might have primed too soon?!?! HELP I CAN NO LONGER RELAX AND I HAVE NO HOMEBREW

[bearsbrew]

I am working on my first batch and am not sure if i screwed up. Let me lay it on ya... I followed the directions on the kit ( Muntons Light american ) with the exception that i DID boil before transfering to the fermenter. I let it sit for 5 days and then transfered from the primary ( plastic bucket ) to a 5 gallon carbouy. once in the carbouy i was going to bottle like the instructions said so i added the priming sugar. After i added about a quarter cup it foamed over. Being as sterile as i could i quickly transfered the carbouy back to the sink and let it settle down. then added the remainder of the sugar plus a pinch or 2 to make up for the foam over. After this i rememered that the man at my HBS told me that letting it sit in the carbouy for another week would help it to clear.
1. Could the foam over have contaminated my brew? or should i relax?
2. Now that i have already added the priming sugar should i go ahead and bottle or can i let it sit?
3. If i let it sit should i still be using a ferment lock or should i cap it off ( if thats even possible)?
Thanks for the help. I appreciate any assistance.
Bear


Thanks for all the quick responses... I am not getting much fermentation. Anything i should do to get it started again or is patience the key?

 

[Jim Karr]

You need to clarify for us....when you say you added the priming sugar, what did you add it to? The carboy/fermenter?

 

[Orfy]

You CAN'T bottle beer after only 5 days.

I'm going on vacation.

 

[rod]

put the ferment lock on your carboy of beer and let it sit for 2 weeks at least until no bubbles in ferment lock. you need to ferment out the priming sugar you should not have used yet.
then put fresh priming sugar in your sanitized primary bucket and syphon the beer into it and bottle from there.
if you have a hydrometer do the transferring when you get the same reading for two days in a row

 

[bearsbrew]

i added the priming sugar to the carbouy...

i thought 5 days was a bit soon also but the directions with the kit say 4-6 days...
thanks for the quick response

 

[bearsbrew]

put the ferment lock on your carboy of beer and let it sit for 2 weeks at least until no bubbles in ferment lock. you need to ferment out the priming sugar you should not have used yet.
then put fresh priming sugar in your sanitized primary bucket and syphon the beer into it and bottle from there.
if you have a hydrometer do the transferring when you get the same reading for two days in a row

Most of the sugar is settled at the bottom of the carbouy... Should i give it a gentle stir or will it ferment out on its own?

 

[Yooper]

Most of the sugar is settled at the bottom of the carbouy... Should i give it a gentle stir or will it ferment out on its own?

The yeast will find it. Let it ferment out, and keep the airlock on. It should be fine.

Lorena

 

[John Beere]

I followed the directions on the kit ( Muntons Light american ) with the exception that i DID boil before transfering to the fermenter.

Not wanting to be the bearer of bad news... but a lot of those extract kits are specifically designed to NOT be boiled. Although I really have no idea what would happen if you do.

 

[the_bird]

Drive off any hop flavor that was in there, I would think. Papazian recommends that if you DO use one of those kits, boil it - but also add some additional flavor hops.

 

[John Beere]

Thats what I reckon'ed...

 

[RichBrewer]

Not wanting to be the bearer of bad news... but a lot of those extract kits are specifically designed to NOT be boiled. Although I really have no idea what would happen if you do.

The only problem you will run into is if it is a pre-hopped kit you will loose the hop flavor (not bitterness) and the hop aroma. For your first beer I don't see this as too big a deal.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Do you have a bottling bucket? If so, boil the priming sugar in two cups of water for 10 minutes and add to the empty bucket AT BOTTLING TIME. Then transfer the beer from the carboy to the bucket for bottling.

As others have said, the first addition of priming sugar you added too early will ferment out, so add some more when you bottle.

Put your bottles some place dark and warm for at least 2 weeks to carbonate them.

 

[Engelramm]

Drive off any hop flavor that was in there, I would think. Papazian recommends that if you DO use one of those kits, boil it - but also add some additional flavor hops.

I made the Avogadro's Expedition Old Ale recipe from Papazian's book using Munton's Old Ale kit (boiled it for 15 minutes) and it said to add Cascade for aroma. It's a pretty good beer.

To the original poster, I'd say let it sit for another week or so and then prime as others have said.

 

[[email protected]]

yeah sounds to me like he added some sugar then just sort of let the brew sit. the priming sugar should be added when you are actually ready to do the bottling. when you add the priming sugar, the clock is sort of ticking to get the brew in the bottles.

 

[brewt00l]

Look on the bright side....

you know have a few things on the old "don't have to worry about ever doing that again" list

 

[seohiosipper]

Anyone have any ideas as to why it foamed over when he added the priming sugar? This is something I've never experienced. Just wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this and what caused it so I know what to look out for.

 

[PT Ray]

Anyone have any ideas as to why it foamed over when he added the priming sugar? This is something I've never experienced. Just wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this and what caused it so I know what to look out for.

It would if he used salt instead of sugar, lets hope this was not the case.

 

[HYTEK-REDNEK]

Pop Rocks?????

 

[dibby33]

Anyone have any ideas as to why it foamed over when he added the priming sugar? This is something I've never experienced. Just wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this and what caused it so I know what to look out for.

still active yeast...

 

[onecolumbyte]

It foamed because of the dissolved CO2. When the yeast is done fermenting the beer will be saturated with dissolved CO2. The absolute most possible CO2 will be dissolved in the beer (however small that amount may be). When disturbed (ie adding the sugar) the CO2 will come out of solution and foam.

 

[Waboom!!]

if it bubbes let it die down... then add sugar let it carbonate and feed it to your friends, then drink it and decide!!!

 

[7Moonz]

Yes, like the one guy said, there is still residual CO2 in the beer. The problem was, I'm willing to bet, a mixture of Temp, CO2, residual active yeast, and most important cause was the airspace. He mentioned that he transfered over to the carboy. A five gallon batch of brew only has about a liter of airspace in a glass carboy- hence the reason most beginers use 6 gallon buckets. The make the long story short- If youre curious as to why it foamed over- go buy a 2liter of diet coke and a pack of mentos. Unscrew the cap from the coke, and quickly drop 5-6 mentos inside.
What is happening is the sugar is introducing release "sites" alot of them. and the warmer the liquid the more readily the CO2 molecules will leave the dissolved state and return to the more stable gaseous state.