Packaging
(In progress) Define Packaging.
Contents
When to package
(in progress)
Final Gravity
There is no hard and fast rule for when to package based on final gravity because the gravity of the finished beer will depend on recipe, process and microbes present among other factors. Generally lower final rgavities are safer because they constrain the extent to which the beer can continue to ferment and generate extra CO2 in the package. But rather than looking for a specific number, pay more attention to the stability of the gravity. If the gravity is stable over a long time scale (weeks to months, depending again on factors such as recipe, process and microbes present), then the beers is probably done. If you are unsure then give the beer a bit longer and monitor final gravity. Each gravity point (.001) of continued fermentation yields roughly 1/2 volume of CO2.
Clarity and pellicles
Beer with a pellicle can be bottled and it is not necessary to wait for a pellicle to disappear before bottling.
How to package
(in progress)
Re-yeasting
Should you reyeast?
If so, what yeast should you use? Commercial producers and MTFers have had success re-yeasting with their mixed culture, wine yeast, .... The specific yeast you choose is up to you, and we recommend that you try a couple different yeasts out to find the one you prefer.
Priming
Package and closure types
(in progress) Many sour/funky/mixed fermentation beers are highly carbonated. It is recommended to package highly carbonated beers in bottles of thicker glass which can better withstand higher pressure (e.g. many Belgian and German bottles, corkable Champagne-type or 'fat-lipped' Belgian-type bottles, etc.). This is especially true if you feel the beer may continue to carbonate in the bottle from residual carbohydrates beyond the priming sugar you added. Be careful when carbonating your beer to high volumes to ensure that your chosen package can handle this pressure.
- Crown caps (26 mm) - A variety of thicker glass/high-pressure bottles are available in the standard 26 mm cap size. No special equipment, beyond a normal capper, is necessary to fill bottles of this type. It may be necessary to swap the metal plates on cappers such as the Emily capper to accomodate the wider neck on some bottles taking a 26 mm cap (such as champagne-style bottles with 26 mm caps (e.g. Logsdon, Goose Island, some Upright) and the 375 mL crown finish bottles modeled after the 'Vinnie' 375 mL bottles).
- Crown caps (29 mm) - For capping bottles with 29 mm openings (such as Champagne-style bottles and 375 mL half-Champagne bottles), you will need to source a 29 mm bell and 29 mm caps, which are non-standard. Many 29 mm bottles are both capable and corkable. For cork and capping, see below.
- Swing tops - Many swing tops are thicker glass and are therefore well suited for higher carbonation beers. Swing tops also allow for easy venting of carbonation if the beer carbonates more than desired/anticipated. Due to the soft gasket (and possibly plastic top piece holding the gasket for some bottles), the same concerns regarding cleaning difficulty and cross-contamination apply to swing tops as to other plastic parts used after the hot side when brewing both normal and 'funky' beers. If you don't want your normal beers exposed to the micro-organisms in your funky beers, we recommend not using the same swing tops for bottling both types of beer, jusrt as we recommend keeping seperate sets of plastic equipment used for fermentation and transfer of fermented beer when brewing both clean and 'funky' beers. Some express concern about long term aging in swing tops and the possibility of swing tops not being as impermeable a barrier to O2. If you are concerned about this they it may be better to not use swing tops for long aged beer. At this time we are unaware of any comparisons of swing tops and other closure mechanisms regarding their susceptibility to O2 transfer during extended aging.
- Cork and cage -
- Cork and cap -
- Kegging -
See Also
Additional Articles on MTF Wiki
External Resources
- Blending and Priming Calculator, by Jeff Crane.
- Carbonation in Sour Beers, Sour Beer Blog.
- Brewing Sour Beer At Home, by Michael Tonsmeire (see the "Bottling" section).