Batch 4: Steamboat California Common Beer: Secondary Fermentation/Bottling Day

I transferred the beer from the primary to the secondary after two weeks and measured the gravity of the beer at 1.012. The sample from the thief tasted good but a bit hoppy. After a week in the secondary, I measured the final gravity of the beer at 1.012/3. With an original gravity of 1.043, the alcohol by volume ends up being about 4%. The sample from the thief tasted a little more balanced but still hoppier than is typical for a California common.

I primed the beer with 4.6 oz. of corn sugar before bottling. (I was tempted to use 5.4 oz. but was concerned about arming beer bombs. The guy at the supply shop suggested being a bit more conservative, too.) I used one champagne bottle this time. I had saved up several champagne bottles after our weekend in Gatlinburg but have learned that while Korbel Brut bottles are cap-able with standard beer bottle caps, Barefoot and Poema champagne bottles are not. I ended up with 42 beer bottles in addition to the one champagne bottle. I'll let this condition for a couple weeks, and it'll be ready to share with my parents when I visit them over my spring break down in North Fort Meyers.