Please click on an FAQ link below to view information regarding that question.   Question: What do I need to bottle?   Answer: First of all, be sure you are using the non-twist-off type of beer bottle if you are going to be capping standard 12 or 22 oz bottles. A 5 gallon batch of beer will require about 48 -54 12 oz. bottles or 26-30 22 oz. bottles. All our caps will fit any standard non-twist-off variety bottle. The caps will not properly seal if crimped onto a twist-off bottle. The only difference in our caps is the print, except for the oxygen absorbing caps. These are only really required for long-term storage beers to prevent oxidation and staleness due to oxygen’s presence in the headspace of the bottle. Finally, a capper is needed. The Red Baron capper works quite well, and is convenient when capping different heights of bottles. The bench capper may be a good option when you don’t need to adjust the height frequently for different types of bottles.   Question: How many bottles do I need to bottle a 5 gallon batch?   Answer: 48-54 12 ounce bottles 32-35 16 ounce bottles 24-26 22 ounce bottles 16-18 32 ounce bottles   Question: How often do I need to replace the rubber gaskets on my Grolsch-style swing-cap bottles?   Answer: Each rubber gasket should last 5 or 6 uses.   Question: When can I bottle my beer?   Answer: Typically, you can bottle an ale 3 weeks after brew day with two-stage fermentation. This schedule would allows for 7 days for primary fermentation, and 14 days for secondary fermentation. Wheat beers are often bottled right out of the primary, as it's common to not worry about the yeast still in suspension. No one balks at a glass of hazy weizen. Lagers will require up to 14+ days in the primary and often 4-6 weeks in the secondary before packaging in bottles. In any case, when the beer's specific gravity has stabilized at it's terminal gravity and it has sufficiently cleared, it's ready to bottle. Other "big" beers can use some extended aging, possibly leaving in the secondary for several months to develop their complexities in bulk and to allow yeast, gravity, and time to round out the edges of the beer. For these extended aging beers, you may wish to add a little bit of yeast (1/4 tsp should suffice) to your bottling bucket to make sure there are enough yeast cells in suspension to carbonate the beer.   Question: How do I bottle my beer?   Answer: We are assuming the fermentation is complete. Be sure to have 48-56 cleaned and sanitized bottles for a 5 gallon batch. Then, boil 5 oz. of priming sugar (corn sugar or dextrose) in 1 pint of water for 5-15 minutes. Using less priming sugar will result in less carbonation. If you'd like less carbonation, try 4 oz. Add this sugar solution to the bottom of your cleaned and sanitized bottling bucket. Transfer by siphoning your beer into your bottling bucket. Avoid splashing the beer as this will introduce oxygen to you beer which contributes to stale (oxidized) beer. It's helpful to siphon such that a swirling motion is created to help mix and distribute the beer. Having the priming solution evenly distributed into your beer will ensure consistent carbonation through the bottles. When your beer is in the bottling bucket (a 6.5 gallon food-grade bucket, spigot installed at the bottom connected to a bottle filling wand via vinyl tubing) get the beer flowing by turning the spigot to the "on" position. Beer will flow into the tubing and bottle filler. Touching the bottle filler to the bottom of the beer bottles will allow the beer flow. Fill the bottle to about an inch from the top. Leaving too much space in the neck can cause over carbonation. Touching the bottom of the bottle filler to the side of the neck of the bottle can allow you to fill closer to the top. Place a cap on the bottle, and if you wish, wait a few minutes before you cap. This allows the headspace to fill with CO2 from the beer pushing oxygen and better preserving your beer.