adding priming sugar

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idkid

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i've read that once you rack to secondary...you can let the beer sit for a few weeks, then siphon back into the bottling bucket (original primary?)...i would assume that the siphoning into the bottling bucket is done the same as primary to secondary..if this is the case then you would siphon with the lid on both buckets...now...i've read that you should boil your priming sugar, cool it, and then mix it into the bottling bucket...my problem is, how do you get the priming sugar water into the priming bucket??? opening the top and pouring it it would seem to be a potential contamination hazard...how do you all do it???
 
orfy said:
RDWHAHB!

Making beer is all about reducing hazards to your beer, you cannot 100% eliminating them.

Just do what you need to do and relax.
Exactly. You won't hurt your beer by removing the lid to add your priming sugar.
 
everybody tells me to put my sugar solution in before i siphon my beer. i am bottling my first batch next weekend . so let me know how yours came out
 
attitude said:
everybody tells me to put my sugar solution in before i siphon my beer. i am bottling my first batch next weekend . so let me know how yours came out
While most instructions say to do it this way the rebel in me does different.

Once I rack to my bottling bucket I know what my bottling volume will be. That determines how much primg sugar I use. I know there's probably not much difference and I shouldn't worry about it to much, but sometimes I brew more than 5 gals and use more.
 
I do it the same way as HB99 because I boil my primer and can't be arsed waiting for it to cool. If I put it in first then I'll be heating the first part of the syphon too much,
 
orfy said:
I do it the same way as HB99 because I boil my primer and can't be arsed waiting for it to cool. I I put it in first then I'll be heating the first part of the syphon too much,
Me too!!! It has worked everytime. Relax is good advice!!!:)
 
idkid said:
i've read that once you rack to secondary...you can let the beer sit for a few weeks, then siphon back into the bottling bucket (original primary?)...i would assume that the siphoning into the bottling bucket is done the same as primary to secondary..if this is the case then you would siphon with the lid on both buckets...now...i've read that you should boil your priming sugar, cool it, and then mix it into the bottling bucket...my problem is, how do you get the priming sugar water into the priming bucket??? opening the top and pouring it it would seem to be a potential contamination hazard...how do you all do it???

Call me crazy, but I have never once had the lid on my fermenter when racking to secondary or on my bottling bucket during bottling and I have never had a problem with contamination.

I just pour the cooled priming solution into the bottling bucket and rack on top of it to ensure a reasonable mix.
 
I do the same thing as TJD. I boil up my primer, whatever it might be, with about a pint or so of water, then let it cool just a bit, then start siphoning into my bottling bucket. Once I get it going smoothly, I add the priming sugar and let the siphoning beer mix it in there. I put the lid on the bottling bucket after I'm done siphoning. I've had zero problems with contamination in five batches.
 
I dumped my sugar water into the bottling bucket after racking the beer over once, and I had inconsistent carbonation in that batch. Maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe it didn't get mixed in well enough. I don't take any chances anymore, I rack onto my sugar water.
Oh, and I never put a lid on my bottling bucket, so you can relax as far as that goes :)
 
Wolf said:
I dumped my sugar water into the bottling bucket after racking the beer over once, and I had inconsistent carbonation in that batch. Maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe it didn't get mixed in well enough. I don't take any chances anymore, I rack onto my sugar water.
Oh, and I never put a lid on my bottling bucket, so you can relax as far as that goes :)


Yeah this can happen. I had it happen to me once. Some bottles were nicely carbonated, others just barely. Since then I have payed more attention to properly incorporating the priming solution. Fwiw, some styles I just prime in the primary bucket and then siphon off.
 
How cool does the priming sugar need to be before adding it to the bottling bucket? The instructions I have is to boil it for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and let cool. Doesn't get anymore specific than that!
 
IFlyEm said:
How cool does the priming sugar need to be before adding it to the bottling bucket? The instructions I have is to boil it for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and let cool. Doesn't get anymore specific than that!

I try to get my simple syrup down below 100 before racking the beer into it, after all it's only 2 cups of heat to 5 gallons of 60 something degree beer so that volume will cool it down pretty quick as it swirls in.
 
I actually don't cool mine down at all, instead I drizzle in a little here and a little there. I never put it into the fermenter but instead add it to my bottling bucket and stir. I don't want to loose any priming sugar either!
 
How cool does the priming sugar need to be before adding it to the bottling bucket? The instructions I have is to boil it for 5 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and let cool. Doesn't get anymore specific than that!

I don't let mine cool, because I add it to my bottling bucket, and then start siphoning the beer. Sure, it's hot at first but within a minute the cool (65 degree) beer mixes in with the priming sugar and it's fine. You can cool it more if you want, but since it's only a couple of cups it really doesn't matter a bit.
 

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