Bulk Priming, To Stir or Not To Stir?

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xinunix

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Bottling my second batch tonight and I have a couple of questions about the process from my first batch that I would like to get answered:

1) When you bottle, do you put the dissolved priming sugar water in your bottling bucket before, after or during transfer of the beer?
2) After racking do you stir your beer to evenly distribute priming sugar?
3) Any concerns of the stirring process oxidizing the beer?

Thanks!
 
1) Priming sugar, in water first. Rack the beer onto it.

2) Yes, gently.

3) Nope, so long as your gentle.
 
One more thing to add to ChshreCat...

Although I have never had an issue... it can't hurt to boil the sugar/water mix a little before dumping it in the priming bucket. I just use an Erlenmeyer flask to do so.

I know that some folks add half the priming solution before adding the beer and the other half after you have racked over the beer to the bottling bucket. IN either case be sure to GENTLY stir the solution because that thick sugar water will settle to the bottom of the bucket.

Your beer should not get oxidized because you are initiating fermentation and the yeast should eat through most of the o2 in the bottle.
 
One more thing to add to ChshreCat...

Although I have never had an issue... it can't hurt to boil the sugar/water mix a little before dumping it in the priming bucket. I just use an Erlenmeyer flask to do so.

Ahh, I took that as a given. I just do mine in a saucepan on the stove. Boiling the water will also drive out dissolved O2.
 
I do the same as above. Boil sugar and water on stove top for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool while I prep and sanitize bottling equipment. Pour half in bottling bucket, start racking beer, pour other half in about halfway threw racking, gently stir, then bottle. The key is gently stirring as not to oxidize.
 
I usually boil the priming sugar in 2c water for 5 min in a small sauce pan, then cool in a cold water bath with the lid on. Once the sol'n is cooled, I slowly pour (all of it) it into the bottling bucket and begin racking. Make sure your transfer tubing is long enough so that the outlet is right at the bottom of the bucket, so some of the tubing starts to curl along the bottom of the bucket. This way, as the beer comes out it creates a gentle circlular swirling that will mix in the priming sugar solution. I've never stirred and never had a problem with my method above, though I don't see a problem with stirring so long as its gentle.

Primary: none
Bottled: AHS Holiday Ale, NB Cream Ale
As soon as I have time: AHS Southern English Brown, Edwort's Apfelwein
 
I usually boil the priming sugar in 2c water for 5 min in a small sauce pan, then cool in a cold water bath with the lid on. Once the sol'n is cooled, I slowly pour (all of it) it into the bottling bucket and begin racking. Make sure your transfer tubing is long enough so that the outlet is right at the bottom of the bucket, so some of the tubing starts to curl along the bottom of the bucket. This way, as the beer comes out it creates a gentle circlular swirling that will mix in the priming sugar solution. I've never stirred and never had a problem with my method above, though I don't see a problem with stirring so long as its gentle.

That's exactly what I've always done. I've never stirred (one less thing to sanitize) but always had perfect distribution of the priming sugar.
 
I'm with Yooper, I don't stir afterward and have never had a problem with even carbonation on my beers.

Step 1: Definitely add the sugar water to the bottling bucket before racking beer. The others, stir, don't stir, both are fine but from what I've read you'd have to do some serious stirring to oxidize the beer so you are fine either way. :mug:
 
Same here - it goes into the bottling bucket before the beer, and I don't stir. Just siphoning the beer from the fermenter into the bucket seems to be enough mixing.
 
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