GLUG...Glug....glug...

Tonight I took another reading of Brett's Beard Bitter and it again read 1.010.  I still see the fermentation lock (pictured here in it's p'shop'd glory) glugging along every so often.  According to the wiki: "The fermentation lock or airlock is a device used in beer brewing and wine making that allows carbon dioxide released by the beer to escape the fermenter, while not allowing air to enter the fermenter, thus avoiding oxidation."  Also, notably, it helps avoid contamination.  Given that it has been the same reading both times, I can (most likely) safely say that the beer is done, and ready to bottle.  I will have to get some more bottles this weekend, as I have not been able to accumulate enough with my own solid efforts.  If it remains FG of 1.010, that should give my beer an overall approximate 3.95% alcohol by weight, or 5.0% alcohol by volume.  According to a web article published by the University of California Long Beach, "As a guideline, typical American beers (lagers) are generally 3.6 to 3.8% by weight (approx. 4.5 to 4.7 by volume)."  It's not overpowering or heavy handed.  It's just about exactly how I wanted it to turn out.  Despite my need to classify and categorize my brews, I am generally quite happy with however they turn out, statistically speaking.  I care much more about the flavor.

Now, if I was a true microbrewery, and had a nice budget to label all my brews individually, I would make a label to do honor to what has been called Brett's "Epic" beard.  Since I cannot, let me do homage with a little photo editing wizardry.  I might print one out for Brett, but the rest of you can do with plain brown bottles, or generic labels.  I present to you, the bottle deco for Brett's Beard Bitter (or an approximation thereof):
This is not a picture of Brett's actual beard, but it was every bit as 'epic' as this one, without being the least bit ostentatious.