Bottling question...

damnyankee said:

My question is, won't the priming sugar be more concentrated on the bottom and ultimately the first bottles to be filled get more priming sugar than the last ones to be filled?

Click to expand...

damnyankee said:

Hi Guys,

Next Monday, I'll be bottling my first batch of homebrew (extract; 5 gallons).

My directions say to take the priming sugar, boil it, cool it down, and then add to the bottling pail/carboy. My question is, won't the priming sugar be more concentrated on the bottom and ultimately the first bottles to be filled get more priming sugar than the last ones to be filled?

In my mind, I would think each bottle should get injected with the same amount of priming sugar (calculate how many teaspoon(s) of priming sugar/water should go in each bottle), put that amount in the bottle, add the beer, cap, then set aside to condition.

Can you provide some guidance?

Thanks in advance!

DY

Click to expand...

damnyankee said:

Hi Guys,

Next Monday, I'll be bottling my first batch of homebrew (extract; 5 gallons).

My directions say to take the priming sugar, boil it, cool it down, and then add to the bottling pail/carboy. My question is, won't the priming sugar be more concentrated on the bottom and ultimately the first bottles to be filled get more priming sugar than the last ones to be filled?

In my mind, I would think each bottle should get injected with the same amount of priming sugar (calculate how many teaspoon(s) of priming sugar/water should go in each bottle), put that amount in the bottle, add the beer, cap, then set aside to condition.

Can you provide some guidance?

Thanks in advance!

DY

Click to expand...

Uneven carbonation is simply a matter of not enough time. The sugar solution integrates itself pretty well when you rack (despite what many new brewers may believe)
BUT, just a tiny difference in temps between bottles in storage can affect the yeasties, speed them up or slow them down. Like if you store them in a closet against a warm wall, the beers closest to the heat source may be a tad warmer than those further way, so thy may carb/condition at slightly different rates. I usually store a batch in 2 seperate locations in my loft 1 case in my bedroom which is a little warmer, and the other in the closet in the lving room, which being in a larger space is a tad cooler, at least according to the thermostat next to that closet. It can be 5-10 degrees warmer in my bedroom. So I usually start with that case at three weeks. Giving the other half a little more time.

Each little bottle is a seperate microcosm, so they will react slightly different to each other. But usually they all will balance out given enough time.

But really with time all the bottles in a batch will carb up...

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

I explain this and more, in my blog, here Revvy's Blog, Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning.

Uneven carbonation is simply a matter of not enough time. The sugar solution integrates itself pretty well when you rack (despite what many new brewers may believe)

If a beer isn't carbed by "x number of weeks" you just have to give them ore time. If you added your sugar, then the beer will carb up eventually, it's really a foolroof process. All beers will carb up eventually. A lot of new brewers think they have to "troubleshoot" a bottling issue, when there really is none, the beer knows how to carb itself. In fact if you run beersmiths carbing calculator, some lower grav beers don't even require additional sugar to reach their minimum level of carbonation. Just time.

Click to expand...

damnyankee said:

Thanks for all your help!

I work at a hospital with patients so I can purchase 30cc or even 60cc sterile syringes for cheap (they can probably be purchased at an area home healthcare store as well). Drawing up the priming sugar solution and injecting "x" cc(s) into each bottle would be a piece of cake. Come to think of it, I could use my surgical stainless steel hemostats for my clamping needs - and they're a piece of cake to sterilize.

DY

Click to expand...