Priming directly in bottles question (need to do it that way)

[kef300]

A few weeks back I had posted a thread wondering why my Amber Ale, which I added vanilla root to, had never carbonated. I added the priming solution to my bottling bocket, just as I had before, but the beer never carbonated. Some suggested the priming solution might have not been mixed evenly, leading to some over carbonated bottles. However, none of the bottles I have opened had any carbonation at all. Still confused.

However, as an experiment, we added a couple of drops of honey to a bottle and recapped it. We opened it a couple of weeks later and, voilá: foam. I did notice that the beer now had additional sediment, somewhat "powdery" and did not look like suspended yeast. I'm thinking that was from the honey. Also, when my girlfriend added the honey as a trial, she didn't sanitize anything. So now I want to add sugar to the remaining bottles to have something that's drinkable.

I have about 45 bottles left. How should I prepare the priming solution and how should I distribute it to the bottles? I know this is not the ideal method, but transferring the beer back to a bottling bucket seems like a bad idea due to oxidation.

My intention, for sanitation and oxidation purposes, is to boil the priming solution, and then, for each bottle: open, quickly add priming solution in the proper dosage and quickly recap (with sanitized caps), then continue to the next bottle and so on.

What do you guys suggest?

 

[Paradigm]

Not much experience here, grain of salt, etc etc, but...

If these are your only options I'd say slowly pour every bottle out, mix in the priming solution and re-bottle. Individual bottling, from all accounts I've read, is frustrating and difficult to do well.

 

[tootal]

I would get some of the carbonation sugar pills on the market. They make different sizes and you add 2 or 3 to a bottle and recap. No mess and easy. We carbed like this all the time when we bottled and it worked better than other methods.

 

[ncbrewer]

When I was having trouble with my capper not sealing well, I opened several bottles and re-primed with dry sugar. It worked well for most of them, but some turned sour. So, based on my experience, I like your idea of boiling the priming solution. And be absolutely sure there's no fermentable sugar left so you don't get bottle bombs. I'll also pass along that adding the dry sugar was difficult - I got quite a bit of foam when I added it. Hopefully this won't be a problem with the priming solution idea.

Edit: Tootal responded while I was typing - I like his idea.

 

[Darwin18]

OP - I believe this is what you're looking for: http://home-brewing.northernbrewer.com/brewbeer/Carbonation-Drops

I would be cautious adding more sugar for priming. Your priming did go somewhere, after all, and adding more sugar ontop of it is increasing your chances of bottle bombs. I've used the carbonation drops in the past and they worked alright.

 

[dkevinb]

I've successfully added dry sugar to each bottle. You can also use the priming tablets, like Fizz Drops or Prime Dose Capsules.

 

[cluckk]

Use the things Darwin18 pointed out. At this point you only want to get some head (wait that didn't sound right). I mean you want your beer to carbonate, without bottle bombs or bug farms. Don't pour it back in the bucket, that will increase the likelihood of oxidation.

Open each, drop in the amount the instructions tell you, recap.

 

[kef300]

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to go with the carbonation drops and see how it goes.

 

[Bob750]

Thanks guys! I think I'm going to go with the carbonation drops and see how it goes.

So how did it go?!

Yesterday I opened a bottle from my first-ever batch after 7 days conditioning to test it out. (I got (8) 12-oz bottles out of a 1-gallon batch of a Pliny clone from NB.)

It was flat and young still, but okay taste wise. I then discovered that the Abita bottles I reused have a top that doesn't permit my Blue Emily to fully crimp the caps. I just tested the remaining 7 bottles in the sink with warm water, and all but 2 emitted bubbles from the cap. :-( So I put one of the 2 in the fridge to taste-test it in a bit and it hopefully will have bubbles. The other of the 2 non-leakers I'm letting condition for another 2 weeks. But there are 5 remaining with leaky caps...

What to do? I don't really want to write them off. So I'm thinking of very carefully re-bottling them. I plan to chill them down as cold as I can get them, sanitize and chill some long-necks (which is all I'll use from now on), and then one at a time, swirl the yeast back into suspension, open the poorly sealed bottle, slowly pour it into a new bottle and then cap it with a new sanitized cap, this time getting a good seal.

Would adding a new fizz-drop (which is how these were initially primed) to each new bottle hopefully allow the beer to fully carbonate? Any other recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[shortyz]

whats the abv?

7 days after adding hop drops is probably not gonna cut it. if the abv is high it could take a month. Standard brews usually take 2-3 weeks to really get there.

i would not suggest adding anything else to that brew bcs later on they could explode. Dont rush carbonation, it will only end up hurting you or your beer.

 

[Bob750]

Thanks for the reply, shortyz.

Do I understand you correctly that you suggest that I re-bottle the leaky-cap bottles without new fizz drops? In other words, there is still enough "carbonation power" left in the beer to properly carbonate even if the 1st week's CO2 is gone?

I just tested one of the non-leaky-cap bottles, it opens with a "PFFFT" and had a thin head and nice fine bubbles riding up the glass. So I know with time this beer will achieve a good level of carbonation, assuming the cap is tight enough to contain the pressure. But these other five bottles (like the one I opened yesterday) will not ever carbonate properly because the caps are not tight. I know now this is due to the shape of the bottles I used.

FLAT:
https://goo.gl/photos/Ho6Hkt59XQTiC46UA

Not Flat:
https://goo.gl/photos/r9jRAHP1mN1b6ork6

I propped up a stubby bottle (on right) to the same level of a long-neck (on left) to compare the tops. The design of the short fat bottle (from Abita, but similar to others) doesn't allow the butterfly capper to fully crimp the cap, leading to a less than tight seal.
https://goo.gl/photos/EiafoU1EcyUr7F878

EDIT: I don't know the ABV, because I'm just starting out and have not yet ordered my hydrometer. I'm getting the lab grade set in my next order, because I now see the need and benefit. But for reference, the kit suggested the wort OG should be 1.070. I pitched 2/3 of a packet of US-05 for the gallon batch.

 

[burnthesheep]

I saw something in here about re-using commercial bottles. I know some people have success with that but given what I've seen and heard vicariously through others, I'll never do it.

The caps, bottles, and machine at the commercial brewery are made for each other.

I suggest swing top bottles with the replaceable gasket on the tops.

I'm going to try re-using a mini-keg from Bitburger beers I've collected. I figured out a way to get the hermetic seal/rubber cork out and re-use it after a sanitization. I'm willing to bet on losing a gallon and a half if it doesn't work.

 

[LostHopper]

I have had good luck capping bottles from Sam Adams, Deschutes and Dogfish Head. I've also had poor results with short bottles (Boulevard).

Sam Adams labels come off easiest after a short soak in OxyClean and warm water.

 

[Yooper]

I saw something in here about re-using commercial bottles. I know some people have success with that but given what I've seen and heard vicariously through others, I'll never do it.

The caps, bottles, and machine at the commercial brewery are made for each other.

I suggest swing top bottles with the replaceable gasket on the tops.

I'm going to try re-using a mini-keg from Bitburger beers I've collected. I figured out a way to get the hermetic seal/rubber cork out and re-use it after a sanitization. I'm willing to bet on losing a gallon and a half if it doesn't work.

I've only ever used commercial bottles, and bottled about 200 batches without a single issue.

Most bottles are pretty generic, and they cap well.

If you find one kind that doesn't then do use that one kind. But I've used bottles from most breweries in the US that have nice-ish bottles without issue.

Grolsch bottles are fine, if the rubber gasket is in good shape but even they can be problematic if the gasket isn't set right or if it's worn.


Using drops in the leaky capped bottles, and bottling with a new cap, sounds like a good plan. I'd wait at least another week, to ensure the priming sugar is used up before adding them. Also, keep in mind that adding a priming tablet to a beer that may already have some c02 in suspension could create a ton of nucleation points (that is, volcano up on you!) so I'd get them cold, drop them in one at a time, and cap immediately. Then go to the next bottle. That should minimize any foaming.

 

[z-bob]

That's interesting. I bottled some beer last night, mostly in short-neck bottles, and I used a butterfly capper instead of breaking out the bench capper. I had one or two bottles that didn't feel right. I'll have to examine them all tonight and maybe cull my bottles.

BTW, I prime directly into my bottles. One "Domino Dots" sugar cube per 12oz bottle, 2 Dots per 22oz bomber, 2 regular sugar cubes per 1L plastic tonic bottle, and 3/4 tsp of granulated sugar per 500ml European bottle.

 

[BitterSweetBrews]

I have had good luck with all kinds of crimp on bottles. Here is are pictures of three different types with my crimper. It works on all the neck styles.

I bottled these 5 days ago. If you look closely you can see bubbles on the top of the beer. I have never noticed this before. It is a holiday beer, chocolate mint porter.