Didn't stir priming sugar... pour back and rebottle or hope for the best?

I read some posts that said the sugar would get stirred in while siphoning into the bucket. Tasted the last 8 oz of the bucket and it was way too sweet. I know this can be a recipe for bottle bombs.

So the question is: do I pour all the bottles back, rebottle and deal with that huge amount of oxidization? Or should I just hope that it was reasonably mixed in to most of the bottles with one or two bottle bombs?

Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks,
Matt

As long as your beer was done fermenting, you should be fine. Bottle bombs usually happen when people have an infection or bottle too early. Although your bottles will be unevenly carbonated, it will be hard to tell the difference in most of them. I didn't stir my priming sugar for the first year I was brewing, and never had a problem.

Are you sure the fermentation was finished? Perhaps the wort was sweet because it wasn't done yet? Did you just add the sugar to the bucket dry or did you mix up a solution?

johnnyspade said:

Are you sure the fermentation was finished? Perhaps the wort was sweet because it wasn't done yet? Did you just add the sugar to the bucket dry or did you mix up a solution?

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Thanks for your quick responses. I didn't measure original and final gravity, but it was in the primary for 3 weeks and had no airlock activity (I know that's not a true indicator).

I added 2 cups of water and DME that had been boiled for 20 mins.

Edit: 8 oz DME, 5 gal batch

Suthrncomfrt1884 said:

As long as your beer was done fermenting, you should be fine. Bottle bombs usually happen when people have an infection or bottle too early. Although your bottles will be unevenly carbonated, it will be hard to tell the difference in most of them. I didn't stir my priming sugar for the first year I was brewing, and never had a problem.

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Thanks, this makes me feel better. I was really close to dumping them all back in the bucket. I'll still take precautions though.

Did you add the priming sugar to the bottling bucket before or after the beer? If before, your fine. If after, hope for the best! But in no way would I decant, clean and resanitize everything on a hunch.
Cheers
Jay

Jaybird said:

Did you add the priming sugar to the bottling bucket before or after the beer? If before, your fine. If after, hope for the best! But in no way would I decant, clean and resanitize everything on a hunch.
Cheers
Jay

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Thanks Jay, it was before the beer.

You're probably fine. The swirling of the racking beer mixed the sugar. Probably the reason you are tasting sweetness is the malt character of the beer, which I've found tends to be more pronounced before the beer is carbonated.

There was about an ounce of liquid in the bottom of the bottling bucket that was syrupy and tasted like DME. I am pretty sure there will varying carbonation, but we'll see. Will definitely stir next time.

matts said:

I read some posts that said the sugar would get stirred in while siphoning into the bucket. Tasted the last 8 oz of the bucket and it was way too sweet. I know this can be a recipe for bottle bombs.

So the question is: do I pour all the bottles back, rebottle and deal with that huge amount of oxidization? Or should I just hope that it was reasonably mixed in to most of the bottles with one or two bottle bombs?

Suggestions? Advice?

Thanks,
Matt

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Should be fine, if a little unevenly carbed.

I recommend from now on that you boil the priming sugar in a 2-4 cups of water and pour that into your bottling bucket, then rack from your fermenter directly into the priming solution. This sanitizes the sugar, mixes the solution evenly and minimizes aeration of your wort.

You might consider bottle conditioning in a container of some kind (e.g. big tupperware tub with lid) just in case. I plan on doing this just so that if/when I do get a bottle bomb it will be easy to clean up.

matts said:

Thanks Jay, it was before the beer.

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Your fine.. Leave it and make sure on the next batch you stir for no less than 1 min. But you put the priming sugar in and let the beer stir it, thats a heck of alot better then putting it in after and then bottling! You would be toast for sure!
Cheers
Jay

Agreed on the fact that you are fine.

Adding the priming solution to the bottom of the bottling bucket before transferring (as putting it on the bottom after transferring would be hilariously difficult) is the ideal way to do it. Evenly mixes the sugar without adding much air. Unless the bucket sat for a long while before you bottled you are fine. And if it is uneven carbing, best to just leave it be than to risk oxygenating the beer by pouring everything back out.

Now, if you had forgotten to add the sugar all together, now THAT is a different story. I had done that once, got 6 bottles filled before I noticed the pot of sugar water sitting next to me.

Tall_Yotie said:

Adding the priming solution to the bottom of the bottling bucket before transferring (as putting it on the bottom after transferring would be hilariously difficult) is the ideal way to do it.

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dancness said:

You're probably fine. The swirling of the racking beer mixed the sugar. Probably the reason you are tasting sweetness is the malt character of the beer, which I've found tends to be more pronounced before the beer is carbonated.

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+1

Also, in addition to the malty sweetness, it is surprising how sweet the priming sugar makes beer taste, even if it is an IPA or IIPA - the small addition of the priming sugar makes it taste oddly sweet. Don't worry about it - the yeast will do their job and you'll have some great beer in a few weeks!

Thanks everyone. You were right. I'm about 1/2 thru the batch and they all turned out fine!

what was your FG?

I actually didn't measure it. I had underestimated my boil volume and ended up at least 1/2 gal short and I didn't want to waste any with a hydrometer reading. I also had forgotten to take an OG reading.

The batch I did after this was my first time measuring OG and FG. I have a refractometer now and it's great!

I bottled a pale ale three days ago and did the same thing, HOWEVER, I didn't have my tube at the bottom of the bucket. The end of my siphon tube was clipped on at the top of my bucket...so no "swirling action."

Do you think I'm okay. I was also considering decanting, stirring and re-bottling today.

If this thread does nothing else, it should reassure you that everything is ok!

Yeah, I would think that since it was clipped to the top, the falling action of the beer would stir the priming sugar. You probably got a lot of aeration though, but it should be fine. I still wore safety goggles when opening my first 15 or so bottles, just to be sure.

Just to be safe, you can leave them to condition in the tub/shower of your spare bathroom if you have one...

Germelli1 said:

If this thread does nothing else, it should reassure you that everything is ok!

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This.^ I was a consummate worrier until I realized how easy it really is to not completely f**k up a beer. (Yes, it's a generalization, but if that really isn't the case, then I've had some damn good luck in the last 2 years!)

matts said:

I still wore safety goggles when opening my first 15 or so bottles, just to be sure.

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LMAO! I don't think I was even wearing pants during the opening of my first 15!

Ha! No pants? Reminds me of the first couple episodes of "Breaking Bad."

The aeration comment brings me to another question. I know it's supposed to be bad for the beer at this stage, but why? It seems from comments I've read that you want aeration before pitching your yeast.

This is only my sixth batch of beer, but I have siphoned them all this way, with the end of the tube clipped to the top. Just wondering how my beer might be different if the tube had been at the bottom.

I know the motto is RDWHAHB, but at roughly $50.00 a batch, I'd like to get it right!

The yeast need oxygen in their reproductive stage, the first 10-16 hours of fermentation. They use it up in this stage and will use all of it in the beer. Any oxygen you introduce after that stage with oxygenate your beer. In most cases it lends a slightly metallic type taste, but in extreme cases it makes it taste like cardboard.