and cleaning solution per the instructions, hook the beer line to the output and the CO2 to the input and let it flow. I think you should run at least a gallon of cleaning solution through each faucet. Follow up a second time with clean water to clear out the cleaning solution. It's that simple. I use a 3-gallon keg for cleaning my kegorator, but a regular keg work as well.


How to clean beer lines
how to clean kegs
how to clean kegorators
how to clean kegorator towers
how to clean beer towers
how to clean beer spouts
how to clean draft towers

Bourbon Style Eise (Ice) Beer at 30% ABV

Iced Beer is not a new style, but it is to me. I've just dived into this idea of freezing out the water and concentrating the alcohol and beer. Why not take this and have some fun with it? Like, make a ICE Rum, or a concentrated beer that tastes like a Barrel Aged Bourbon, right? I have heard of double and triple freezing. Can I do this? The answer is yes, yes I can.

Iced Beer means that the beer has undergone some degree of fractional freezing somewhat similar to the German Eis bock. These brands generally have higher alcohol content than typical beer. Fractional freezing is used in a process to separate substances with different melting points such as water and alcohol's melting points.

First and foremost, there's always someone that calls this illegal distillation. That is wrong, this is concentration through freezing. Distillation methods that are illegal requires fire, alcohol to be converted to a gas to separate it from the "beer," then converted back to a liquid to form a pure alcohol. The question has already been run by ATF (Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms), which said that freeze concentration is not distillation and that there are no laws against it. So, if you still think this is illegal, call ATF yourself and don't bother writing on this blog that it's illegal.

My first attempt to ice a beer was on a Wee Heavy at 10% ABV aged on wood. In addition, it was too simple of a recipe to win any competitions, which by the way didn't win a darn thing. However, the simple recipe is perfect for an Ice Beer. The only problem with a 10% beer is that it first has a "hot alcohol" bite like nail polish remover. It takes a while to mellow out. It is my opinion that anything over 10% ABV will require time.

When I first made the beer,  I let it sit for a year and it mellowed down. I took a gallon of the Wee Heavy and froze it solid. I turned the frozen beer upside down and within about 30-60 minutes I had a quarter gallon of what I believe to be 25-35% ABV! When Iced, the beer appeared to lose sweetness and tended to be dry, but perfect for Ice Beer.

My friends and I took our first sip of my Ice Beer. Holy crap it tasted awesome! It was like sipping on a nice Bourbon, seriously. My friends and I sat around and contemplated how we could make more and bottle it.

Think about ice beer vs. distillation this way: In distillation, you get a raw alcohol that has to be aged in a barrel to gain some flavor, which quite frankly, tastes like charred wood. Then water is added to bring down the ABV. On the other hand, Ice Beer has flavor built into it and unlike Distilled Spirits is ready to drink much sooner and tastes great.

My next attempt will be a Rum made with brown sugar.

Here is my original recipe:

09-E  Scottish and Irish Ale, Strong Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)
Min OG:  1.070   Max OG:  1.130
Min IBU:    17   Max IBU:    35
Min Clr:    14   Max Clr:    25  Color in SRM, Lovibond

Recipe Specifics
----------------
Batch Size (Gal):          6.00    Wort Size (Gal):    6.00
Total Grain (Lbs):       17.60
Anticipated OG:          1.091    Plato:             21.78
Anticipated SRM:        18.7
Anticipated IBU:          25.7
Brewhouse Efficiency:   82 %
Wort Boil Time:            90    Minutes
Additional Boil:            Take one gallon of the wort and boil until close to a syrup consistency.


Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate:      15.00    Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size:   10.91    Gal
Pre-Boil Gravity:      1.050    SG          12.40  Plato

Grain/Extract/Sugar

   %     Amount     Name                          Origin        Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 96.6    17.00 lbs. Pale Malt (Maris Otter)       UK             1.038      4
  3.4     0.60 lbs. Roasted Barley                     USA            1.033    300

Hops
   Amount     Name                              Form    Alpha  IBU  Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  1.75 oz.    Fuggle                            Whole    4.75  25.7  60 min.

Yeast
-----
WYeast 1728 Scotish Ale


Water Profile
-------------
Profile:           Reverse Osmosis
pH: 5.2

Mash-out Rest Temp :         158  Time:  60
Sparge Temp :                     170  Time:  30


Update 5/1/14:
I have made a second batch of this Bourbon Style Eise Beer and will send the beer to a lab to test the ABV within a couple days.

First, I tried freezing a 5 gallon bucket, which turned out to be a challenge. The middle didn't want to freeze and the beer tended to concentrate in the remaining liquid. I chopped up the ice on sides of the buck allowing a more uniform freeze, but it was still a challenge. Never got more than a stiff slushy beer. Some of it froze hard, but it's not what I wanted. I suggest freezing in gallon containers, which will make it freeze easier and quicker.

Second, I put 20 wood cubes in the beer for a week prior to freezing. I suggest cutting that back to 5 to 8 Cubes. I think 20 was a but too much. Upon tasting I realized that the wood is a bit harsh tasting at first and will require several months to mellow out. This was true for my last beer also.

Third, I ended up with a little over a gallon after the first freeze. I was able to freeze the beer a second time concentrating the alcohol and flavors. I moved the beer to two containers and completed second freeze. It took several days due to the anti-freezing agent of the alcohol. However, it finally froze a cap at the top and I separated it out.

Fourth, I had to filter the beer due to a high amount of particulate matter in the beer. The beer came out beautifully clear and dark ruby red. 

My filter costs pennies and works great. I turn a Litre bottle upside down, cut off the bottom of the bottle. I take a normal paper towel and fold it into a one inch strip, then keep folding in one in increments until it reaches the other side of the towel. Next I move to one of the ends and start rolling the long one inch strip. I take the one inch wide rolled up paper towel and stuff it in the pouring spout of the litre bottle. You typically have to cut off a couple inches off the end and roll it back up to fit, but it should fit snugly in the spout. I turn the spout downwards and pour the beer into the container. It's slow and can take several hours, sometimes a whole day depending on several factors, but works great. 

Overall, it tastes damn strong. I am guessing around 30% ABV. I am sending a sample to a Lab for testing and will post it for your review when I get the results.


How to brew beer
how to brew lagers
how to brew eise beer
how to brew eise beer
how to homebrew a eise beer

Light Beers a rip-off?

Light Beers - A Rip Off?

I certainly like a light beer on a hot day. Yes, it's mostly water, high amount of carbonation and much less alcohol. However, it's refreshing to the tongue and seems to cool you down a bit. 

If you brew your own beer like me, your probably making hoppy IPA's, ales and the sort. If your more advanced and brew lagers, or better yet German beers as I do, then your certainly going to enjoy a wonderful refreshing beer. However, unless it is a lager, your brew has some buttery and butterscotch taste that takes away from the freshness a lager can provide. Or, a heavier malty or adjunct and caramel malt laden beer. This certainly has a difficult time comparing with a light beer, which is why many of us keep light beers in our fridge, right? As a disclaimer: Yes I know, your ale is as refreshing as a light beer - It's not worth arguing about. I'm not trying to compare the two, just trying to bring to light that many of us are light beer drinkers. Or, keep a few light beers in the fridge for the right mood, or when friends come over that will "only drink a bud/bud light."

The question is this: There is certainly much less grains and hops in a light beer, so why doesn't it cost less than a regular beer? The fact is; the large beer companies have figured how to give us less, charge more and make it cool by calling it "light," "lower calories" or "it won't weigh you down" etc. Wow, what a concept. 

This is part of the American corporate culture. If you noticed, Oreos are smaller, hot dogs are smaller, packages at the grocery store are smaller along with smaller portions, some with the word "light," not because of lower fat or calories, but because it's smaller in size or portions, sometimes by half!

The fact is that we are all being misled at times by corporate giants, and sometimes the small guy. I'm not advocating any actions against corporate beer and food giants. However, I think it is important to bring to light their misbehavior. 

Competition Ready Beers and Unseen Problems for Entrants

Competition Awards

I personally enjoy submitting my beers for competition. I always go into it thinking I'll win big. However, its usually followed by disappointment due to a competition worksheet with comments about how to improve my brew.

The fact is that after attending my clubs competitions and tasting the beers, I realized that most beers get a score around 30 out of a possible 50 if it is half way palatable.

One of the problems faced in submitting your beer is that it will sit in a warm room for one to several weeks. If there is any infection, it grows creating beers that either gush , or taste sour and nasty. I know, I tasted them.

Infections are a major problem with brewing beer, especially if you brew in a garage like myself, where winds blow wild yeast around your brew. I had so many infections, I created a closed system where the beer travels from the brewing vessel, through hoses to a heat exchanger, and to the fermenter without ever being exposed to elements within my garage. This has worked out perfectly.

The key to keeping my fermenter closed is to clean it, close it and add a homemade carbon filter to allow clean

air exchange, add a disinfecting agent, swirl the disinfectant, drain it and close the drain. From that point on, the air is allowed to pass in and out of the fermenter through the filter as temperature changes and/or wort is added. However, rarely do I see an infection.

The other key to submitting beers is to make sure you place your entry that is rubber banded to the bottle in a sandwich bag prior to banding it to the bottle. My club numbers the bottle and doesn't need this step. However, many competitions include the paper banded to the bottle. The problem is that text is often printed on color ink printers, which can run.

There are often problems with the judges themselves. When a competition is overwhelmed with entries, often judges with little to no experience are allowed to judge. This may be the case with clubs that have few competent judges. 

Another important issue is Palate fatigue and inebriation. The tongue starts to lose its ability to define the finer points of your wonderful brew when faced with issues like large amounts of hops or other ingredients that seem to overwhelm and won't leave the palate, like pomegranate or high acid adjuncts.

The final thought is that it doesn't matter how good of a brewer your are. Or, how wonderful, or rock'n, your brew came out, part of it is just good old luck. Your judge might just fall in love with your brew for whatever reason. However, I think the biggest issue is that a judge might be faced with multiple beers that are all good. What makes him choose yours over another? Sometimes its just adding an extra ingredient without taking it out of its style category.

Some have figured out that it is a numbers game and often send multiple beers. Until the most recent beer limitations at the National Homebrew Competition, many submitted as many as 60 entries! Based on the entrants and the number of entries in the 2013 National Homebrew Competition, it roughly appears there were an average of seven entries per person. However, there was a limitation this year and I can guarantee that multiple entrants submitted their limit. I entered seven and won a 3rd place award.

How to prepare for upcoming competitions

Know your competitions: 

You need to get a calendar and note when each competition will be held during the year. 

Are your competitions local or out of state, which require shipping.

Schedule your competitions on a calendar to correspond with brewing:

Many beers need to be fresh. Some take long periods to mature. Make sure you mark your calendar to allow the brew day, maturity, bottling and a holding period to correspond with your competition.

Admittedly, I am not big winner at all the competitions. However, I've thought a lot about it and have taken action on the above to make sure I can enter my beers at all the competitions that I believe will be a big benefit to me. Good luck, and if you have any additional ideas, please post them in the comments below.

Cheers,

David