Can i double prime??

[NativeSun]

I used a little over 5 ounces of maple syrup grade a subprime my pumpkin ale. It's been about a week since I bottled them and I opened one of them to see where it was at and it was really really flat no carbonation at all and it made me wonder if the maple syrup was the right priming agent. I read a variety of posts stating that you could use maple syrup as a priming agent.

I projected my beer to be ready for October 3 but still two weeks away. Can I add all the liquid in the bottles to the bottling bucket add the priming sugar and rebottle or is that overkill???

 

[count2infinity]

sounds like a crapload of oxidation. You only have had them in bottles for a week? Depending on the alcohol content and many other factors, a week may not be enough time. Patience.

 

[Face Eater]

Wait 3 weeks at 70 degrees and chime in with results. 1 week is not enough time.

 

[NativeSun]

I totally agree that one week is not enough time however from the times that I have sampled previous beers at a one-week time period they have been more carbonated much more carbonated than this one is.

I'm not sure about oxidation. The entire process was pretty routine. I didn't have a black cloth over my secondary carboy but it was in a dark spot.

I'm just worried that I didn't use enough maple syrup or that maple syrup was not a good priming agent.

 

[duboman]

Maple syrup is perfectly fine to carbonate as the sugars will ferment out but they are more complex sugars than straight corn sugar so the yeast will need more time to eat it up and properly carbonate. 1 week is no where near long enough, I would expect at least a month.

Dumping the beer and attempting to re-prime and re-bottle would be a huge mistake. First, you have no way to figure how much sugar to use since there is already syrup in the beer and risk over priming and bottle bombs. Second would be the extreme exposure to oxygen in the transfer process and ultimately will oxidize the beer and then it will all just go to waste.

Chalk this one up to learning and be patient with it, maybe it will carbonate by the date, maybe not, but it will carbonate

 

[TyTanium]

5oz for 5g? That should be enough. How long was it in the primary?

I wouldn't dump & reprime. Give it some time. Make sure the ambient is room temp; not a cold basement.

 

[Face Eater]

I have also had certain beers carb up faster than others, as short as a week even. I never used maple syrup to prime so no real experience there. I wouldn't do anything to it other than wait it out. There are too many risks of infection, bottle bombs, oxidation, etc... if you try and put it back into a bottling bucket or even add sugar to the bottles now. Now to wait for them to carb up and here that it was your best batch ever.

 

[Epimetheus]

Maple "syrup" is defined as 66 percent sugars by law. You must add 1.5 times more maple syrup than cane sugar for the equivalent carbonation.

Like others said, let it sit longer than one week. If it is a bit flat then you have learned that you need to add more sugar. I think it is good learning experience to open a bottle every week and see how it tastes. Some people have criticized me this is a waste of beer, just let it sit for 3 weeks. I think it is a low cost for a newbie (like me) to learn.

I have primed with maple syrup. I now consider it a waste of money because the maple flavor does not survive. The very expensive syrup tastes better on pancakes. Yum! I carbonate with table sugar. Some people swear by corn sugar or others. I cannot taste the difference.

Dump and re-prime increases the risk for infection. I did that when I filled a 6-pack, then remembered I did not prime the 5 gallon batch. I poured the beers back into the bucket. One beer poured with a GLOOP! and dropped a nasty blob of mold into the whole batch. If I had added a little sugar to each, the whole batch would not have turned out nasty. Very, very nasty.

Enjoy!

 

[NativeSun]

All awesome feedback. I figured the bad heavily outweighed the good when considering to reprime. It's my first time priming with syrup and I used a hair over 5 oz. if it doesn't prime I assume it would be because I didn't add enough to my cup of water.

I'll report back Oct 3!!

 

[NativeSun]

Tried another after two weeks and its carbonated now! It's smell strong and lost most of its pumpkin aroma. Taste is the same..anyone think that will change as it sits longer?

 

[day_trippr]

[...]I'm not sure about oxidation. The entire process was pretty routine. I didn't have a black cloth over my secondary carboy but it was in a dark spot. [...]

You misunderstood the comment. count2infinity was referring to what could happen if you went with the re-bottling plan. The potential for aeration would be huge...

Cheers!