honey

[reltuc]

hey all, about to bottle my first pale ale.

used corn sugar in my last batch (wheat beer), didn't go as planned. might have not mixed well enough after racking the beer on top, but not entirely sure.

question: how much honey do you guys use and how much water do you add to the bottling solution?

i've done some research and it varies from some people saying 3tblspoons per gallon (which turns out to be 1 cup of honey total for 5 gallons of beer), while the northernbrewer priming calculator tells me to use .43 of a cup for 5 gallons. i bottled a one gallon batch of a brooklyn brew shop IPA kit with 3tblspoons/1 gallon and it worked amazingly, just curious for outside input. thanks!

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I would trust the NB priming calculator. I've used it for priming with all sorts of things (including treacle) and it has never steered me wrong.

 

[reltuc]

I would trust the NB priming calculator. I've used it for priming with all sorts of things (including treacle) and it has never steered me wrong.

alright cool, i'll probably do that and go with .43 of a cup versus an entire cup of honey. it'd be a bummer if it didnt carbonate well, but i guess it beats bottle bombs.

also, is it the general understanding to mix the priming sugar (.43 cups of honey, in this case) with 2 cups of pre-boiled water when priming a five gallon batch of beer?

 

[RM-MN]

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!

You already said that you had a problem with the carbonation of your last batch. Use the same process again and again until you solve it. Don't go throwing in another viariable like the use of honey.

 

[reltuc]

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!

You already said that you had a problem with the carbonation of your last batch. Use the same process again and again until you solve it. Don't go throwing in another viariable like the use of honey.

haha well damnit you're right. I just don't want to get lame carbonation on this pale ale, it smells so good!

what i did last time was boil 3/4 cup corn sugar in 2 cups water for a minute, put solution in bottling bucket, rack beer on top. what did I do wrong?

 

[danok1]

And what was the exact problem you had? Not enough carbonation? Inconsistent from bottle to bottle? Too much?

And I've found it's better to measure the priming sugar by weight, not volume.

-Dan

 

[reltuc]

And what was the exact problem you had? Not enough carbonation? Inconsistent from bottle to bottle? Too much?

And I've found it's better to measure the priming sugar by weight, not volume.

-Dan

not enough carbonation, all the bottles after two weeks+ conditioning are practically flat.

 

[dmtaylor]

I used the NB calculator to prime my last batch and it turned out perfect. Add roughly 1 cup water to the honey for a 5-gallon batch.

 

[dmtaylor]

not enough carbonation, all the bottles after two weeks+ conditioning are practically flat.

That's odd, 3/4 cup in 5 gallons should be just right. Not sure what happened there but I wouldn't expect it to happen again, that's for sure, unless your "corn sugar" was actually "cocaine" or something insane like that.

 

[Calypso]

not enough carbonation, all the bottles after two weeks+ conditioning are practically flat.

Practically flat...?

Did you use something like Splenda or xylitol on accident? Is your capper not securing the caps properly? (You shouldn't be able to spin them). If they were all flat, then it probably wasn't mixing. But I still like to give my beer a gentle stir with a sanitized paddle once I mix the priming sugar in. Others don't like to do that. Pick your poison.

 

[reltuc]

Practically flat...?

Did you use something like Splenda or xylitol on accident? Is your capper not securing the caps properly? (You shouldn't be able to spin them). If they were all flat, then it probably wasn't mixing. But I still like to give my beer a gentle stir with a sanitized paddle once I mix the priming sugar in. Others don't like to do that. Pick your poison.

Potential problem, I used a pre-packaged 3/4 cup corn sugar packet that came with my brewkit off Craigslist, no telling how old it was. Ill make sure to have fresh ingredients, and this time I'll pour the solution into the racked beer and mix a bit. thanks everyone!

 

[RM-MN]

After 2 weeks your beer should have been carbonated. The two things I can think of that can cause the lack of carbonation would be too cold of storage (72 degrees or so, not cold) or bottles not properly capped. Sugar doesn't go bad with storage so the age of that isn't a problem.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

For a 1-gallon batch, I use somewhere between 1.5 and 2 tablespoons of honey, with very good results. 3 seems to be too much, with most of the bottles being gushers.

Translating that to 5 gallons would probably be full of variables I am not aware of. I'd say to use the calculator.

 

[reltuc]

After 2 weeks your beer should have been carbonated. The two things I can think of that can cause the lack of carbonation would be too cold of storage (72 degrees or so, not cold) or bottles not properly capped. Sugar doesn't go bad with storage so the age of that isn't a problem.

I use a standard capper, and condition at room temperature (low 70s). That's too cold?

 

[Redtab78]

I use 4oz corn sugar for 5 gal and a 5oz packet on a different batch, mixed in 2 cups boiling water....then pour that into my bottle bucket, then rack beer on top of it, usually about 7-10 days, i'm ready to rock and roll! I did not notice a difference between 4oz and 5oz tbh

 

[Calypso]

Potential problem, I used a pre-packaged 3/4 cup corn sugar packet that came with my brewkit off Craigslist, no telling how old it was. Ill make sure to have fresh ingredients, and this time I'll pour the solution into the racked beer and mix a bit. thanks everyone!

Hmm. Old sugar should be just fine. It doesn't go bad. I'm still wondering if you accidentally used something other than corn sugar. I have two identical containers, one contains corn sugar and the other contains lactose. They're unlabeled (I like to live life on the edge). When I go to bottle, I have to taste them both to figure out which one is corn sugar and which one is lactose.

 

[reltuc]

Hmm. Old sugar should be just fine. It doesn't go bad. I'm still wondering if you accidentally used something other than corn sugar. I have two identical containers, one contains corn sugar and the other contains lactose. They're unlabeled (I like to live life on the edge). When I go to bottle, I have to taste them both to figure out which one is corn sugar and which one is lactose.

Living life on the edge, I respect that. It was definitely corn sugar, at least it was labeled that way with a stamp from a LHBS... I'm wondering if the guy from Craigslist that sold me the brew kit is sitting at home laughing about giving me salt and labeling it corn sugar.

 

[Calypso]

Living life on the edge, I respect that. It was definitely corn sugar, at least it was labeled that way with a stamp from a LHBS... I'm wondering if the guy from Craigslist that sold me the brew kit is sitting at home laughing about giving me salt and labeling it corn sugar.

Or confused, like dmtaylor said: "If I just snorted some corn sugar, then what did I do with my coke...?" Do you find yourself unusually jittery after drinking the beer?

 

[danok1]

what i did last time was boil 3/4 cup corn sugar in 2 cups water for a minute, put solution in bottling bucket, rack beer on top. what did I do wrong?

Did you let the solution cool before you racked the beer? It's possible, though unlikely due to volumes, that the heat killed the yeast if the sugar solution was still near boiling when you racked.

-Dan

 

[reltuc]

Did you let the solution cool before you racked the beer? It's possible, though unlikely due to volumes, that the heat killed the yeast if the sugar solution was still near boiling when you racked.

-Dan

I did! But maybe not cool enough, I'll make sure to give it more time next batch.

 

[Fizzycist]

My first half dozen batches suffered from inconsistent or very low carbon. I did the typical process with corn sugar. I eventually narrowed it down to poor mixing. Now I rack to the bucket first and add the corn solution scond while stirring. Poor carbing will ruin a batch more completely than any oxidation possible from a gentle but thorough stir.

 

[reltuc]

My first half dozen batches suffered from inconsistent or very low carbon. I did the typical process with corn sugar. I eventually narrowed it down to poor mixing. Now I rack to the bucket first and add the corn solution scond while stirring. Poor carbing will ruin a batch more completely than any oxidation possible from a gentle but thorough stir.

awesome, looks like I'll be going with this method. how much water did you mix with the corn sugar?

 

[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

OP, if the issue with your last brew really was mixing, then for every undercarbed bottle there should have been an overcarbed one. The unmixed sugar doesn't just disappear. Have you tried more bottles? Any overcarbed or gushers? How long have they been sitting now? Some beers can just take longer to carb. I've had some take a month to carb. Hell, my last high gravity BDSA took 4 months! All I'm saying is be sure whether or not you actually have a problem before you try to solve it.

 

[reltuc]

OP, if the issue with your last brew really was mixing, then for every undercarbed bottle there should have been an overcarbed one. The unmixed sugar doesn't just disappear. Have you tried more bottles? Any overcarbed or gushers? How long have they been sitting now? Some beers can just take longer to carb. I've had some take a month to carb. Hell, my last high gravity BDSA took 4 months! All I'm saying is be sure whether or not you actually have a problem before you try to solve it.

i did have some gushers. at the time, i assumed it was because i split the batch nearly half and half with one have having peach extract added to the bottling bucket and the other didn't. in my mind, i assumed that the half with the extract had much more sugar and was the reason for gushers.. but now it's clear to me what happened.

 

[Fizzycist]

I found if I tried to skimp on the water (trying not to dilute my beer) the syrup was too thick to mix well. Once after bottling I found a thick sugary layer just stuck to the bottom of my bucket, the whole batch was under carbed on that one. Adding 8 oz of sugar water to 5 gallons is not a meaningful dilution of beer flavor. I probably use about .75 to 1 cup of water for 3 to 4 oz of corn sugar.

 

[rodwha]

You did chill those beers for no less than 3 days to force the CO2 into solution, right?

 

[reltuc]

You did chill those beers for no less than 3 days to force the CO2 into solution, right?

i sure did. bottling my next batch in 2 days. going to boil 3/4cup corn sugar in 2cups water for a minute, let solution cool to room temperature, add to beer (after beer is racked to bottling bucket), gently stir priming sugar throughout the beer, bottle, sit for 2 weeks @room temp (low 70s), put a bottle into the fridge, let it sit for 2 days, and pray.

i'll be back with my review once it's complete!

 

[rodwha]

I, too, am perplexed. No way it should have been flat.

Hope this next one works well for you!

 

[rmndran]

I would trust the NB priming calculator. I've used it for priming with all sorts of things (including treacle) and it has never steered me wrong.