Bottling directly from the fermenter (Fear of Oxidation by Iron Maiden)

[Halfakneecap]

Thinking about it, caster sugar might be even better since it should dissolve basically instantaneously. Although this method does seem like it could be a bit of a hassle, if I use my precision scale that I use for brewing salt measurements, this could actually work really well.

I just use table sugar. Shake them up once capped. Never had a problem.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

In my experience, table sugar dissolves find without shaking the bottle. And mini-cup cake liners are a good container for measuring the sugar and pouring the sugar into the bottle.

 

[worlddivides]

In my experience, table sugar dissolves find without shaking the bottle. And mini-cup cake liners are a good container for measuring the sugar and pouring the sugar into the bottle.

I was thinking of maybe measuring out 5 bottles' worth of sugar at a time by using the tare function on my precision scale in shot glasses and then pouring the sugar from the shot glasses into an aluminum foil semi-funnel into the bottles like Mashdar suggested. I'd just re-measure the sugar for 5 bottles at a time.

I have five or six different kinds of sugar in my cupboard, but I'm thinking I'll use caster sugar since its main advantage is how quickly it dissolves. I would imagine there would be no need to shake a bottle for any fine sugar to dissolve, but I'd think in particular it'd be unnecessary with caster sugar.

I'm also not planning on cold crashing this time (possibly unnecessary worrying, but zero airlock activity does have me extra worried about potential oxidation), so the 66-68F temperature should also be warm enough for the sugar to dissolve quickly.

 

[BrewZer]

I've thought they might be a good idea for when I transfer beer to a keg and there's maybe 1-2 bottles worth of beer left that won't fit in the keg, but I've never used them before. This might be a good time to use them. I do really like the idea of transferring to a keg (assuming it kicks before I decide to bottle) and then bottling from there, and the idea of just adding priming sugar solution to the fermenter, then bottling from there also sounds okay, but carbonation tablets sound like they might have the lowest risk of oxidation after closed-transfer kegging,

They seem to work for lower gravity beers, but my Black Pearl's Revenge (10+%) didn't carb up as much as I would have liked. I'd add another third to half of a carb tab for higher gravity beers (i.e. 1 1/2 for a 12oz bottle, 2 1/2 or 3 for a 22oz bomber).

 

[worlddivides]

They seem to work for lower gravity beers, but my Black Pearl's Revenge (10+%) didn't carb up as much as I would have liked. I'd add another third to half of a carb tab for higher gravity beers (i.e. 1 1/2 for a 12oz bottle, 2 1/2 or 3 for a 22oz bomber).

This beer will most likely be somewhere between 4.4% and 5.0% ABV depending on the final gravity (I'm guessing around 4.7%). I don't have the carb tablets I'd need to bottle with them, so I'd need to purchase them first if I were to use them.

I was originally leaning towards just boiling some RO water, adding sugar, cooling it down, adding it to the fermenter, swirling it around, waiting 10 minutes, then bottling from that. But I'm thinking I might try dosing each bottle individually with caster sugar. It's an extra step, but since I'm bottling directly from the fermenter and am trying to introduce as little oxygen as possible, it seems like it might be the best option. It's also more precise than carbonation tablets.

EDIT: I just took a look and the krausen is starting to fall in places (leaving "holes" in the krausen at the top), which means fermentation is probably mostly done. Normally I use airlock activity to guess at that, but since there has never been any airlock activity, this is probably the best gauge. Thinking of taking first gravity reading tomorrow.

 

[bike2brew]

I have been bottle carbonating for quite a while now. I have found 3/4 tsp corn sugar to be safe for 12oz bottled light color hopped ales fermented with 05 yeast. I just bottled a brown ale @ 7% fermented with 04 yeast that hasn't carbonated to suit me. Again this was 3/4 tsp same as always. My hypothesis is that 04 flocculated so well that the yeast availability was limited. So perhaps 1 tsp? I have read that table sugar carbonates better. I'm curious to hear from others.

 

[BrewZer]

I'm curious to hear from others.

I've tried DME, table sugar and corn sugar. Of the three, IMHO, corn sugar seems to be the most predictable.

 

[mashdar]

Corn sugar is dextrose (glucose) and is extremely easy for yeast to eat. Cane sugar (sucrose) is a fructose and a glucose stuck together, so it's slightly harder to eat, but still pretty easy. Both should do the job if the yeast is awake.

I have been bottle carbonating for quite a while now. I have found 3/4 tsp corn sugar to be safe for 12oz bottled light color hopped ales fermented with 05 yeast. I just bottled a brown ale @ 7% fermented with 04 yeast that hasn't carbonated to suit me. Again this was 3/4 tsp same as always. My hypothesis is that 04 flocculated so well that the yeast availability was limited. So perhaps 1 tsp? I have read that table sugar carbonates better. I'm curious to hear from others.

I would not try to correct a lack of yeast by adding more priming sugar. But I don't think lack of yeast is the issue?

Residual CO2 is an important factor in bottle priming. Freshly fermented beer can have "extra" CO2 in suspension, similar to how it takes a week for a keg to reach equilibrium. I suspect the 7% brown sat a little longer than other beers? Alcohol also interferes with head retention, and more body/flavor/sweetness could change the perception of carbonation.

In my experience, S-04 is extremely reliable at bottle carbing despite appearing to drop super clear. But I do give bottles at least a month to carb.

 

[bike2brew]

Ok. I am currently 30 days in the bottle, but will continue to monitor as I am no hurry to get results. My immediate next step is to repeat the brew with 05 yeast and same 3/4 tsp corn sugar to see results. Application of the scientific method; results will be same; results will be different.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I'm curious to hear from others.

I would not try to correct a lack of yeast by adding more priming sugar. But I don't think lack of yeast is the issue?

There was a topic here at HomeBrewTalk, within the last 18 months where that OP had a higher ABV (8%+) recipe that didn't carbonate. The solution was to add just fresh bottle conditioning yeast (e.g CBC-1) or wine yeast (e.g EC-1118); bottle condition warm (70F - 75F) if possible; and test the 1st bottle about a week after re-capping.

A scale with 0.01 precision/accuracy or a 1/32 tsp measuring spoon works for measuring the yeast. RiteBrew has EC-1118, CBC-1 is a little harder to find (Williams typically has it, MoreBeer has it at the moment, some east coast online stores stock it also). Tiny measuring spoons are available in sets of 5 (including 1/32 tsp & 1/64 tsp)

Caution: if you are thinking about bottle conditioning using beer yeast, web search thoroughly and think carefully. Fresh beer yeast may ferment some of the complex sugars that the yeast from primary fermentation didn't (potentially yielding gushers, ...).

 

[BrewZer]

Ok. I am currently 30 days in the bottle, but will continue to monitor as I am no hurry to get results. My immediate next step is to repeat the brew with 05 yeast and same 3/4 tsp corn sugar to see results. Application of the scientific method; results will be same; results will be different.

I always bottle some 12oz "samples" so I can check carbonation at the 1-, 2-, and 3-week intervals. If it's not ready, I don't waste a 22oz bomber to figure that out.

 

[worlddivides]

I took a gravity sample. 1.010. I mashed at 153F (67.2C), so I think this very well will be the final gravity, but I'm gonna wait at least another 3 days before bottling. I ended up buying some carb tablets for the first time. So I basically have narrowed it down to 2 options: dosing each bottle with carbonation tablets, or dosing each bottle with caster sugar. Leaning towards the carb tablets, both to see what it's like, and because for what I'm specifically trying to do here, it seems the simplest.

The sample tasted amazing. This might end up being the most "grapefruit" tasting beer I've ever made (Centennial, Cascade, and Azacca).

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

So I basically have narrowed it down to 2 options: dosing each bottle with carbonation tablets, or dosing each bottle with caster sugar. Leaning towards the carb tablets, both to see what it's like, and because for what I'm specifically trying to do here, it seems the simplest.

Or split the bottles into groups: one group with tablets, one with caster sugar, one with ...

 

[worlddivides]

Or split the bottles into groups: one group with tablets, one with caster sugar, one with ...

8 bottles: carbonation tablets
8 bottles: caster sugar
4 bottles: brown sugar
2 bottles: maple syrup
1 bottle: tropical-flavored glucose tablets

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

@worlddivides : nice mix of sugars!

 

[worlddivides]

@worlddivides : nice mix of sugars!

The biggest problem would be keeping track of them (probably paper-style tape on the bottles with abbreviations written on them). In all seriousness, though, I'd probably only do 2 groups: carbonation tablets and caster sugar. While I do think tropical-flavored glucose tablets would definitely have an effect on flavor, I doubt honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar would have an effect on flavor at priming sugar levels.

 

[mashdar]

A sharpie on the cap works pretty well

(edit: if it's dry!)

 

[worlddivides]

A sharpie on the cap works pretty well

(edit: if it's dry!)

That's actually a great point! And the absolutely stupid thing is that I've done that before, though I think the last time I did that was years ago.

That said, I'll need to get a white Sharpie since I use black caps (in the past, when I used a Sharpie, it was a black Sharpie, but it was on silver or bronze-colored caps).

 

[mashdar]

I also use beige masking tape for longer labels. Works great if dry when applied, but even a touch of condensate will keep it from sticking. Once it's on, it's pretty reliable.

 

[worlddivides]

I also use beige masking tape for longer labels. Works great if dry when applied, but even a touch of condensate will keep it from sticking. Once it's on, it's pretty reliable.

Yeah, that was the idea I was thinking of doing, but it seemed both like too much work and the condensation issue is definitely there. Your cap idea completely solves that. Super easy to do and super fast too.

 

[BrewZer]

The biggest problem would be keeping track of them (probably paper-style tape on the bottles with abbreviations written on them). In all seriousness, though, I'd probably only do 2 groups: carbonation tablets and caster sugar. While I do think tropical-flavored glucose tablets would definitely have an effect on flavor, I doubt honey, maple syrup, or brown sugar would have an effect on flavor at priming sugar levels.

Or just different colored caps, if you have 5 of them laying around.

And let's be honest, who doesn't have a few leftover caps of different colors?

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I currently have silver bottle caps and a black "sharpie", but black bottle caps with a while "sharpie" also work.

Typically I write just the batch number on the top of each cap.

But when I'm brewing 'experimentally', I will add a "suffix" to the batch number. The "suffix" can be unique to the batch so I'll put the options in the "brew day" notes.

For a split bottle conditioning 'experiment' with these sugars

​

8 bottles: carbonation tablets​

8 bottles: caster sugar​

4 bottles: brown sugar​

2 bottles: maple syrup​

1 bottle: tropical-flavored glucose tablets​

​

and assuming a batch number of "3", I would use 3t, 3c, 3b, 3m, and 3tr for the bottle cap labels.

Other notations will work as well - as long is one is keeping good notes. For example, start with the batch number and then add check-marks, underlines, "X"s & "O"s, ... to mark the variations on the bottle cap.

 

[worlddivides]

Or just different colored caps, if you have 5 of them laying around.

And let's be honest, who doesn't have a few leftover caps of different colors?

I don't. I only have black caps.

 

[worlddivides]

I currently have silver bottle caps and a black "sharpie", but black bottle caps with a while "sharpie" also work.

Typically I write just the batch number on the top of each cap.

But when I'm brewing 'experimentally', I will add a "suffix" to the batch number. The "suffix" can be unique to the batch so I'll put the options in the "brew day" notes.

For a split bottle conditioning 'experiment' with these sugars

​

​

and assuming a batch number of "3", I would use 3t, 3c, 3b, 3m, and 3tr for the bottle cap labels.

Other notations will work as well - as long is one is keeping good notes. For example, start with the batch number and then add check-marks, underlines, "X"s & "O"s, ... to mark the variations on the bottle cap.

Yeah, I bought a white gel pen yesterday since there weren't any white Sharpies. To test it out, I wrote "Sour IPA" on two bottles of sour IPA in my fridge and "Saison" on a bottle of saison in the fridge. Works nicely.

I'm thinking of just writing "APA" for all of them with the variation written below "APA," maybe "5T" for the tablet ones (for "5 carbonation tablets" - if I try any with 6 or 4 tablets, I'll write "4T" or "6T" on the bottle) and "CS" (for "caster sugar"). At the moment, I'm thinking of just doing those two variants.

 

[BrewZer]

I don't. I only have black caps.

Well, after being actively brewing again since 2020, I've got silver, gold, black, white, "HOMEBREW" and American flag caps in various quantities.

 

[worlddivides]

Well, after being actively brewing again since 2020, I've got silver, gold, black, white, "HOMEBREW" and American flag caps in various quantities.

I bottled exclusively from 2014 to 2019, but then I stopped brewing, and when I got back into brewing, I didn't do any bottling, instead only kegging. I only starting bottling again (alongside kegging) earlier this year. But even when I had 4-5 batches of bottled beer in my house, I generally only had silver and bronze/gold-colored caps. I guess I just didn't have any need for flashy caps.

 

[Miraculix]

I was thinking of maybe measuring out 5 bottles' worth of sugar at a time by using the tare function on my precision scale in shot glasses and then pouring the sugar from the shot glasses into an aluminum foil semi-funnel into the bottles like Mashdar suggested. I'd just re-measure the sugar for 5 bottles at a time.

I have five or six different kinds of sugar in my cupboard, but I'm thinking I'll use caster sugar since its main advantage is how quickly it dissolves. I would imagine there would be no need to shake a bottle for any fine sugar to dissolve, but I'd think in particular it'd be unnecessary with caster sugar.

I'm also not planning on cold crashing this time (possibly unnecessary worrying, but zero airlock activity does have me extra worried about potential oxidation), so the 66-68F temperature should also be warm enough for the sugar to dissolve quickly.

Been there done that... Now I just take a small measuring spoon and a mini funnel. Before I start, I weigh the correct amount of sugar that I want per bottle and see how much my measuring spoon is filled with it. I then eyeball the amount based on the looks of my spoon and use the funnel to fill out into the bottles. Is it scientific? No. Does it work perfectly fine? Yes. Is it fast? Indeed!

 

[bike2brew]

I use color coded caps with labels for specific batch information. Hop cone and green for IPA/pale ale, American flag for brown ale, etc.

 

[BrewZer]

I use color coded caps with labels for specific batch information. Hop cone and green for IPA/pale ale, American flag for brown ale, etc.View attachment 881199

I post a "Beer Cap Guide" on the fridge door so I know which batch is which. I don't have a cellar like yours...

 

[worlddivides]

I use color coded caps with labels for specific batch information. Hop cone and green for IPA/pale ale, American flag for brown ale, etc.View attachment 881199

That's a pretty nice system. I mainly kept my beers in the boxes they arrived in and would stick a Post-It on the front of the box that said the name I gave it, the style, ABV, IBUs, brewed date, and bottled date. Then when I would take a bottle out of a box where it would be with others, I would write on top of the cap what it was. Usually it was just "IPA," "Brown," "Amber," "APA," "Berliner," and so on, but at times where I might have multiple beers of the same style at one time, it might turn into something that no one else could understand like "ITMoM" (for my "In the Mouth of Madness Imperial IPA") or "PoD" (for my "Prince of Darkness Russian Imperial Stout"). Granted, in retrospect, I could have just written "DIPA" or "IIPA" for the first and "RIS" for the second since my other IPAs at the time weren't imperial IPAs and my other stouts at the time weren't imperial stouts.

Lately, though, I've just been putting them in the fridge and trying to remember which was which. From now on, I'll be using that white gel pen.