Two questions before bottling

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

thakoolaidkid

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
75
Reaction score
1
Location
Shelton, CT
My first brew, a Brooklyn Brown Ale clone, has now been in the primary for one week. I am going to wait until Tuesday (Day 9) and do a gravity reading. If I am close to the final gravity I believe I will go directly to bottling rather than move to a secondary for my first brew.

What does everyone use for a container to check gravity? My first time I attempted to use a pint glass but I did not take out enough to get an accurate reading, plus I felt like I was wasting a good amount of beer. I've thought about using the tube that the hydrometer came in but I am not sure if that would give me an accurate reading seeing as how small it is. So, again, if I could get some examples or suggestions of what you use I would appreciate it.

So my plan is, if I reach a close enough FG, to siphon from the primary to the bottling bucket, and then to add the priming sugar. After adding the priming sugar I assume you need to stir the beer somewhat vigorously to evenly spread the sugar, correct? And then from there I will bottle and wait.

At what temp do you all leave your beers once you have bottled? Is it really necessary to watch the temp that closely once you have bottled?
 
Get a hydrometer cylinder to float it in or use the tube the hydrometer came in. A glass will waste too much. Let it sit at least 2 weeks in the primary, 3 is better.

DO NOT STIR the sugar in. Boil 1.5 cups of water with the sugar. when it is cool put it in the bottom of a bottling bucket and siphon the beer to it with a little splashing as possible. The beer will mix just fine by it self. NEVER stir it vigorously at this stage. You do not want to put any O2 in to the beer.

So, lets recap.
Get a graduated cylinder to float the hydrometer
DO NOT STIR the beer
put the sugar and water in the bottom of a bottling bucket and rack the beer on top of it with no splashing.
 
Get a hydrometer cylinder to float it in or use the tube the hydrometer came in. A glass will waste too much. Let it sit at least 2 weeks in the primary, 3 is better.

DO NOT STIR the sugar in. Boil 1.5 cups of water with the sugar. when it is cool put it in the bottom of a bottling bucket and siphon the beer to it with a little splashing as possible. The beer will mix just fine by it self. NEVER stir it vigorously at this stage. You do not want to put any O2 in to the beer.

So, lets recap.
Get a graduated cylinder to float the hydrometer
DO NOT STIR the beer
put the sugar and water in the bottom of a bottling bucket and rack the beer on top of it with no splashing.

+1 to this info. At least 2 weeks in primary, 3 weeks will really help clear it up. I have heard of people putting their hydrometer directly into the primary if using a bucket. Just make sure it's sanitized. But do get yourself a graduated tube to use with the hydrometer. Much easier and less risky and minimal waste. Also a turkey baster to get the beer from bucket to the tube.
 
You can use the tube the hydrometer came in with no problems. If you want an excuse to buy more equpiment then yes get the flask but otherwise the cylinder is fine.
+1 on siphoning on top of the boiled corn sugar. the swirling should take care of mixing for you.
If you take a reading and the SG is close then let it sit for another week or so. 9-10 Days is, IMHO, not long enough in the primary. If you aren't going to secondary then let it sit regardless of the SG readings.
 
The easiest way for me to check the SG is to use a sanitized turkey baster and fill the hydrometer test jar. They sell a wine thief just for this purpose, and those are nice, if you want to purchase one. I'm still using my dollar store turkey baster, though.
 
Thank you all for your input. I just checked my hydrometer tube with some water and it held tight so I think I will use that until I can get a graduated cylinder. I just wanted to double check and see if anyone has used a floating hydro like mine and if they found it to be accurate. My phone camera kinda sucks but it's the best I have at the moment:

1102081917.jpg
 
Yes, that looks pretty typical. Does it have different scales on it- the Balling/Brix, potential alcohol, and specific gravity? Those are called "triple scale hydrometers" and go from about .990 to 1.130 or so. Those are typically what homebrewers use.
 
Yes, that looks pretty typical. Does it have different scales on it- the Balling/Brix, potential alcohol, and specific gravity? Those are called "triple scale hydrometers" and go from about .990 to 1.130 or so. Those are typically what homebrewers use.

Yep, sounds like it's an exact match to what you described. I'm glad to see I stumbled onto the right equipment unknowingly.
 
Also, after reading the replies here and on the sticky about "Primary to Secondary", I have decided to leave the brew alone until this weekend before doing a hydro check and (possibly/hopefully) bottling.
 
With regard to stirring, I stir GENTLY after ever 10-12 bottles. I used to get uneven carbonation from bottle to bottle, but using this method I haven't had a problem yet. I also rack onto cooled sugar in the bottling bucket to mix it in first.
 
I'm the new guy 'round these parts so I prefer to read rather than type. But I gotta say this because this is what I did a few nights ago.

The big guys around here recommend John Palmer's book. He says to do what you guys have mentioned, or you can do this:

2b. If you don't have a bottling bucket, open the fermenter and gently pour the priming solution into the beer. Stir the beer gently with a sanitized spoon, trying to mix it in evenly while being careful not to stir up the sediment too much. Wait a half hour for the sediment to settle back down and to allow more diffusion of the priming solution to take place. Use a bottle filler attachment with the siphon to make the filling easier.


Now, are you guys saying he's wrong? Because if so then I'll stop doing that. But I thought that this guy was supposed to be the best...?

WW
 
I'm the new guy 'round these parts so I prefer to read rather than type. But I gotta say this because this is what I did a few nights ago.

The big guys around here recommend John Palmer's book. He says to do what you guys have mentioned, or you can do this:

2b. If you don't have a bottling bucket, open the fermenter and gently pour the priming solution into the beer. Stir the beer gently with a sanitized spoon, trying to mix it in evenly while being careful not to stir up the sediment too much. Wait a half hour for the sediment to settle back down and to allow more diffusion of the priming solution to take place. Use a bottle filler attachment with the siphon to make the filling easier.


Now, are you guys saying he's wrong? Because if so then I'll stop doing that. But I thought that this guy was supposed to be the best...?

WW

I've only heard of moving from the primary to the secondary. But this is also my first brew.
 
Its not wrong, but its less than best. As he said "IF you do not have a bucket". You can also rack it back to the primary with the sugar water in the bottom. Then siphon from the primary. Also John says GENTLY the op was talking about VIGOROUSLY.
 
Fair enough, I also stirred gently. I was actually wondering if stirring it gently is enough to diffuse the sugar evenly through the primary. I know next to nothing about chemistry, and was worried about getting some bottles with too much sugar in them.

WW
 
Fair enough, I also stirred gently. I was actually wondering if stirring it gently is enough to diffuse the sugar evenly through the primary. I know next to nothing about chemistry, and was worried about getting some bottles with too much sugar in them.

WW

Myself and my friends who brew all stir the priming sugar in gently. It's not so fast to even whip up one bubble on the surface or even create a vortex in the mix. I'll also will end up mixing in the sugar and leave it sit in there to diffuse while we get other things setup. For me this involves moving a table, stealing my drum throne to sit on, and putting together the hose and bottling spigot. Also a good time to grab a beer before you start. Just put the bucket lid on the bucket while you're doing anything to make sure any bad guys from the air don't land in your beer.
 
Back
Top