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GRHunter · 09-09-2010, 04:47 PM

Since I have quite a bit a beer in my pipeline I have been keg conditioning instead of force carbing. I figure I'm saving on C02 that way. When I bottle conditioned I used to mix the sugar in boiling water and then add it to my bottling bucket. But my last 4-5 batches I just dumped the sugar in the keg and then racked the beer. So far they have all turned out fine. Have I just been lucky? Or does sugar need to be sterilized before being added to a keg?

wyzazz · 09-09-2010, 05:41 PM

I've done the same thing on occasion with no problems, but if I've got the time and I'm not feeling lazy I'll sanitize the sugar by boiling it for 10mins.

**rcrabb22** · 09-09-2010, 05:44 PM

I would say "tempting fate." Eventually you're going to pick up an infection from the sugar or "dirty" measuring cup.

I would suggest another benefit of boiling. Dissolving the sugar in water speeds up the conditioning efforts of the yeast

shortyjacobs · 09-09-2010, 06:54 PM

In my mind, it's a very mild risk. Heck, we don't sanitize hops before dry hopping...and those are exposed to a lot more nasties than processed dextrose.

However, rcrabb22 has a good point in that the dissolved sugar will kick off priming faster.

prosper · 09-09-2010, 07:00 PM

none of my kegs seal up tight until they've got a good 10psi in them, so conditioning with sugar seems like it would just leak out all the CO2 unless you first used a shot of CO2 to ensure a good seal - sort of defeating the purpose of saving bottled CO2.

shortyjacobs · 09-09-2010, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prosper

none of my kegs seal up tight until they've got a good 10psi in them, so conditioning with sugar seems like it would just leak out all the CO2 unless you first used a shot of CO2 to ensure a good seal - sort of defeating the purpose of saving bottled CO2.

Good point...most of mine take 20+, one takes 45 PSI...

GRHunter · 09-10-2010, 08:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by prosper

none of my kegs seal up tight until they've got a good 10psi in them, so conditioning with sugar seems like it would just leak out all the CO2 unless you first used a shot of CO2 to ensure a good seal - sort of defeating the purpose of saving bottled CO2.

Right now I condition at about 80 degrees so I give the kegs a few blasts of C02 to purge the oxygen out and then pressurize it to about 30 psi. After that the sugar and the yeast complete the process.

shortyjacobs · 09-10-2010, 10:04 PM

Then you're probably fine. Slightly higher risk not boiling, and slightly longer conditioning time because the sugar isn't dissolved immediately, but no big deal.