Now is the time for bottling, but...what?

10/6/2020 Wed.

【Day 83】

Dave got back to me, like “Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, my anti-spam filter stopped it. ”

Then he asked me what kind of ingredients he gave me. As soon as I told him what I’ve got from him, he answered me. “I would normally expect it to be a bit lower but 1.020 is the top of where it should be so if it is still there you can bottle.”

I was a little bit excited, like “Now is the time for bottling!”

First of all, of course, I have to sanitize 30 bottles and caps of them, which is the exactly same method as rinsing and sanitizing my fermenter.

I used a bathtub and dishwashing detergent for rinsing. Do you think this is boring? Actually, this wasn’t boring at all. I even felt like It’s a sort of meditation.

Then before bottling, I did measuring the final gravity just in case. I thought it was going to be as same as the last Sunday, 1.020, or something. 

But guess what, it turned out to be 1.016! I was a little bit surprised. The fermentation finished, didn’t it? Had it been just stuck there?

I checked the temperature of my brew and it was about 20℃. OK, I see. It had been almost under 18℃ last week. But since yesterday, it has gotten a little bit warmer. It meant the temperature of my brew had been too low for a while.

After measuring the gravity, I tasted it. Its hazy golden color looked good. Actually, it has become more like a “beer” taste. Hoppy, crispy, and it’s been even refreshing already. I also felt much more alcohol than last Sunday.

Originally, the target FG was 1.010. But I changed my mind. I'll aim at 1.014. If the fermentation progressed a bit further, the ABV would be around 3.5%. It is the same as Balter Captain Sensible or 4 Pines Pacific Ale, light beers I like.

I had to reschedule bottling. It may be tomorrow, I think. And for little more fermentation, I had my fermenter wearing down jacket to not get the low temperature.

It looks a bit funny, doesn’t it?