The first thing to be done is to see that the bottles are very clean, and very dry. Wet bottles will turn the beer mouldy, or "mothery," as it is called.

Next the corks must be new and sound; for if the air can get through them the ale will be flat and never rise. There is no saving, but great waste in using old corks.

If a cork has once been in a bottle, even though it has not been drawn by a corkscrew, it will turn musty as soon as exposed to the air, and will communicate its evil flavour to the bottle it is next put into.

Choosing Corks

Take those which are soft and clear from specks.

Observe in bottling that the top and middle of the hogshead are the strongest and will sooner rise in the bottles than the bottom.

When you begin bottling go on. If you leave your task uncompleted and continue it at intervals each bottle will have a different taste.

If the cask of beer you have in use grows flat, bottle the beer; but into every bottle put two or three lumps of sugar, about the size of a walnut, but it is best to bottle beer before it has quite completed its fermentation.

If you brew table beer in March or October, some of it may be bottled at the end of six months, putting in every bottle a lump of sugar; but if you want good bottled beer, bottle it as soon as it has done working.

Beer should never, however, be bottled while there is any tendency to spirt from the vent peg; but as soon as this has ceased, bottle at once.

For the flat beer of an open cask you had better put into the bottle either the sugar (as before directed) or a few raisins or grains of rice.

If you find it impossible to keep your bottled beer in your cellars from some defect in the latter, you might try the following expedient.

Sink holes in the garden, purchase and put in the holes some large oil jars, and fill the earth close to their sides. One jar will hold a dozen bottles of beer, and will keep them well; but you must take care to closely cover the tops of the jars.

In the winter, when the weather is frosty, shut up all the lights or windows of your cellar (if it has any), and close them with manure to keep the proper temperature (55°) up.