Bottling "Early"

[worlddivides]

Hi guys. So, I'm going to be moving cross-country in about a month from now and so I will need to bottle my sour beer (before anyone asks, "no, this move was not planned at the time that I brewed this beer." In fact, it wasn't planned until about a month ago). Moving the fermenter is not a good idea -- and really not practical either, so I'm going to bottle the sour before I leave.

The good news is that, even though the sour is only about 5 months old (about 6 months old when I plan to bottle it), the gravity is currently 1.003.

I am, however, worried that it could eventually get down to 1.002 or even 1.001, so I'm thinking that when I bottle it, I'm only going to use half the priming that I had originally intended.

I'm thinking 1.5 to 2.0 volumes of CO2 should be good, so I was originally thinking of using 2 to a little over 3 ounces of corn sugar for priming sugar.

Since the beer could potentially create more CO2, I'm thinking of only bottling with half that: 1 to 1.6 ounces of corn sugar.

I know it's not a good idea to bottle "young," but I don't really have a choice here and the current gravity of 1.003 suggests that it probably won't ferment more than a full gravity point (i.e. down to 1.002), which is estimated at about 2 volumes of CO2.

For reference:
OG: 1.065
Current gravity: 1.003
Current ABV: About 8.1%
Microbes: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Brettanomyces (from White Labs Belgian Mix 1 and also from bottle dregs from multiple unpasteurized sour beers from both Belgium and the US)

I'm just looking for the best way to handle this.

 

[beergolf]

Do you have acces to a keg? You could purge the kep with CO2 and transfer your beer to the keg. Thay way if it decided to drop a point or two you can use the pressure relief valve to let of some extra pressure.

 

[worlddivides]

Do you have acces to a keg? You could purge the kep with CO2 and transfer your beer to the keg. Thay way if it decided to drop a point or two you can use the pressure relief valve to let of some extra pressure.

Not at the moment, I'm planning on getting into kegging after the move, but I haven't yet specifically because of the move. That definitely would be a pretty easy way to move the beer, though.

 

[sweetcell]

if you're going to get into kegging anyways, why not buy a few kegs now - only as many as needed to move the beer).

worry about the kegarator and the rest once you are settled into the new place.

 

[dmtaylor]

Don't bottle it. You'll either get gushers or totally flat beer. It's not worth it. You've put 5 months into this beer already, you want it to be good. Transfer it into a BetterBottle and bring it with you. Maybe this doesn't sound like the best option to you or is painful, but it's necessary. Or just drink it all flat right now before you leave, your option.

 

[secondbase]

If you aren't able to afford the extra kegs right now because of the move, bottling will likely be fine. Since there is less co2 in solution at this point, using a calculator to aim for 2.5 volumes will likely put you in at the low 2's. That's what I would do. Bottle in thick bottles rated for higher carbonation in case it goes down a few more points. This way you won't end up with undercarbonated beer and you don't risk bottle bombs.

 

[worlddivides]

Well... I think I can wait another 3-4 weeks before bottling (I'm moving in mid-October). If I check the gravity then and it's the same as the last time I checked it, then I'll be a bit more confident about it. If it isn't the same gravity, I'll either get some thicker bottles or maybe even pick up a keg or two. My move is going to be pretty expensive, but if the gravity is looking dicey in 3-4 weeks, I might have to take that option.

Don't bottle it. You'll either get gushers or totally flat beer. It's not worth it. You've put 5 months into this beer already, you want it to be good. Transfer it into a BetterBottle and bring it with you. Maybe this doesn't sound like the best option to you or is painful, but it's necessary. Or just drink it all flat right now before you leave, your option.

I seriously don't think a Better Bottle is a good option to carry the beer for a 2,500 mile cross-country trip. I just drove my carboy 40 miles a few months ago and I lost a lot of vodka from the airlock in just that short distance from the speed, bumping, and rockiness on the highway.

I definitely won't get flat beer if I put half the priming sugar I'm planned. Gushers are a possibility, but considering how slow Brett works, I'm not going to "suddenly" get gushers at 1.003.

I'll keep kegging it as an option in mind, though.

 

[burninator]

I seriously don't think a Better Bottle is a good option to carry the beer for a 2,500 mile cross-country trip. I just drove my carboy 40 miles a few months ago and I lost a lot of vodka from the airlock in just that short distance from the speed, bumping, and rockiness on the highway.

Why not ditch the airlock and install a solid bung for the drive?

 

[worlddivides]

Why not ditch the airlock and install a solid bung for the drive?

Hm, it is true that at this point very, very, very little CO2 is being produced.

I guess my only worry with that is the carboy being knocked on its side and beer getting all over the truck bed, but I guess I could just try to make sure that it doesn't happen.

But thanks. That's something I hadn't considered.

 

[WI_Wino]

You could use the waterless silicon air locks:

http://www.ritebrew.com/product-p/841372.htm

I have a couple and they have been great. I have not tried a cross country move with them though.

 

[ncbrewer]

Why not ditch the airlock and install a solid bung for the drive?

Since OP has some concern about continued fermentation, I wouldn't plug it solid. That could be a lot of shrapnel - like a huge bottle bomb.

 

[Aristotelian]

I would bottle, keep a close eye on them taking samples early and often. If any start to look overcarbed, you can bleed the pressure and/or reprime them after your move.

 

[burninator]

Since OP has some concern about continued fermentation, I wouldn't plug it solid. That could be a lot of shrapnel - like a huge bottle bomb.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, sure, but I assume we're talking hours or days, here, and I'd expect a rubber bung to blow out before the carboy explodes. No reason you couldn't put the airlock back on when you reach your new home.

 

[ncbrewer]

Over the course of a couple of weeks, sure, but I assume we're talking hours or days, here, and I'd expect a rubber bung to blow out before the carboy explodes. No reason you couldn't put the airlock back on when you reach your new home.

For a 2500 mile trip I wouldn't risk it. I've read accounts of carboys exploding when the airlock plugged.

 

[burninator]

For a 2500 mile trip I wouldn't risk it. I've read accounts of carboys exploding when the airlock plugged.

On a beer that's been in primary 6 months?

 

[worlddivides]

Since OP has some concern about continued fermentation, I wouldn't plug it solid. That could be a lot of shrapnel - like a huge bottle bomb.

That's not really a possibility. The gravity was at 1.004 two months ago, and now it's at 1.003. That's roughly 2 CO2 volumes in 60 days (probably less since I think it had actually been at 1.004 for a while when I checked it two months ago).

At 1.003, depending on how vicious the Brett strains are (considering I did add quite a few different Brett strains via bottle dregs), it could theoretically go down to 1.002 or even 1.001 (although I really doubt it'll get down to 1.001 or lower), but if it does, it's going to take about another 60 days to get to 1.002 and maybe 90-120 days to get to 1.001 (if that even ever happens).

The 2,500 mile trip will take 3 days, so bottle bombs/carboy bombs in that time frame are a complete impossibility. I'm more worried about bottle bombs or overcarbonation maybe 2-3 months after bottling in the case that the Brett keeps fermenting every last bit of residual sugar, but that's why I'm considering potentially using less priming sugar than normal.