how long can I leave my beer in the bottling bucket (with sugar)

I need to go get my caper from my pals..... but I'd like to put this ale in a pail... can I leave it there for a few hours with the sugar? before I bottle?



thaks
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I don't see much of a problem of a few hours. But why not wait till you get back from the LHBS. Transfer takes only a few minutes...

If you were talking over night and had already added the sugar I'd say let it ferment out and restart in a few days.

I already have a few cappers. I just need to get them back from the in-laws house... I have 2 small kids and just wanted to get things all setup while they we're alseep...

the 5 year-old helps me.. the 1 year old destroys the process...

I would minimize the time you leave primed beer in the bottling bucket. It'll start fermenting quite quickly, will be exposed to airborne dust (filled with wild yeasts, bacteria, dead skin cells, pet dander, etc), and can get skunked if exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. Oxidation probably isn't too big of an issue if the surface of the liquid is undisturbed, and most of the "living stuff" that's floating around will be killed by the alcohol upon contact, but I'd still avoid letting it sit for longer than your typical bottling session.

A few hours? No, I wouldn't. That beer has billions of yeast cells just dying for a crack at new sugar. I'd get them capped within an hour if you want full carbonation.

It was there for 3.5 hours.. I'll post results..
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timgman said:

It was there for 3.5 hours.. I'll post results..
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Click to expand...

Still waiting on those results.