How long is too long after mixing priming sugar?

I've recently turned one of my best friends on to homebrew. He came over to help me bottle my last batch and really seemed to enjoy it. He's offered to help with any future batches. I guess the fact that I kept him pumped full of frothy goodness doesn't hurt either...or does it?

I was filling the bottles and he was capping them. Needless to say, it took us quite a bit longer than it normally takes me to bottle alone. I'd say that it took anywhere from 30-45 minutes from pitch to filling the last bottle. It is possible that it took longer...we were kind of at the time.

Other than the additional risk of contamination, could waiting that long have affected the carbonation? Will there be any difference between the first and last bottles?

These are all intended as Christmas gifts. I only had two bottles left for myself to test carbonation with. I just don't want to give flat beer away, ya know.

No impact, it takes several days to a week or more for the yeast to carbonate. As long as the batch was well mixed, the carbonation should be the same.

I would be more concerned about how well the caps were seated.

Carbonation levels should be fine. I am one of the types that fills all bottles before capping any of them, plus I like to wait for the CO2 production to really get rolling before I seal them up. I wait until the caps jiggle around on top of the bottle before crimping them on.

It's probably an hour at least between the time I add the sugar to the time I cap the bottles.

-walker

Cool, that makes me feel much better. I had him practice on a few empty bottles first. I also had him place the caps on the bottles rather than sticking them to the magnet, just to make sure they were seated.

I've got a funny story about that night too. Before priming, I filled my tube and took my hydrometer reading. After that I took a sip and offered a sip to my buddy. I explained not to get too excited as it was warm and flat. The look on his face was priceless. Needless to say, he drank a pint glass of the stuff after all of the gift bottles were full. I guess he liked it...too bad I could only send him home with one bottle from this batch.