Mexican bottling system

Drilling a hole by hand

with a paddle bit.

Using two packages of the Safale s-33 created quite the fermentation fury doing its job and settling out after only four days so I was able to bottle two cases of beer today. I once again have renewed sense of appreciation for kegging as the process of getting the beer into bottles was very labor intensive. Soaking the bottles over night, removing the labels, scrubbing inside and out, rinsing and sanitizing. Then racking the beer into another bucket with preboiled sugar, bottle filling and finally capping left me exhausted and thirsty for a good ale. Alas, I settled for another, you guessed it... Barrilitos.

Now for two weeks of patience before I can enjoy the fruits of my labor. Of course I did some tasting during the process and I think this will be a good beer. The hibiscus addition was most evident with a tart dryness and since it is so young the flavor of yeast and residual sweetness is up front. The phenolics that I was expecting is very subdued. I can't wait to taste this after it has conditioned for awhile.
In the mean time I've got another couple of batches to brew and I can't waste any time so I plan to do my Agave Pale Ale tomorrow. I'll be using 50 ounces of Agave syrup this time and Centennial hops throughout.