| Bottling is an essential part of the brewing process. | | | | every batch. Because you can reuse bottles, you can |
| After bottling your beer needs to sit for at least of | | | | also use old bottles from beer that you purchased. |
| week to finish reacting with the yeast and create | | | | One benefit of this is that there are a variety of |
| carbonation. The most used bottling is done with | | | | different types of bottles. You can gather different |
| capped glass bottles, but there are other options. | | | | shaped or colored bottles for different brews. In my |
| Each option has its own benefits. Understanding | | | | opinion this is really cool for creating a variety pack |
| these benefits will help you choose the type of | | | | for friends. Also, I feel that beer tastes a little better |
| bottling that is best for you. | | | | if bottled in glass rather than plastic. |
| Plastic Bottles | | | | Keg |
| Plastic bottling is fairly new. One benefit of plastic is | | | | If you are going to keg your beer, you are going to |
| that you can take it more places, for example the | | | | lose the convenience factor, but in return you will |
| beach, and you never have to worry about the | | | | gain the quickness factor. When you keg you |
| bottle breaking. Although in many ways they are just | | | | force-carbonate your beer rather than letting the |
| as effective as glass, they are more likely to let | | | | yeast react with the excess sugar in the brew. This |
| oxygen leak through the bottle. Over time, the | | | | method can be completed in 24 hours unlike the |
| threads by the lid will wear away creating a path for | | | | week or two that you would be waiting for the |
| air to reach the beer. Also, if you are planning on | | | | other bottling options. Unfortunately, kegging your |
| storing your beer for more than a couple months, | | | | beer does require equipment that the traditional |
| oxygen will start to penetrate the plastic PET bottles. | | | | bottling does not use. So in order to keg your beer |
| Glass Bottles | | | | for the first time you will have to purchase a couple |
| This is the most common and most traditional way | | | | hundred dollars worth of equipment such as a keg, |
| of bottling your homebrew. Since you can reuse glass | | | | carbon dioxide pressurized tank, several fittings, and |
| bottles over and over, this method is a reasonable | | | | a tap. Also, if you want to have a cold keg at all |
| cheap way to bottle. You need to invest in a capper, | | | | times, a kegerator is something you might want to |
| but other than that the only cost is buying caps for | | | | invest in. |
