Need some insights/advice on batch priming

[ChefK]

Hey,

Thanks for last time and here I am with a new question.
I am about to bottle my next brew (I wont say what since i know peoples opinion about it), ok ok i say it .. it is the mexican cerveza go easy on me please I like light beers.

Anyway it fermentet nicely and is now steady on FG. I would like to use my fermenting bucket as bottling bucket since that one has a wand. problem is though I would like to batch prime. That would basically mean that I need to refill the brew twice from bucket A to bucket B, clean bucket A and back from bucket B to bucket A.

I can not really see t hat that would be good for the brew but don t think that i will find a wand for the other bucket i have. Besides I do not have a syphon.

I don t really know, or should I just go and buy the priming drops?
besides I decided to go for 0,33l glass bottles, and on the drops was written, 2 drops per 0,75l so basicly little bit less then one drop per bottle now, that was my main reason fro batch priming.

Any thoughts?

Greetings from Norway

 

[kh54s10]

I am not sure I really follow what is going on. It would be best to ferment in a bucket without or with a spigot. Then siphon into a bottling bucket with a spigot and bottling wand. Add the priming solution, then the beer, it will mix better that way.

Siphon or transfer as few times as possible to lessen the risk of oxidation.

 

[frazier]

OK - my first thought is, brew what you like to drink, and don't apologize for it!

I'm not sure what you mean by the bucket having a wand - do you mean spigot? Anyway, if you lack a siphon, I would go ahead prime in the bottles - you don't want to be pouring beer from bucket to bucket - oxidation will be a problem. Go ahead and use one priming drop per bottle - the difference is not significant.

For your next batch - 1) Buy a fermenting bucket or carboy so you don't have to ferment in your bottling bucket; 2) Buy an autosiphon, it is worth its weight in gold.

Cheers!

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds to me like you have a Cooper's fermenter with the bottling wand made to fit in the spout of the spigot. You could just use the two carb drops per bottle if you're using the Cooper's PET bottles. Then get a bottling bucket & a bottling wand that'll fit 3/8" ID tubing. The tubing will fit over the end of the Cooper's lil bottler with the pin valve removed from the end. Then you can either put the pin valve back on the other end of the bottler tube to bottle with. Or us another length of the 3/8" tubing with an aftermarket bottling wand to bottle with. This is how I do it, as I still use my Cooper's Micro Brew fermenter for beers that need more head space during primary.

 

[ChefK]

Hey guys I was just joking with the Mexican I love it and I am fine with it, I also like other styles so no worries here, tried to be funny thats all.

I do have the coopers kit and I love using it since you actually see whats goin on but still everything is easy to use.
I also have a normal White bucket with lid and tap / spigot.

SO basicly what i need to buy is a auto siphon and a new bottlingwand for the other bucket.

I do not have the coopers bottles atm they are full and lagering atm. I bought 0,33l glass bottles which i intend to use for this batch.
So to make it as easy as possible i guess I will go back to the Drop solution I am just a bit scared about the amount that will be 0,05l o little per drops but I guess thats fine.

@unionrdr do you have a picture of your contraption?

 

[Jayhem]

Get yourself an auto siphon! It's actually much faster to fill bottles with an autosiphon with the bottling wand on the end of the siphon hose you get more head pressure for faster filling plus you can fill bottles in a 12-case one after the other to minimize time moving bottles around.

 

[unionrdr]

You can use the bucket with the spigot to bottle in & bulk prime. Here's a couple priming calculators I use; http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/priming.html
http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/
And here's my 2-part bottling video showing my old set up, which is similar. The only difference is the bottling table & bench capper;


I need a new camera to do a shorter one with my newer set up though. Here's a pic of my brewery to give a rough idea;

The chair bottom under the table goes to the left with me seated in front of the table. The bottle tree goes on the chair bottom for easy reach. Caps & a small container of Starsan on the table to my left, filled bottles on the table to my right. The capper is moved to where you see the bottle tree sitting now. The short 7.9 gallon Midwest bucket can be seen on the fermenter stand next to the Cooper's Micro Brew FV.

 

[kh54s10]

Take a look at this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

 

[andy6026]

Almost everyone recommends that you rack the beer ON TOP of the priming sugar as this is usually an effective way of mixing them. However, I found it quite difficult to accurately judge how much beer I was going to be bottling once I accounted for trub. This resulted in a number of over or under carbed batches. Since then I've not mixed my priming sugar until after I racked to the bottling bucket and then gently mixed them. Problem solved and no oxidation so far.

 

[ChefK]

Hei Guys thanks for all the help suddenly got real busy here and almost forgot to follow up here, i did use drops... this time. Now I am reading that you should condition them at room temperature. But I was so sure you should condition them in cold environment.

I have my bottles now in my basement and just picked up some bottles of the lager (coopers) which i had conditioning there. Opened a bottle and heard a pshhhht which made me glad ... but the joy was short, because when i poured it in my glass i had NO foam what so ever or no head as you may say.

If I should have conditioned it at room temp, can I still do it even though it was stored for a few weeks at low temp already?
Same goes for the other beer which has just been in the basement for half a week or so.


Also I never drunk homebrewed beer but I kind of feel like there is a off taste in the beer, then again it might just be me not being used to it.

 

[unionrdr]

Get them in a warmer environment where it's around 70F & swirl the bottles to stir up some of the settled yeast. when they warm up, they'll start carbing & conditioning again. You'll have head,carbonation & cleaner flavor. After a couple weeks, fridge them for 5-7 days to equalize the carbonation between the head space & the beer. This will also settle out any chill haze that forms & compact the yeast/trub on the bottom of the bottles for a cleaner pour.

 

[McKnuckle]

You don't carbonate in the bottle in cold temps. Bottle carbonating is just like fermenting, because that's exactly what you're doing - creating an environment for the small amount of residual yeast in the bottle to consume the priming sugar you just put in there.

Basic rule for bottle carb is 3 weeks at 70ºF. Try one at 2 weeks if you're impatient.

 

[unionrdr]

Exactly. Higher temps than during initial fermentation don't matter in the bottles. But lower temps do, as the yeast can go dormant below their minimum ideal temp range.

 

[ChefK]

Ok I moved both batches up again and into a cabinet, to protect the brew from light and the temp is about 22c,

Thank you all for the help.

Would you say I should wait another three weeks?
Afterall it has been sitting for 3+ weeks already.