Batch #3 Post #2

Notes from today's bottling:

I finished bottling the third batch. Other than spilling more beer than I would have liked, it all went well. This time I cleaned the bottles by hand, but then used my dishwasher at home to sanitize them (it has a setting that is supposed to do that). If that works well it will be a whole lot easier than cleaning all the damn bottles by themselves.

I ended up with 12 twenty-two oz bottles and around 61 twelve oz bottles.

I went back to the Fox Valley Homebrew and Winery shop in Aurora earlier today and picked up another case of bottles because I didn't have quite enough. While I was there I also picked up a 21 inch stainless steel brewers spoon and some more caps. It's longer than my other one so I won't burn my hand and there will be less risk for contamination in future batches.

I've been thinking about my next batch and I might try to experiment a bit and try for a pale ale. I'm wanting something with a lot of hop aroma and flavor, but not quite as much bitterness as an IPA. Also a lighter color beer would be nice, as the three batches I've made so far have been relatively dark colored.

After the problem I ran into before of mixing up my different bottles between batch 1 and 2, I decided to buy a permanent marker and just write a number 3 on the cap of all of this batch. Problem solved.

Next time I am bottling I need to remember to use the hose which is a little thiner. The one I have was a bit too wide for the bottling wand, and it sort of leaked a lot.