by Back in October I brewed beer with a couple friends at Shenandoah Brewery. Here is the link. Last week before the giant blizzard we went back to bottle it. It was a pretty simple procedure taking about an hour and a half for 120 bottles. In the end we ended up with a fine product.
We didn’t splurge for labels as they added almost a dollar to each bottle. I think I can imagine a label no problem for that price.
First we sanitized the bottles in the bottle washer. Basically it is a high end dishwasher for each individual bottle.
Next we filled the bottles. This was a relatively simple procedure that took forever to accomplish. Basically you place each individual bottle in the bottling apparatus. Push the button. It makes a seal and carbonates and fills the beer simultaneously.   Wait 5 seconds and then press the button again. At 25-30 seconds a bottle and 120 bottles to fill. Yep, forever!!
After filling remove the bottle and cap it. Pretty simple, place a cap on the bottle and then press down on the capping apparatus. That is it.
Rinse the bottles and dry them off and you have a perfect beer.
We brewed a Hellesfest lager. Basically a 5.2% Oktoberfest beer. Pretty sweet. After brewing we had 11.2 gallons. After fermentation we ended up with around 10.4 gallons. All in all, this was a lot of fun. The beer was tasty, but I am not sure if I will splurge to make another case of beer for $3 a bottle. At $3 a bottle I want a beer that I know is made perfectly and I don’t have to actually make.
I didn't know how to get beer into a bottle which is weird, because I have about 25 years of experience in getting it OUT of a bottle.