The bottling is now complete. I have 16 regular 12 oz. bottles, 1 22 oz. bomber, and 2 20 oz. soda bottles. I tasted the flat, warm beer before I bottled. Unfortunately, I have a strange feeling it got infected. It had a slight sour apple taste to it. Perhaps that’s just the way it tastes before being ready and maybe I’m too worried. After the bottling was done, the Mr. Beer keg smelled like a gueuze, nice and funky with the thick layer of yeast on the bottom. I imagine that’s normal. Regardless of whether or not it got infected, I’ve got some hope for this beer. The last 2 bottles got a lot of sediment coming from the bottom of the keg. I wonder if those will come out differently.
The instructions say to carbonate at least 7 days, but to allow them to sit for 2-3 weeks for optimal flavor. The bottles are in the same place I stored the keg while fermenting (on top of my fridge). It should be about 70 degrees up there all the time. I’m thinking I’ll leave th em up there for 2 weeks or so and then put a couple in the fridge to try (I may even try one after a week) and the rest in my “cellar” (aka the pantry) which is about 60 degrees because it gets no heat and it’s in the corner of the house. I’ll let them age there as I decide when to drink and who to give them to (I already have one person who wants to try it and I’ll probably give some to my boss).
Last night I opened the bottle of Smuttynose’s Scotch Style Ale, from their Big Beer Series. I really enjoyed this one (and unfortunately, I don’t think I can get it anymore). It pours a nice dark amber/ruby brown with a nice 2 finger head. Smells of caramel, oak/vanilla, and a very slight hint of alcohol. The flavor was a nice oaky vanilla with a hint of caramel. What I wasn’t expecting was an awesome smokey flavor to it. It also had a nice alcohol warming quality to it (though it’s only 7.8% ABV). This is one fine Scotch Ale. Hopefully it’s something they’ll release again. I want more!
So today’s the day… alright, not that day, but I am bottling the beer today. I just went through the painful (yes, painful, apparently I have arthritis, my thumb is swollen) process of scraping the labels off a bunch of bottles. It was made easier by soaking them in hot soapy water (thanks George!). I have quite the mix of bottles… some regular ones, some bottles with Sam Adams on them, some stubby Sierra Nevada bottles, and one 22 oz. bomber. I am, unfortunately, also going to have to use 2 plastic ones (luckily, I saved some 20 oz. soda bottles). The glass ones are in the dishwasher right now on high heat rinse, high heat wash (without detergent), and heated dry. They should be good and sanitized by the time they come out. I just have to use the Mr. Beer sanitizer on the 2 plastic bottles.
That’s where I stand now… I’ll write more when I get them bottled and capped (thanks to my boss Ed who gave me a capper and a bunch of caps).
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