Sufficient mixing of sugar?

I haven't bottled in awhile because I started kegging. But I bottled a few nights ago because I didn't have free kegs.

I poured the sugar/water mixture into the bottom of my bottling bucket and racked the beer on top. I stirred a bit the the racking tube...But I'm not sure if thats sufficient to mix the sugar thoroughly.

I bottled two nights ago, so it is probably too early for bottle bombs, but I'm worried the last bottles I did will be undercarbed.

Is racking on top and minimal stirring sufficient to mix the sugar/water mixture?

marking this thread for my own education, as im a week from bottling my first brew ever, and ive heard both putting the sugar into each bottle by hand then filling, and ive also heard of diluting the sugar in water and mixing it in the bottle bucket before you bottle. so i hope to get good answers here.

When I used to bottle I would boil a sugar water sollution and then pour it into my bottling bucket. Then rack the beer into the bucket. The hose sat at the bottom of the bucket to reduce aeration, and it also acted to stir / whirlpool the mixture pretty well. After 5 gallons flowed into the bucket, it clearly had a lot of movement in it. I never once had a bottle bomb. If you had some mixing action during the racking process, you'll be golden.
-Kevin

The complete joy of home brewing says to put the sugar mixture on the bottom of the bottling bucket and rack on top and that the flow will sufficiently mix the solution. With that being said the first time I bottled I did this and ended up with some flat brew and a few bottle bombs so I always gently stir after racking and haven't had a problem since. Oh and relax have a homebrew.

I always rack my beer to the bottling bucket to get an accurate measurement, then weigh and add my priming mixture. I have a ling stainless spoon and carefully mix in the sugar. I let it rest while I use the vinator to sanitize my bottle. It mixes up fine and have never had any issues. I think adding it to the bottom of the bucket would work just fine.

I have never stirred, just put the sugar water in the bucket and rack on top of it. I have never had a bottle bomb or an unevenly carbed batch.

No harm in stirring it as long as you stir gently and are careful not to introduce oxygen into the beer, but I have never found it necessary.

I think you are much more likely to get a bottle bomb from poor sanitation than from over priming.

As an extra measure, I make an estimate of how many bottles I'm going to fill, half fill most of the bottles in a first run and then go back and top up the bottles in a second run in the same order. I only use 750mL (25oz?) bottles and would imagine this would be more onerous if using 350mL bottles.

My method has been to pour boiled sugar water on beer in the bottling bucket, do gentle hour glass swirls with the bottling wand to mix and leave it for half an hour or so to mix properly (while I carry on with other prep).

I can't pour the sugar mix into the bottling bucket before racking the beer into it because I need to know how much beer there is to prime in order to use the right amount of sugar - chicken & egg problem In some cases I do know exactly how much beer to prime so do the sugar in first option then.

I do wonder though how much time would be enough for beer and sugar solution to mix sufficiently through gentle stirring as you would want to minimise the amount of time the beer is exposed to oxygen.

so tomorrow will be a week in the bottle... am i supposed to see anything? bubbles? some sort of action? also i have a huge family party tomorrow night, ca i pop one to let folks sample? or would it be a waste? do i need to have it in the fridge before?

ive never bottled a beer before, so im sort of in the dark on time line of events and expectations exct.

It should show you signs in a week. You can pop a top to see, but I usually wait about a month. The beer really improves.

You can open one... but it wont be ready yet... it'll likely taste fine but seem overly foamy and then surprisingly flat.

I siphon about a 1/2 to a gallon of beer into the bucket to get a whirlppol going ang slowly pour in 1/2 of the sugar solution. When I have about one more gallon to go I slowly add the rest of the sugar. When it's all in the bucket I give it a stir or two and wait a few minutes.

I figure there is enough residual CO2 in the beer to keep out oxygen and to be sure I use oxygen absorbing caps. Never had a problem, even before using the oxy-caps.

bosco

As long as you have the sugar completely dissolved, racking your beer on to your sugar/water solution will work just fine. This is the only way I have ever done it and I have never had a bottle bomb, nor have I ever had a beer that wasn't carbonated. Just give it time!