Bottling...

[rmyurick]

That might actually be yeast. I wouldn't shake it, but it probably didn't hurt anything. depending on the ambient temp., I would probably wait at least 2 Weeks to pop one.

 

[DocScott]

How did you add the priming sugar? My opinion is the best way to prime is to make a priming solution. Basically, boil a small amount of water (~2 cups) with the total amount of sugar for the whole batch. Add this to the bottling bucket and rack your finished beer onto it. Next, bottle. The sugar gets dissolved and equally distributed to ensure uniform carbonation in each bottle.

Most likely the "sugar" at the bottom is actually yeast or other hop/trub/etc settling to the bottom. This is normal. When you pour, most people like to leave the last 1/4 inch in the bottle - doing this leaves this sediment behind and out of your glass

 

[BBL_Brewer]

I'm with rmyourick, that's almost certainly yeast that you're seeing. If it's not, it's sediment that transferred over when you racked. It's not sugar. Shaking the bottles and re-suspending the yeast won't hurt anything. In fact, it could speed up carbonation a little. If temps are good though, no need to keep shaking the bottles. Just let them sit until they're ready to drink.

 

[jlg4398]

I have a simple question. After you bottle your brew and if for some reason you put too much corn sugar in the bottles to prime them, how long will it be before they start to explode?

 

[Sbarnard80]

Depends on how much sugar you put in and the temp. How much are we talking?

 

[jlg4398]

I put in the recommended 3/4 tsp per 16oz bott;e.

 

[Dan]

I'm not sure of the correct amount to use. I've been kegging from the beginning. But if you used the recommended amount of priming sugar you should be just fine, unless you didn't hit FG before you bottled. Then there would be a concern of over carbonating the beer/BBs.

 

[Sbarnard80]

As long as the caps are on pretty well, there is some play in there to overcarb some and not have them explode on you. It very often takes more than a week to carb, so if you are concerned open 1 up then and see hoe it is. If it's a gusher, may want to either store them in a tray or probably better yet, get them in the fridge ASAP and invite some friends over to take care of them. But it sounds like you are fine with this batch.

 

[strangegreenman]

Off-topic, but worth mentioning if you get bottle bombs: if your are adding the corn sugar per bottle, you're probably adding it as powder or carbing drops and then filling up with beer, right?

I suggest not doing that much. Dirty dust in the sugar could set you up with an infection in some of your bottles (also potentially causing BBs).

Now, DON'T WORRY, your beer's probably fine even if you did this, but I find it's better to take 1/2 to 3/4 cup (175mL) corn sugar per five gallons of beer, dissolve it in 12fluid ounce/360mL water and boil it for a few minutes. Stir that syrup into the beer and then bottle it. It's easy, more reliable carbonation with less risk of boom and yuck.

 

[Brewmenn]

I put in the recommended 3/4 tsp per 16oz bott;e.

Based on my math that sounds about right, or maybe even a little low.

 

[jlg4398]

Hello fellow budding Brewmeisters, I bottled on Feb. 27. I had a few concerns about what seemed to be either corn sugar or yeast gathering at the bottom of my bottles. I ask for advise on a couple of threads. Most of the advise suggested that I need not worry about that if I had added the correct amount of priming sugar to my bottles.
Well, after five days in the bottle most have cleared up completely. I agitated it a little to see how well the carbonation is coming along and I see fizz and bubbles.
It will be two weeks in the bottle on March 14. I will put them in the refrigerator then. After a few days I will realize if my very first batch of beer has made the grade.

 

[JimRausch]

It's OK to put a couple bottles in the fridge at 2 weeks to try, but I would give most of them a good 3 weeks before chilling. Especially in the cooler winter temps which tend to slow the whole process. If you chill them all and they're not carbonated to your liking, you'll have to drag them out again.
Patience is a bitch........

 

[Rockn_M]

Sounds perfectly normal to me. Enjoy that first beer!

 

[lowelldw]

I bottled about 6 days before you and wanted to try a bottle on my birthday...March 7th. I refrigerated 1 bottle on day 12 and drank the 7th. It was good but not a lot of carbonation.

Hope you are happy with yours but as I have learned from this site....waiting is a good thing!!

 

[jlg4398]

On careful review of bottling records I noticed that I bottled on March 7.

 

[jlg4398]

On careful review of ........... I actually bottled on March 7.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Keep us posted on any further developments.

 

[jlg4398]

Keep us posted on any further developments.

Roger!

 

[Yuri_Rage]

To the OP: If you start a thread on a topic, all discussion on that topic should stay in the same thread. I have merged all 5 of your threads pertaining to this single event.

 

[jlg4398]

To the OP: If you start a thread on a topic, all discussion on that topic should stay in the same thread. I have merged all 5 of your threads pertaining to this single event.

I guess I'm still getting used to communicating on this Web-site. I don't understand all of the 'ins and outs'. Thanx

 

[jlg4398]

How can you tell by looking?

Are they glass or PET?

Yes, they are plastic. I look for bulging in the bottles and/or extra fizz.

 

[fearwig]

I have never found or understood carbonation to be visible without a change in pressure (opening of the bottle), maybe I misunderstand the physics of it. Agitation should just facilitate the normalization of pressure between liquid and the headspace, but the headspace is pressurized too, so...

Just something worth noting, obviously you can get a sense of pressure from the bulging of a PET bottle.

 

[Croyzen]

Learning to use a hydrometer is a mandatory skill needed to make beer. I would also add that fermenting in glass or a better bottle is a simple luxury that allows you to see the process of fermentation which is more important than pulling out the hydrometer all the time. Seeing active fermentation, high krausen, yeast floc and settling tells the story. Once you learn what the process **looks** like the hydrometer comes out very rarely to check if fermentation is done, rather it's used for troubleshooting and to grab a FG at bottle/keg time. I personally don't even use one for that but use my refractometer for the FG. This can be done using a calculator such as Northern Brewer's refractometer calculator and keeping track of the original and current brix. When I first started using this method I would check it against the hydrometer for accuracy.

A light ale could easily be done in 7 days but if it's your first batch you have nothing to compare it to. And no one here knows a thing about your brew day. Things like yeast strain, yeast age/condition, re-hydrated or starter, fermentation temps, pitch rate, oxygen in the wort, and so on will determine how fast the beer is done.

 

[kylegjohnson]

I have never found or understood carbonation to be visible without a change in pressure (opening of the bottle), maybe I misunderstand the physics of it. Agitation should just facilitate the normalization of pressure between liquid and the headspace, but the headspace is pressurized too, so...

Just something worth noting, obviously you can get a sense of pressure from the bulging of a PET bottle.

Ok. Along the same lines as this thread. I did an extract kit from Midwest and am planning a 14 day primary, no secondary, and then bottle with a 14 days bottle conditioning... Does this sound ok?


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[morticaixavier]

Ok. Along the same lines as this thread. I did an extract kit from Midwest and am planning a 14 day primary, no secondary, and then bottle with a 14 days bottle conditioning... Does this sound ok?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

that really depends on if the beer is done in 14 days. Remember the beer sets the schedule not you and not the calendar. You won't know if it's done until you test it.

It MIGHT be ready to bottle in 14 days but I've had big beers that weren't done for 6 weeks. I've had lagers that weren't done for 6 weeks, and I've had standard strength ales not done after 4 weeks. you really just can't know without measuring.

If you are talking about a standard gravity wort (~ 1.050-1.060) and you pitch plenty of healthy yeast (like a 11.5 gram packet of dry or a good 2 liter starter with a tube of liquid or 2-3 tubes/smackpacks) and keep the temp steady around 65 for a few days then bump it up to ~60 for another week you could take your first test on say day 10. If you test again on day 13 and the gravity is the same then you will know it's ready to bottle.

 

[fearwig]

If LHBSes didn't push so much unnecessary stuff on the new brewer (airlocks, glass carboys), I'm sure we could actually convince these people to buy and use a damn hydrometer. Do nothing, nothing without a hydrometer. The sugar content of your wort and beer is the single most important variable in brewing.

 

[BigFloyd]

Ok. Along the same lines as this thread. I did an extract kit from Midwest and am planning a 14 day primary, no secondary, and then bottle with a 14 days bottle conditioning... Does this sound ok?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

Realistically, what you ought to plan is to take your first hydrometer reading on day 14, then another 4 days later. If they match and are reasonably close to expected FG, it's ready to bottle.

Leave them bottle condition 3 weeks at 70-75*F. If it's cooler, give it longer. High ABV beers and complex stuff (like chocolate stout and strong Belgians) take longer too. That will keep you from starting a thread later here titled "Help! My beer isn't carbing!"

 

[Croyzen]

If LHBSes didn't push so much unnecessary stuff on the new brewer (airlocks, glass carboys), I'm sure we could actually convince these people to buy and use a damn hydrometer. Do nothing, nothing without a hydrometer. The sugar content of your wort and beer is the single most important variable in brewing.

A glass carboy is one of the easiest ways to track fermentation progress. By visually learning what the fermentation process looks like can help tremendously when deciding when the beer is done. An airlock also helps with knowing when fermentation is done. More so with the glass carboy than a bucket that may or may not be sealed correctly. If those are unnecessary one could argue that a hydrometer is unnecessary. Although I would not argue that it's unnecessary, for an extract brewer the need is much less. A hydrometer is useful for troubleshooting, checking a fermentation if you are new or working with a new yeast strain. I use a hydrometer still for OG but the bulk of my readings come from a refractometer, even FG. For a while I used to check against a hydrometer for accuracy.

 

[fearwig]

Cleaning. Breaking. Heat tolerance. Expense. Glass is not a good intro fermenter, and if newbies would stop trying to interpret divine signals from airlocks and take a hydrometer reading, we'd never see another "NB IPA KIT IS IT DONE??" thread. Beer in primary will not spontaneously infect or oxidize when you sample it, sniff it or otherwise lift the lid in a sanitary way, and the sooner people get off that notion the more and better beer they'll make. I see more accidental pellicle porn from airlocked glass carboys than I do simple food safe buckets, anyway.

 

[fearwig]

A retfractometer is a fine substitute for a hydrometer if you keep good notes and like to make conversions, but it is generally not something a newbie who refuses to use a hydrometer has (or can make sense of), so it is beside the point here.