Doh moment bottling today

[rtstrider]

Hey all! We all have those days where we have DOH moments lol Well today was one of those days. Long story short I was bottling 5 gallons of Oktoberfest. This was cold crashed to 32F for 48 hours and was freezing cold at the time of bottling. The priming sugar weight called for 116 grams sugar for 5 gallons of beer to get to around 2.5 volumes co2. Well like a dummy I measured that out and boiled with 1 cup of water instead of 2. In doing so it turned to a THICK syrup. I poured it into the bottling bucket and it immediately solidified and went to the bottom. It didn't mix as far as I could tell so I just threw in 110 grams of sugar and stirred it in (no boiling water) because I was pressed for time. So there's two potential issues here. First being an infection since the sugar was not boiled and second being potential overcarbonation. Tbh I'm more worried about potential bottle bombs more than anything else. My question is how many days in should I start checking carbonation? I was thinking checking it every 5 days or so for the next 3-4 weeks then popping it in the fridge once it hits my preferred carbonation level. Downside...It's a lager yeast...W34/70. I had to scrape all of the sugar mixture off the bottom of the bucket so that lets me know it probably wasn't mixed in at all. It was a solid glob and took a plastic scraper to get out of there.

I've searched the forums and have seen the recommendations of pouring the brews back into a secondary and let that ferment out, pasteurize once it hits the carbonation level I want, check every 5 days to see where it's at, etc. In lieu of starting another "I added too much bottling sugar" thread I figured this would be a good spot to at least share each others DOH moments lol. With that said what DOH moments have you had in brewing?

 

[Ayzala]

My all time favorite Doh moment came after setting up everything, milling the grain, getting the water ready and cracking open a home brew only to find the propane tank empty . I knew there was something I forgot to do!

 

[wsmith1625]

I've had too many "Doh" moments, typically forgetting to take gravity and PH readings, or taking temp readings with uncalibrated thermometers. Nothing that ever ruined a batch, but "Doh", wish I hadn't done that. I finally put together a spreadsheet with each step so don't have to do it all from memory. I used it the first time on my last brew day and it helped a lot.

My previous method was working off 3 different sets of sheets and putting it all together in my head as I brewed. I would use the recipe sheet, Priceless BIAB printout, and my brew journal. Having a spreadsheet with everything in place and in order should eliminate future ""Doh" moments.

It's not perfect but feel free to work with it.

 

[rtstrider]

Chilled one of the Oktoberfests today and it’s right where I would expect a beer to be after one week of carbonation. The sweetness of the priming sugar is where it’s supposed to be after one week so go figure. Going to check this puppy again in 2 weeks and hope all is well lol

 

[IslandLizard]

I've searched the forums and have seen the recommendations of pouring the brews back into a secondary and let that ferment out, pasteurize once it hits the carbonation level I want, check every 5 days to see where it's at, etc.

Which method are you going to follow? I just saw your latest post. That's a positive sign!

The sugar gob on the bottom may have dissolved somewhat while filling bottles, but not very fast. I wouldn't worry about that so much.
I would be more worried about uneven priming due to not making a sugar solution first. That means some bottles maybe over-primed well others are under-primed, and you wouldn't know which is which.

Sugar does not dissolve very quickly in cold liquids, so it all depends on how fine the sugar was and how well you stirred to dissolve it and homogenize the primed beer. Dextrose is usually a very fine powder, so 30 seconds to a minute of stirring may well have done the job. But table sugar are small crystals, so it's 50/50.

 

[rtstrider]

Well tomorrow will officially be 3 weeks to the day in the bottles. I haven't tested/tasted a bottle since week 1. I put one of the bottles in the fridge this morning and will be tasting later tonight. It'll have a good 10-12 hours in the fridge. This is the beer/lager fridge so it's a tad cooler than a normal fridge. I keep it that way to help the yeast and crud settle out faster in the bottles. Anywho IF the lager tastes alright they will be going in the fridge tomorrow till mid/late October to clean up. I'll keep this thread updated for sure!

 

[rtstrider]

Just sampled and they’re carbed right where they should be! Go figure...The brew where everything goes wrong is the one that turns out fine lol Moved most all of the bottles to the fridge and it’s lager time!

 

[derekp83]

Just sampled and they’re carbed right where they should be! Go figure...The brew where everything goes wrong is the one that turns out fine lol Moved most all of the bottles to the fridge and it’s lager time!

That's how it often ends up, right? We worry too much.

 

[AJinJacksonville]

My all time favorite Doh moment came after setting up everything, milling the grain, getting the water ready and cracking open a home brew only to find the propane tank empty . I knew there was something I forgot to do!

Been there done that...a couple of times!!

 

[AJinJacksonville]

Never really gave it too much thought, but is it safe to say the purpose of boiling the sugar two-fold... 1) to dissolve the sugar more efficiently/thoroughly since it is mixing in with a hot liquid (thus making it a 'thinner' solution that will more easily mix with the beer for carbonation purposes and 2) to sterilize?

 

[wsmith1625]

I had 2 doh moments with my brew today. First one was taking a PH reading during the mash. I use the cheap paper ph strips and dipped it into the mash, but dropped it and lost it in the kettle. No big deal....

Later, after cooling and transferring the wort to the fermenter, I took the hydrometer out of my bucket of StarSan and shook it to get the foam off. I've done this many times before, but usually holding the bulb and not the thin stem. Broke my first hydrometer. Dang!

Honestly, I had a great brew day. The 2 doh moments will have no effect on my finished beer which I know is going to be great! I made my first English Bitter.

 

[bracconiere]

Broke my first hydrometer. Dang!

hydro shaking deserves a tally here!

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/threads/official-broken-hydrometer-count.148083/page-41

 

[wsmith1625]

hydro shaking deserves a tally here!

I guess every brewer will eventually become a sad statistic on broken hydrometers. Like you, I don't like these triple scale models, but I caved and bought one anyway.

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrometer-Triple-Alcohol-testing-Homebrewing/dp/B01DAE3LKS

 

[bracconiere]

for a single scale, the key word is "plain form"....nothing but SG on two sides, with 2 point increments, and 1 increments on the other two....

(of course it quite often only shows me the 1 increment sides, lol, and i don't know the significant number )

 

[IslandLizard]

for a single scale, the key word is "plain form"....nothing but SG on two sides, with 2 point increments, and 1 increments on the other two....

(of course it quite often only shows me the 1 increment sides, lol, and i don't know the significant number )

I'm with you on plain and simple. SG (and Brix), is all one needs, both on plain white paper, with clear graduations.
Who needs multicolor, multiscale, ABV, Wine/Beer ranges, whatever? Only to create confusion.

I broke my first inside a wine thief. It torpedoed then bottomed out. That's how I learned hydrometers sink a lot deeper in FG than in OG.
I found a decent plain replacement at my LHBS with a rather elongated scale as a bonus. Much space between deviations, therefore very easy to read.

 

[bruce_the_loon]

(of course it quite often only shows me the 1 increment sides, lol, and i don't know the significant number )

What is it with hydrometers that they will slowly rotate to a stop, with the SG facing the other way.

It's a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy.

 

[Ayzala]

Just had another...

Brew Bucket on the counter, bottling bucket on a chair, tube from valve to bottom of bucket, Check, Check, Check. Let her rip.

Trickling sound ???

Take the blow off tube out of the Star San jug

Doh!!!