Bottling Day: Inspired Paso Ale Gets Capped, Labeled, and Ready
“Never stop learning.”
That’s something I lived by throughout my career, especially at my last job, where no two days were ever the same. No two incidents or accidents were identical, which meant nearly 20 years of constant learning. The same principle applies to making beer. It’s a hobby where even when the process and recipes become second nature, there’s always something new to take away.
Right now, I’m still firmly on the upslope of that curve.
Back at the Kettle After Seven Years
After seven years away from brewing, yesterday was bottling day — and aside from cracking open the finished product, it’s always one of the most exciting days in the process. Things went largely as planned, but there were a few hiccups along the way.
I had anticipated nearly 48 bottles. I ended up with 36.
Why Fewer Bottles? Trub.
The bottom 3–4 inches of my fermenter were all trub — the sediment left behind during fermentation, made up of dead yeast, coagulated proteins, and hop debris. All of it unusable. That said, trub does contain viable yeast, and you can harvest it for your next batch. I’m not quite ready to go that direction yet, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
The fermented wort — about 4.5 gallons — was racked (transferred) into my bottling vessel, a simple 5-gallon plastic bucket with a spigot. Even with that, I had just under a gallon of beer left in the bucket when I finished bottling. The racking process pulled some residual particles and debris along with it — what I call “floaties” — and by the end, the last several pours had a noticeable haziness to them. At a certain point the beer just gets too murky to bottle cleanly, so I stopped. Starting with less than the target 5 gallons didn’t help either.
The Bottling Process Itself
Bottling is always time-consuming. I don’t keg — that’s probably the next upgrade, along with a small chest freezer and temperature controller — so every bottle gets filled and capped individually. I used a dual-handle lever bottle capper to seal each one. It’s not a perfect process; bottles have been known to shatter if you don’t apply even pressure on both levers. Thankfully, it was a good day. No broken glass.
The Label: A Learning Moment
I loved the concept behind the label. I called this beer the Inspired Paso Ale — a play on the IPA acronym — as the first entry in my Paso Robles series. After designing the label and resizing it for a bottle, I sent the file over to Grog Tag. I approved the proof and waited. The quality of the labels was solid, but I quickly discovered the 3″ x 4.5″ dimensions don’t fit a standard 12-ounce longneck bottle. That’s not on Grog Tag — they offer other sizing options and I just didn’t take the time to look closely enough before ordering. Lesson noted for next time.
As my girlfriend reminded me yesterday: “Give yourself some credit — this is your first batch in seven years.” She’s right. I could color a piece of paper with a crayon and tape it to the bottle. What matters most is the aroma and the taste.
Final Numbers
| Measurement | Result |
|---|---|
| Original Gravity (OG) | 1.068 |
| Final Gravity (FG) | 1.013 |
| IBU | 74 |
| ABV | 7.09% |
What’s Next
All in all, a welcome return to brewing. I’ll be sharing a few bottles with the brewers at Cal Coast Beer Company, who have been a sounding board throughout this entire process and are willing to give honest feedback on the finished product. I’m genuinely looking forward to their critique of the Inspired Paso Ale.