priming solution question

[RUGER]

This is my first batch of beer.
Oatmeal stout-2 gal

I might have missed it somewhere in here.
I know 1 oz / gal of priming sugar, but how much water should be used for just 2 oz of sugar? 1/2 cup?

 

[Revvy]

Well, normally I use the standard 2 cups we use for 5 gallons, but I guess if it were under 5 gallons then we could use 1 cup instead.......I don't believe it really matters. Just that it allows for the dilution of the sugar more easily. I think that no matter what we use, as long as we liquify the sugar...will be enough.

 

[Frogmanx82]

Half cup sounds right. You just need enough to dissolve it. 1/3 cup might be enough but that little difference won't amount to anything noticeable.

 

[RUGER]

Thank you.

 

[Iron_Clad]

On a similar note. I have been looking for the answer to this but can't seem to find it. I bottled about two weeks ago and I realized yesterday that I was a knucklehead and just dumped the priming sugar into the bottling bucket, transferred the beer, stirred, then bottled (Whoops!). So, the obvious question is how screwed is my beer?

 

[UtahNate]

On a similar note. I have been looking for the answer to this but can't seem to find it. I bottled about two weeks ago and I realized yesterday that I was a knucklehead and just dumped the priming sugar into the bottling bucket, transferred the beer, stirred, then bottled (Whoops!). So, the obvious question is how screwed is my beer?

RDWHAHB

You may have introduced unwanted oxygen into your beer which may cause a "wet cardboard" flavor. You won't know until you start drinking it. Nothing you can do about it now so don't worry about it.

 

[Iron_Clad]

That's what I figured. I was thinking of cracking one on Friday so we shall see.

 

[freisste]

When you say you stirred, did you just get a good swirl, or was there splashing? Likely no splashing equals no oxidation. I always stir after adding priming sugar. Never tasted wet cardboard.

But again, I make sure not to splash at all. It is really a pretty gentle stir.

 

[Iron_Clad]

It was more like a good swirl. I was careful not to make a big splash and add a bunch of bubbles. Hopefully it will turn out alright...

 

[freisste]

When you start to drink it, try to keep inundated the possibility that it is oxidized and try to taste cardboard.

 

[freisste]

When you start to drink it, try to keep inundated the possibility that it is oxidized and try to taste cardboard.

Sorry...Damn iPhone. Try to "keep in mind" the idea of cardboard and try to taste it. I doubt you oxidized and I doubt you will taste anything. Even if you do, it is nothing you can change now. I'm sure it will be good. Don't worry.

 

[HopSong]

If you just stirred.. no problem.. that's the way to get the sugar mixed in well with the wort. Doesn't take a lot of stirring.. bringing the spoon up from the bottom to the top a few times usually works quite well. Splashing vigorously to cause bubbling/frothing is a no no

 

[peterj]

I would be more worried that the sugar didn't dissolve completely which would cause the beer to be undercarbonated. Or because you didn't boil and sanitize the sugar you may have introduced an infection into the beer. An infection is probably unlikely though, so I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[HopSong]

Doesn't have to boil.. just get it over ~170*. Sugar is very visible in the bottom of a pot. Anything undissolved is pretty plain. Also, sugar goes into solution pretty easily.. even in cold water... so, the dissolve issue is about moot. Temperature up to pre boil is more than enough.

 

[peterj]

On a similar note. I have been looking for the answer to this but can't seem to find it. I bottled about two weeks ago and I realized yesterday that I was a knucklehead and just dumped the priming sugar into the bottling bucket, transferred the beer, stirred, then bottled (Whoops!). So, the obvious question is how screwed is my beer?

Maybe I read the post wrong but it sounded like he just racked on top of dry sugar, stirred, then bottled. No heat involved. I'm not sure how easily sugar dissolves in room temperature beer and it would be hard to see if it was fully dissolved or not through the beer (especially a dark beer). That being said, it was a small amount of sugar compared to the large volume of beer, so it was probably fine.

 

[Iron_Clad]

You would be correct. Dry sugar directly in the bottling bucket.

 

[Iron_Clad]

But to be fair, I have not fully boiled the sugar either. Seems like bottling issues are a recurring theme. That's why I just got a legging system.

 

[Revvy]

But to be fair, I have not fully boiled the sugar either. Seems like bottling issues are a recurring theme. That's why I just got a legging system.

Bottling issues are NOT a theme, bottling is a foolproof process, if you follow a few simple procedures, properly. The reoccurring theme on here tends to be simple impatience.

 

[Iron_Clad]

I guess I should have been more clear. It has been a reoccurring theme for me. As in, I have jacked this up more than once.

 

[UtahNate]

I guess I should have been more clear. It has been a reoccurring theme for me. As in, I have jacked this up more than once.

Read Revvy's bottling guide if you haven't yet. Works a treat for me. Thank you, Revvy!

 

[Revvy]

I guess I should have been more clear. It has been a reoccurring theme for me. As in, I have jacked this up more than once.

Then why do you keep doing it wrong then? If it's not working, it's not that bottling is difficult, it's that you're taking a simple process and over-complicating it, or oversimplifying it.

You boil 1 oz/gallon of beer's worth of corn sugar in two cups of water (or more or less sugar if you are carbing to style using a calculator or chart,) or the correct amount if using table sugar you pour that in the bottom of a bottling bucket while you are siphoning the beer into the bottom of said bucket. You let the beer and priming solution mix as the beer fills the bucket. (If you really don't trust that it will mix properly, you can simply pour half the solution in the bucket, and the second half when half the beer is racked)

You fill bottles up to the top of the lip with a bottling wand pull the wand out which sets the proper amount of headspace. You cap them, you put them in a place where the temp is above 70 degrees. and you don't touch them for a MINIMUM of three weeks.

That's really the whole simple process in a nutshell, it's not complicated, it's not rocket science. It's a basic process. It requires very little thought.

I've bottled for 7 years and never had a batch not carb eventually up by doing this, not had a batch that didn't carb up evenly.

The only batch that never carbed correctly was one where I accidentally used lactose instead of corn sugar. But that was my fault, not the bottling process.

It really is foolproof.